Financial Management: Coordinated Approach Needed to Address the Government's Improper Payments Problems

摘要

The federal government of the United States spends approximately $1.8 trillion dollars annually for a variety of grants, transfer and other payments, and procurement of goods and services. As the steward of taxpayer dollars, the federal government is accountable for how its agencies and grantees spend those funds and is responsible for safeguarding those funds against improper payments. As noted in the reports we have issued on this matter over the past 3 years, the federal government's record in identifying and reporting the magnitude of program funds associated with improper payments and actions to better manage these payments needs improvement. In our view, improper payments include payments that should not have been made or were made for incorrect amounts. Specifically, they include inadvertent errors, such as duplicate payments and calculation errors; payments for unsupported or inadequately supported claims; payments for services not rendered or rendered to ineligible beneficiaries; and payments resulting from fraud and abuse. They occur in a variety of programs and activities, including those related to contractors and contract management; health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid; financial assistance benefits, such as food stamps and housing subsidies; and tax refunds. Improper payments result in spending taxpayer dollars for other than their intended purposes, services to those not entitled to program benefits at the expense of legitimate beneficiaries, or both. Because of your continued interest and concerns regarding financial management in the federal government, you asked us to update certain aspects of our 2000 report on improper payments. Specifically, you requested that we (1) quantify, where possible, the amount of improper payments reported in agencies' fiscal year 2000 financial statements, (2) assess the extent to which agencies' fiscal year 2002 performance plans address improper payments, (3) determine the extent to which the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has implemented the recommendations made in our prior reports, and (4) identify other actions that might encourage agencies to better report the extent of their improper payments. On November 2, 2001, we reported that agency fiscal year 2000 financial statements identified about $19.6 billion in improper payments, the first item in your request. This report addresses the remaining areas and identifies the amount of improper payments reported in agencies' fiscal year 2001 financial statements.