GAO's Agency Protocols [GAO's policies and practices for	 
interacting with agencies in the conduct of its work. Identifies 
what agencies can expect from GAO and what GAO expects of the	 
agencies] (21-OCT-04, GAO-05-35G).				 
                                                                 
This document contains the updated protocols that govern the U.S.
Government Accountability Office's (GAO) work with executive	 
branch agencies. The protocols provide clearly defined and	 
transparent policies and practices on how GAO interacts with	 
agencies in performing its work. As you know, GAO supports the	 
Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and	 
strives to help improve the performance and ensure the		 
accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the  
American people. Although our primary client is the Congress and 
we must maintain our independence from the entities that are the 
subject of our work, we seek to continue constructive working	 
relationships with the executive branch. In all cases, we seek to
conduct our work in a professional, objective, fact-based,	 
nonpartisan, and nonideological manner, in order to help improve 
government.							 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-05-35G 					        
    ACCNO:   A13196						        
  TITLE:     GAO's Agency Protocols [GAO's policies and practices for 
interacting with agencies in the conduct of its work. Identifies 
what agencies can expect from GAO and what GAO expects of the	 
agencies]							 
     DATE:   10/21/2004 
  SUBJECT:   Investigations by federal agencies 		 
	     Reporting requirements				 
	     Federal agencies					 
	     Accountability					 
	     Investigations into federal agencies		 
	     Auditing standards 				 
	     Policies and procedures				 

******************************************************************
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GAO-05-35G

                                 GAO's Mission

                                   s Mission

GAO exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional
responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the
accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American
people.

                                    Scope o

                                 Scope of Work

GAO performs a range of oversight, insight- and foresight-related work to
support the Congress, including the following:

o 	evaluations of federal programs, policies, operations, and performance;

o 	management and financial audits to determine whether public funds are
spent efficiently, effectively, and in accordance with applicable laws;

o 	investigations to assess whether illegal or improper activities are
occurring;

o  analyses of the financing for government activities;

o 	constructive engagements in which GAO works proactively with agencies,
when appropriate, to help guide their efforts towards transformation and
achieving positive results;

o 	legal opinions to determine whether agencies are in compliance with
applicable laws;

o 	policy analyses to assess needed actions and the implications of
proposed actions; and

o 	additional assistance to the Congress in support of its oversight,
appropriations, legislative, and other responsibilities.

                                  Core V lues

                                   CoreValues

                      Accountability Integrity Reliability

Source: GAO (front and inside front covers).

United States Government Accountability Office Washington, D.C. 20548

October 21, 2004

This document contains the updated protocols that govern the U.S.
Government Accountability Office's (GAO) work with executive branch
agencies. The protocols provide clearly defined and transparent policies
and practices on how GAO interacts with agencies in performing its work.
As you know, GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional
responsibilities and strives to help improve the performance and ensure
the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the
American people. Although our primary client is the Congress and we must
maintain our independence from the entities that are the subject of our
work, we seek to continue constructive working relationships with the
executive branch. In all cases, we seek to conduct our work in a
professional, objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, and nonideological
manner, in order to help improve government.

Since we began pilot-testing the protocols in December 2002, we have been
monitoring their application. During this period, we have received
comments indicating that the protocols (1) help to ensure a consistent and
unified GAO approach throughout the federal government and (2) could
benefit, in some areas, from additional clarification. In response to the
comments, which were few in number, we revised the protocols to clarify
our relationship with the agencies where we perform work and our methods
of communicating and exchanging information. The highlights page of this
document identifies these revisions as well as other important aspects of
GAO's Agency Protocols.

Along with members of the GAO team, I look forward to using these
protocols to continue to serve the Congress and the American people while
maintaining a constructive working relationship with the federal

departments, agencies, and other entities where GAO performs work.
Questions or comments about GAO's Agency Protocols may be directed to Mr.
Gene L. Dodaro, Chief Operating Officer, at (202) 512-5600 or via e-mail
at [email protected].

