Architect of the Capitol: Preservation of the Past, Stewardship for the Future. 2005 Performance and Accountability Report

摘要

This is the first year we have published a Performance and Accountability Report (PAR). As a legislative entity, we are not required to publish a PAR, which executive branch agencies are required to do. Nevertheless, we are committed to being a responsible, accountable, and transparent organization. We publish the PAR as a best practice initiative to provide Congress and our fellow citizens with an inside look at our organization and its operations. Below we describe the purpose behind our PAR and what it contains. Prior to the PARs inception, government entities were already responsible for reporting much of the same information that is now found in the PAR: financial and performance data. The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Act of 1990 requires financial reporting, and the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requires performance reporting. Under the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, the PAR was created as a singular vehicle for government entities to combine financial and performance information. This allows taxpayers and oversight bodies one-stop shopping when looking for an overarching picture of agency operations. The PAR covers one fiscal year. The fiscal year, for the federal government, begins on October 1st and ends on September 30th of the following calendar year. Therefore, whenever we make reference to a year (e.g., 2005), we are referring to the fiscal year.