GAO Unable to Express Opinion on U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements
Section: Around the Nation




The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released its audit of the U.S. government’s consolidated financial statements for fiscal years 2017 and 2016, finding that much work remains to improve federal financial management. Three major impediments continued to prevent GAO from rendering an opinion on the federal government’s financial statements:
 
  1. Serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense that prevented its financial statements from being auditable.
  2. The federal government’s inability to adequately account for and reconcile intragovernmental activity and balances between federal entities.
  3. The federal government’s ineffective process for preparing the consolidated financial statements. 

The report can be found here.