David M. Walker Comptroller General of the United States

                              Highlights of GAO's

GAO has broad authority to

o  investigate all matters related to the receipt, disbursement, and
expenditure of federal funds; and

o  evaluate the results of a program carried out under existing law

- when ordered by either house of Congress,

- when requested by a committee of jurisdiction, or - on the initiative of
the Comptroller General.

GAO has broad rights of access to a wide range of agency information, but
has finite resources and can only perform work that is within its scope of
authority and competency.

Objectives of GAO's Agency Protocols

o  Provide clearly defined, consistently applied, and transparent policies
and practices on how GAO will perform work at the entities it audits,
subsequently referred to as agencies.

o  Identify what the agencies can expect from GAO and what GAO expects of
the agencies.

o  Cover most situations that arise during the course of GAO's work. The
protocols build on practices that have proved successful in the past and
supersede prior arrangements with the agencies, including memorandums of
understanding.

o  Are consistent with the protocols that govern GAO's work for the
Congress.

Exceptions to GAO's Agency Protocols

o  GAO follows modified protocols for work leading up to congressional
testimony and work performed by its Office of Special Investigations.

o  The protocols are not applicable to work GAO conducts in support of
legal opinions and decisions.

o  The protocols do not govern GAO's relationship with the federal
Inspectors General (IG) community. GAO and agency IGs are all part of the
accountability community; therefore, the relationships between GAO and
agency IGs are considered additional to, and separate from, these
protocols.

Source: GAO.

                                Agency Protocols

                   Communication between GAO and the agencies

What agencies can expect from GAO:

o  At least annually, at agencies where GAO has a substantial ongoing
audit presence, GAO senior executives and leaders responsible for GAO's
work will meet with agency-designated senior executives.

o  GAO will notify agencies of work to be undertaken and coordinate the
entrance conference, exit conference, and request for agency comments on a
draft report through the agency-designated central liaison or primary
point of contact.

o  Where GAO's work involves reviews that cut across the federal
government and require work to be conducted at more than one agency, GAO
will generally send a notification letter to the applicable central
agency, such as the Office of Personnel Management or the Office of
Management and Budget, and notify the individual agencies of such work by
telephone or e-mail message.

o  GAO will generally give an agency from 7 up to 30 calendar days to
comment on a draft report. The time will vary depending on the nature of
the engagement and the needs of the Congress.

o  When an agency-designated senior official provides oral comments,
rather than the preferred written comments, GAO will summarize them and
provide a copy of the summary to the official for verification before
finalizing the report.

o  GAO will discuss the status of recommendations in its publicly
available database with cognizant agency officials on an ongoing basis.
However, special attention is directed to the status of recommendations
close to the end of each fiscal year.

What GAO expects of agencies:

o  The entrance conference will be scheduled within 14 calendar days of
GAO's request.

o  The agency will promptly comply with GAO's request for access to the
agency's records.

o  Agency officials who have oversight of the issues related to the
engagement's objectives will attend the exit conference.

o  Comments from the agency on a draft report will provide (1) a single
position on the extent of their agreement or disagreement with key GAO
findings and on any conclusions and recommendations and (2) the rationale
for any disagreement.

o  The agency's classification review of draft reports containing national
security or sensitive information will be communicated (1) in writing, (2)
in conjunction with the agency's submission of comments on the draft
report, and (3) within the time frame identified in GAO's letter
transmitting the draft report soliciting agency comments.

o  When GAO issues a report containing recommendations to the head of an
agency, GAO requests that the agency provide it with a copy of the
statement of action that the agency prepares as required by 31 U.S.C.
S:720.

                    Page 5 GAO-05-35G GAO's Agency Protocols

                                    Contents

Letter 1

Highlights of GAO's Agency Protocols

GAO's Agency
Protocols

Preface
Source of GAO Work
GAO's Approach
Statutory Responsibilities
Communication between GAO and Agencies
Notification of GAO Work
Entrance Conference
Closeout Meeting at Field Locations
Exit Conference with Agency
Agency Comments
Procedures for Soliciting Agency Comments
Disposition of Agency Comments
Testimony
Disposition of Work
Follow-up on GAO Recommendations
Office of Special Investigations
Access to Agency Information
Press Policy

                           7 9 9 10 11 13 15 16 17 18 21 22 22 24 25 27 29 34

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this
work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the
copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material
separately.

