Controller Alerts

posted on 9/04/2012 The following Controller Alert provides clarification to Federal agencies regarding two issues: (1) efficient spending on Federal conferences, and (2) ensuring accurate, complete and consistent data on Federal real property.   Efficient Spending on Federal Conferences  As part of the Campaign to Cut Waste, the Administration has taken aggressive steps to curtail conference spending and institute strict policies and controls over conferences, in order to ensure that conference expenditures are cost-effective, clearly advance the mission and programmatic goals of the agency, and represent the optimal use of Federal funds.  Accordingly, on September 21, 2011, OMB issued Memorandum 11-35, which instructed

In April 2012, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report entitled “GRANTS MANAGEMENT: Action Needed to Improve the Timeliness of Grant Closeouts by Federal Agencies” (GAO-12-360). The report highlights potential consequences of not closing out grants in a timely manner. Specifically, the report notes: Grant funds could be more susceptible to fraud, waste, and mismanagement; Potential costs in fees related to maintaining grants could increase; and The ability to redirect resources to other projects may be negatively impacted. GAO expressed particular concern with the large number of grant accounts that remained open even though the grants were several years