“追踪资金流向”几乎已成为一句陈词滥调。但对于美国政府问责署（GAO）的审计人员来说，追踪资金正是我们的核心业务。事实上，GAO成立的初衷就是为了追踪资金去向。
我们通过多种方式开展工作，其中一项重要任务是对联邦政府财务报表进行年度审计。这些审计的核心目标是加强对联邦支出的问责制和透明度。除此之外，我们的审计还带来了额外收益：它们促成了大量的成本节约、运营效率的提升，并提供了更可靠的财务信息。
今天的《观察博客》文章将探讨GAO如何通过年度联邦财务报表审计来追踪资金，以及为什么这项工作如此重要。
审计联邦财务报表的价值何在？
在上一个财政年度，美国联邦政府的支出约为7万亿美元。面对如此规模的投入，确保对纳税人资金的问责、透明和有效监督至关重要。财务报表审计是实现这一目标最强大的工具之一。它们为国会和纳税人提供了关于政府财务表现和资金使用的及时、独立的评估。
财务报表审计提供了一种系统化的方法，用于加强财务管理并建立公众信任。审计通常会就如何提高日常财务信息质量提出建议。这种质量非常重要，因为它使管理者能够做出更明智的决策，并应对在监督纳税人资金时面临的各种问题。
联邦财务报表审计的作用：
- 评估财务报表信息是否可靠且符合公认会计原则。
- 识别可能导致欺诈、管理不善或支付错误（即不当支付）的控制缺陷。
- 识别未遵守法律的情况，例如限制机构支出的法律。
- 确定政府资产是否得到了妥善保护。
“Follow the money.” It’s almost a cliché. But for auditors here at GAO, following the money is our bread and butter. In fact, GAO got its start with the goal of following the money. We do this in many ways. But an important effort is our annual audits of federal financial statements. At its core, the goal of these audits is to increase accountability and transparency over federal spending. But our audits have added benefits. They have led to substantial savings, as well as operational efficiencies and more reliable financial information. Today’s WatchBlog post looks at how your GAO follows the money through annual federal financial statement audits—and why it’s so important that we do.
What is the value of auditing federal financial statements? Last fiscal year, the U.S. federal government spent about $7 trillion. With this level of investment, it’s essential to ensure accountability, transparency, and effective oversight of taxpayer dollars. Financial statement audits are one of the most powerful tools for doing this. They provide Congress and taxpayers with a timely, independent assessment of key information about the government’s financial performance and use of funds. Financial statement audits offer a disciplined approach to strengthening financial management and building public trust. They often result in recommendations on how to improve the quality of day-to-day financial information. This quality is important because it allows managers to make better informed decisions and deal with the range of issues they face in overseeing taxpayer dollars. Federal financial statement audits: Assess whether financial statement information is reliable and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Identify weaknesses in controls that could lead to fraud, mismanagement, or payment errors (also known as improper payments). Identify instances where laws are not being followed, such as those that limit agency spending. Determine whether government property and equipment are accounted for and safeguarded. Verify whether the government properly accounted for taxpayer dollars. What are federal agencies required to report? Each year, federal agencies are required to prepare financial statements and have them audited. These financial statements include what the government owns and owes, as well as how taxpayer dollars were used. Federal agencies typically get their financial statement audits done by mid-November (about 45 days after the end of the government’s fiscal year). This timing is important. It provides Congress with up-to-date information that can inform budget and appropriation decisions, as well as assess agencies’ performance. Financial audits are a big bang for your buck! The cost of these audits is relatively nominal. On average, to audit their fiscal year 2024 financial statements, agencies spent less than $50 for every million dollars of agency cost. In return, audits help agencies strengthen their financial management, i