                    Page 6 GAO-05-35G GAO's Agency Protocols

Preface 	This document contains the protocols governing the U.S.
Government Accountability Office's (GAO) work at federal departments,
agencies, and entities (subsequently referred to in this document as
agencies). The protocols are the general principles governing GAO's
relationships with federal agencies when GAO conducts its work at these
agencies. GAO, in the course of its work, examines the use of federal
funds; evaluates federal programs and activities; conducts investigations;
and provides information, analyses, options, recommendations, and other
assistance to help the Congress make effective policy, funding, and
oversight decisions. These protocols are intended to enhance GAO's working
relationships with agencies by building on practices that have proved
successful in the past and by establishing a framework that will supersede
prior arrangements with the agencies, including those set forth in
memorandums of understanding. If there are sensitive areas that require
special handling that are not covered by the protocols, GAO will discuss
these areas with the affected agencies to determine whether a supplemental
procedure is needed.

The purpose of these protocols is to set forth clearly defined and
transparent policies and practices on how GAO carries out its work at
these agencies. The protocols identify what the agencies can expect from
GAO and what GAO expects of the agencies. They are expected to cover most
situations that arise during the course of GAO's work. Furthermore, the
protocols will help to ensure the consistency, fairness, and effectiveness
of interactions between GAO and the agencies with which it works. The
protocols reflect the framework of GAO's engagement and audit activities.
These activities include communication between GAO and the agencies,
interactions during the course of GAO's work, and follow-up on GAO's
recommendations. GAO follows modified protocols in work leading up to
congressional testimony and during investigations of

fraud, abuse, or misconduct conducted by its Office of Special
Investigations. These modified protocols are articulated in the sections
of this document entitled Testimony and Office of Special Investigations.

These protocols are not applicable to the work GAO conducts in support of
its legal opinions and decisions. GAO's General Counsel issues legal
opinions in response to requests from the Congress and its committees. GAO
also has statutory authority to render decisions on matters such as bid
protests and the availability and use of appropriated funds. Further
information about this work can be found in Bid Protests at GAO: A
Descriptive Guide and Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, Volumes I,
II, III, IV, which are available on GAO's Web site www.gao.gov.

In addition, these protocols are not meant to govern GAO's relationship
with the federal Inspectors General (IG) community. GAO and agency IGs are
all part of the accountability community; therefore, the relationships
between GAO and agency IGs are considered additional to and separate from
these protocols. GAO and IG interactions are intended to underscore a
constructive working relationship that effectively leverages resources;
builds a mutual knowledge base; and maximizes the oversight of federal
programs, offices, and activities. For example, GAO relies on the work of
the IGs and other auditors to meet the requirements of the Chief Financial
Officers (CFO) Act for audited financial statements. Through successful
working relationships between GAO and the IGs, agencies have consistently
met the CFO requirements. Also, through the IG's active participation in
the Comptroller General's Advisory Council on Government Auditing
Standards, the Domestic Working Group, and the activities of the
Intergovernmental Audit Forums, GAO and the IGs share information,
identify emerging issues, and achieve broad coordination. Furthermore, at
agencies where GAO has a substantial ongoing audit presence, as a

professional courtesy, GAO meets periodically with representatives of the
agency's Office of Inspector General to (1) coordinate work between GAO
and the Office of Inspector General, (2) achieve efficiencies and minimize
duplication, and (3) identify specific issues that might benefit from a
collaborative effort between GAO and the Office of Inspector General.

Source of GAO Work

GAO undertakes work through three primary means: (1) congressional
mandates, (2) congressional requests, and (3) the Comptroller General's
authority. Information about the priorities that govern GAO's work for the
Congress and GAO's operating plan can be found in GAO's Congressional
Protocols in the section entitled Priorities for Undertaking Work and
GAO's Strategic Plan, both of which are posted on GAO's Web site at
www.gao.gov.

