Pentagon accounting problems ‘serious’: Treasury

Raw Story

WASHINGTON — The US administration is taking a hard look at problems in the Defense Department's accounting, after a report called its books unauditable, the Treasury said Wednesday.

Treasury assistant secretary Richard Gregg told a Congressional panel there were "serious financial reporting issues" at the Pentagon, which in the current proposed budget before the Congress receives $553 billion, or some 15% of all US annual spending.

The remarks came after the US government watchdog the General Accounting Office (GAO) named problematic defense accounting standards as the primary reason it could not produce a full assessment of government spending in fiscal 2010.

The GAO cited "serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense (DoD) that have prevented DoD's financial statements from being auditable."...[Full Article]

GAO: Duplication, Waste Costs Taxpayers Billions Each Year, Coburn Says Report Makes Congress Look Like 'Jackasses'

ABC News

ABC's Matthew Jaffe reports:

With Congress currently embroiled in a contentious spending fight, a Congressional watchdog has found that a staggering level of duplication is plaguing the bloated federal budget – and chewing up billions of dollars in funding every year.

In a new report obtained by ABC News, the Government Accountability Office determined that “reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap, or fragmentation could potentially save billions of taxpayer dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services.”...[Full Article]