Next Administration needs to focus on increasing the value of financial reporting say federal financial executives

In a survey of 239 federal financial management executives and managers sponsored by the Association of Government Accountants and conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, respondents were united in their belief that federal financial reporting needs to move beyond compliance in order to add value. Critical, they say, are new models that are more transparent to citizens, relevant to decision makers and appropriate for government.

Federal entities that are required by the CFO Act of 1990 to have audited annual financial statements generally receive clean audit opinions, but respondents argue this is not enough. In fact, an overload of compliance work saps CFO resources from value-added activities needed to enhance entity missions, say executives. In general, most respondents felt that financial statements were less valuable for federal entities than other types of financial information. Instead, they argued, federal financial executives should focus more of their energy on performance reporting and improving program efficiencies.