GAO's Approach	To effectively support the Congress, GAO must be
professional, objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, and nonideological, in
all its work. GAO is committed to meeting the highest level of
professional standards while conducting audits, evaluations, and
investigations reflective of its core values of accountability, integrity,
and reliability. GAO performs its audit and analytical work in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS or the
"Yellow Book" standards, which can be found at www.gao.gov). GAO conducts
its investigations-which involve allegations of serious wrongdoing that
may involve potential violations of criminal law-and its testing of the
security of agencies' systems, controls, and property in accordance with
standards established by the President's Council on Integrity and
Efficiency as adapted for GAO's work.

Statutory Responsibilities

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, authorized GAO to "investigate all
matters relating to the receipt, disbursement, and expenditure of public
funds." To assist GAO in performing its work, the Congress provided GAO
broad rights of access to a wide range of agency information.
Specifically, the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 directs each agency to
give GAO information the Comptroller General requires about the duties,
powers, activities, organizations, and financial transactions of the
agency.

Since World War II, the Congress has expanded the original charter and
clarified how GAO work is initiated. Specifically:

                                       o

                                       o

                                       o

                                       o

The Government Corporation Control Act of 1945 provides GAO with the
authority to audit the financial transactions of government corporations.

The Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950 assigns GAO the
responsibility for establishing accounting standards for the federal
government and for carrying out audits of internal controls and financial
management.

The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 authorizes GAO "to evaluate the
results of a program or activity the Government carries out under existing
law" when ordered by either house of Congress, when requested by a
committee of jurisdiction, or on the initiative of the Comptroller
General. In addition, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act
of 1974 authorizes GAO to conduct program evaluations and analyses of a
broad range of federal activities.

The Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990 and the Government
Management Reform Act of 1994 authorize GAO to audit agencies' financial

statements and annually audit the consolidated financial statements of the
United States.

o 	Numerous other laws complement GAO's basic audit and evaluation
authorities, including the Inspector General Act of 1978, providing for
GAO-established standards for the audit of federal programs and
activities, and the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, providing for
GAO's review of protested federal contracting actions.

Communication between GAO and Agencies

GAO is committed to maintaining constructive and continuing communication
with agencies and major components within agencies. These communications
will take several forms, including, as facts and circumstances warrant,
meetings between GAO's Comptroller General or Chief Operating Officer and
the heads of agencies or their designees at the presidential appointee
with Senate confirmation (PAS) level to discuss areas of mutual interest
and concern.

Other forms of communication include periodic meetings with an agency's
leadership and executives and specific communications with an agency
pertaining to planned and ongoing work. Specifically:

o 	At least annually, at agencies where GAO has a substantial ongoing
audit presence, GAO senior executives and leaders responsible for managing
and coordinating GAO's work, generally known as GAO's agency executive
liaisons, will meet with agencydesignated senior executives, such as an
Assistant Secretary for Administration, an Associate Administrator for
Management Systems, or an Assistant Secretary for a particular program.
These executive-level meetings will help build an understanding of key and
emerging issues; provide an opportunity to discuss GAO's short-and
long-term

work plans, as well as the general working relationship between GAO and
the agency, including the agency's use of GAO's work; and facilitate the
discussion of issues associated with particular work. For the agencies
that designate a central GAO liaison, once an executive-level meeting has
been scheduled, as a professional courtesy, GAO will notify the liaison
that the meeting has been scheduled.

o 	When GAO initiates work at an agency, the agency can expect GAO to
designate a primary point of contact who will be available throughout the
engagement to respond to the agency's requests for information on the
status of work and to any concerns about the work's scope or approach. In
turn, GAO expects the agency to designate a point of contact who is
knowledgeable about the agency's relevant programs and organization and is
able to facilitate GAO's ability to complete its work in a timely manner.
Furthermore, the agency-designated central liaison or point of contact
should be able to, among other things, set up necessary meetings (such as
entrance, exit, and agency comment meetings), identify and ensure that GAO
meets with the appropriate agency representatives, help resolve problems,
and coordinate agency comments on any draft report that may result from
the work.

In response to inquiries from agencies not involved in a particular
ongoing review-except for classified work and investigations-GAO will
provide information on the source of the request, the project's
objectives, scope, and methodology; and the expected completion date, when
known. For congressionally requested work, further information may be
shared after consultation with the congressional requester(s).

Notification of GAO Work

Before beginning any new engagement that requires GAO to seek information,
data, or both, from an agency, GAO generally notifies the agency of the
work to be undertaken. When GAO's work cuts across the federal government
and is conducted at more than one agency (e.g., performance management and
budgeting reviews), GAO will generally send a notification letter to the
applicable central agency, such as the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM) or the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and notify the
individual agencies of such work by telephone or e-mail message. When GAO
notifies an agency of work by telephone or e-mail message, it will, if
requested, subsequently provide a notification letter in instances when
the work is on an issue with widespread national implication or is
resource intensive. However, when GAO conducts an investigation it does
not notify the agency of the work because to do so might jeopardize the
investigation. GAO's modified protocols for investigations are described
in detail in the Office of Special Investigations section of this
document.

To the extent practical, the notice to an agency will identify the

o  engagement subject;

o 	engagement's unique identification number (i.e., engagement code);

o  source of the work;

o  objectives or key questions of the work;

o 	agency(ies) and, when possible, anticipated location(s) to be
contacted;

o  estimated start date for the work;

o 	time frame for holding an entrance conference between GAO and the
agency;

o  GAO team performing the engagement; and

o 	GAO points of contact (name, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail
address).

If the objectives of the work to be performed change significantly or if
the location of the work needs to be modified, GAO will notify the
agency-designated central liaison or primary point of contact of these
changes.

GAO will generally provide written notification to the agencies involved
in the work electronically in an agreed-upon format that protects the
files from alteration. GAO will provide the notification to the
agency-designated liaison or agency-designated point of contact. If an
agency has not designated a central liaison, GAO will provide the
notification to the responsible agency management official. In some
instances, GAO may ask an agency liaison to distribute the notification to
the agency's respective major components. In addition, if applicable, the
notification letter will be accompanied or followed by a notice of visit
form that includes the appropriate security clearance information.

For certain types of work to be performed at an agency, GAO may initially
provide only telephone or e-mail message notification. Such work includes
(1) congressional requests for quickly developed testimony based on new
work, (2) work that is to be completed within a short time frame, (3)
requests for information on the implementation status of recommendations
made in issued reports, and (4) descriptive information being gathered
from or about agencies as part of a governmentwide review. GAO's
recommendation follow-up process is discussed

in detail in the Follow-up on GAO Recommendations section of this
document. As previously stated, when GAO notifies an agency of work by
telephone or e-mail message, it will, if requested, subsequently provide a
notification letter when the work is on an issue that has widespread
national implications or is resourceintensive.

Entrance Conference

An entrance conference is a meeting that GAO holds with agency officials
at the start of an engagement. GAO expects that an agency will arrange for
its personnel to be available for an entrance conference no later than 14
calendar days after receiving a request for a meeting. At the entrance
conference, GAO will discuss the (1) source of the work; (2) roles and
responsibilities of the GAO staff; (3) information needs (e.g., data and
access to agency officials); (4) key objectives (research questions); (5)
sites where GAO expects to conduct its work, when known; and (6) need for
any precautions to protect the data and information, such as special
clearances. To the extent possible, GAO will also provide the agency with
an estimate of how long the work will take. During the entrance
conference, GAO will also ask agency officials to designate a key contact
to assist, as applicable, in obtaining temporary office space in agencies
where GAO does not already have office space as well as fax and telephone
equipment needed for GAO to complete its work at the agency. In addition,
GAO staff will request that agency officials identify knowledgeable agency
personnel and discuss the kinds of information that would be useful to
carry out the work's objectives, such as available studies or electronic
files.

The attendance of key agency officials-those responsible for work related
to GAO's key objectives- at the entrance conference enhances the
opportunity for a substantive exchange of information. If the review

includes work at separate agency field locations, or if requested by the
agency, GAO will consider holding additional entrance conferences when
work is begun at these field locations.

In certain cases, GAO's work involves crosscutting governmentwide reviews
at more than one agency, including reviews on such issues as performance
management and budgeting. For example, GAO's work on how well agencies are
incorporating a results orientation into their budget decisions and
resource allocation process involves all major agencies. For such a
governmentwide review, an entrance conference is generally held with
applicable central agencies, such as OMB or OPM. If requested, GAO will
consider either including all of the agencies under the review at a single
entrance conference or holding a separate entrance conference with
specific agencies.

Generally, GAO will not hold an entrance conference in those instances
when it is (1) responding to congressional requests for testimony based on
ongoing or recently completed work, (2) performing work that is to be
completed within a short time frame and is closely related to ongoing
work, (3) updating the implementation status of recommendations made in
issued reports, or (4) collecting descriptive information from or about
agencies as part of a governmentwide review.

Closeout Meeting at After conducting work at a field location, to the
extent

Field Locations 	appropriate, GAO staff will hold a closeout meeting with
agency officials who are responsible for the operations of the field
location and have oversight for issues related to the work's objectives.
The purpose of the closeout meeting is to ensure that GAO staff have been
provided with a full understanding of the information they have gathered
at a field location and its relevance to the

engagement's objectives. In deciding on whether or not a closeout meeting
will be held, GAO will consider the preferences of the agency officials
and whether the work has involved interviews with numerous people, over a
significant period of time, at that particular location.

At the closeout meeting, GAO staff may discuss the implications of the
information gathered at that field location. Such discussions may identify
additional relevant information and thus lead to further data gathering at
the location. In addition, as appropriate, the closeout meeting may cover
the extent to which data and documents were made available and access to
relevant field officials was provided. Generally, work undertaken at
individual field locations provides only location-specific information
that needs to be evaluated in the context of findings from other
locations. Therefore, GAO's preliminary conclusions or recommendations are
not discussed at the closeout meeting.

Exit Conference with Agency

GAO holds an exit conference (in person or by telephone) with an agency
after completing its data collection and analysis. The purpose of the exit
conference is to confirm that the critical facts and key information used
to formulate GAO's analyses and findings are current, correct, and
complete. GAO officials responsible for the completion of the engagement
will participate in the meeting. Agency officials who have oversight of
the issues related to the engagement's objectives are also expected to
attend the meeting. Written material, if provided, will be used to confirm
that the critical facts and key information used to formulate GAO's
analyses and findings are current, correct, and complete. Observations,
preliminary conclusions, and potential recommendations that flow

from the factual information collected may be discussed but are not
provided in writing.

GAO generally holds an exit conference at all affected agencies when its
reviews are crosscutting and require substantive work to be conducted at
more than one agency. GAO coordinates the scheduling of the exit
conference with the agency-designated liaison or agency-designated point
of contact. If an agency has not designated a central liaison, GAO
coordinates with the responsible agency management official.

Agency Comments	As required by generally accepted government auditing
standards, GAO provides responsible parties with an opportunity to review
and comment on a draft of a report before it is issued. Responsible
parties include agency officials and other directly affected parties that
have responsibilities for the programs under review. The amount of time
available for the agency to comment is determined on a
facts-and-circumstances basis. However, GAO does not seek comments from an
agency or affected party when (1) disclosure of an investigation's results
could pose risks to individuals and their confidentiality, (2) premature
disclosure of information could compromise the results of the work, or (3)
a product largely reflects prior GAO work. For example, a testimony
statement that is largely based on issued GAO work is not provided for
comment. However, GAO does obtain the views of agency officials for those
statements that are based on new or ongoing work. As previously noted, GAO
follows modified protocols for testimonies, which are described separately
in the section of this document entitled Testimony. Furthermore, GAO
follows modified protocols for work undertaken by its criminal
investigators. These modified protocols are described in the section of
this document entitled Office of Special Investigations.

GAO, when determining the amount of time available for comment, will
consider (1) the timing needs of the requester, (2) the extent to which
substantive discussions have already been held between GAO and the agency,
(3) the length of time spent on the engagement, and (4) the amount of
resources GAO and the agency have expended to answer the engagement's
objectives. Using these criteria, GAO will generally give an agency from 7
to 30 calendar days to comment on a draft report unless otherwise required
by law. See 31 U.S.C. S:718(a) for a list of financial institutions that
by law must receive 30 days for comment. The exact time will vary
depending on the nature of the engagement and the needs of the Congress.
In rare cases, the Comptroller General may grant an extension beyond 30
calendar days if the agency shows that an extension is necessary and will
likely result in a more accurate report. See 31 U.S.C. S:718(b).

GAO reserves the right to issue the report to the congressional
requester(s) if the comments are not received within the time allotted. In
such cases, the reason for not including the agency comments will be
stated in the report.

GAO prefers that agencies provide written comments, and GAO requests that
the written comments be provided electronically. However, GAO will accept
comments provided in hard copy, orally, or in an unsigned e-mail message.
GAO requests that agencies provide their written comments electronically
in order to comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This act
requires that persons with disabilities have access to and use of
information and data that are comparable to the access and use provided to
persons without disabilities. See 29 U.S.C. S:794d. GAO's goal is to
provide its products in a format that is compatible with assistive
technologies such as text-to-sound screen reader software. Submitting an
electronic file ensures that an agency's comments are accurately
reproduced in

GAO's accessible product format. Contact Knowledge Services at (202)
512-3691, for specific information about how to electronically transmit
agency comments to GAO. Comments on reports containing classified or
sensitive information should be transmitted in the manner agreed to by GAO
and the agency.

GAO expects an agency to provide (1) a single position on the extent of
their agreement or disagreement with key GAO findings, and on any
conclusions, and recommendations-including a resolution of disparate
agency views if necessary-and (2) the rationale for any disagreement. When
an agency's designated senior official provides oral comments, GAO will
summarize these comments and provide a copy of the summary to the official
to verify that the comments are accurately stated before finalizing the
report. The GAO senior executive official responsible for the completion
of the engagement, along with the staff that performed the work, will
participate in this meeting. In addition, for governmentwide work, GAO
will generally request that comments be provided by the agency(ies) with
whom the entrance conference was held.

Consistent with GAO's Congressional Protocols, the congressional
requester(s) will be notified before a draft report is provided to an
agency for comment and will be offered an opportunity to receive a copy of
the draft for informational purposes when the draft report is provided to
the agency for comment. Furthermore, under 31 U.S.C. S:718(b)(2), the
Senate Governmental Affairs and House Government Reform committees may
request copies of any draft report generated under GAO's legal authority
to undertake work on its own initiative when the draft report is sent to
the agency for comment. GAO will advise these committees when such a draft
is sent to the agency for comment.

Procedures for Soliciting Agency Comments

GAO does not have classification authority for its reports. Therefore, for
those reports that contain national security or sensitive information, GAO
will request that the agency perform a review for this type of information
and communicate the review's results in writing to GAO. GAO will advise
the congressional requester(s) when the agency has completed its
classification review. Both the agency's classification review and
comments on the draft report must be completed within the time frame
identified in GAO's letter soliciting comments on the draft report.

GAO transmits most draft reports for comment to agencies electronically in
an agreed-upon format that protects the files from alteration. GAO will
provide the draft report to the agency-designated liaison or
agency-designated point of contact. If an agency has not designated a
central liaison, GAO will provide the notification to the responsible
agency management official. Reports containing classified or sensitive
information are transmitted through other means. A transmittal letter
accompanies each draft report to inform recipients of GAO's request for
written or oral comments and the time frame within which the comments are
due. The transmittal letter also states that the draft report is not
final; is therefore subject to change; and must be safeguarded to prevent
its transmittal to unauthorized personnel, alteration, or premature
release.

Draft reports are at risk of being prematurely released once they leave
GAO's control. In some limited circumstances, when there is concern that a
draft report may be prematurely released, GAO will take extra precautions
in obtaining agency comments. For example, GAO may decide not to transmit
a draft report electronically and instead provide limited printed copies
of the draft to the agency. In addition, GAO may determine that the
particular sensitivity of a draft

report's information or recommendations requires restrictive comment
procedures. In these instances, GAO may request that agency officials
review the draft report in the presence of GAO staff and that these
officials provide the agency's consolidated comments at that time. In such
cases, the draft report will be available for review only at a meeting
with GAO staff. Although agency officials may take notes as they review
the draft, at the conclusion of the meeting, all copies of the draft
report will be returned to GAO.

Disposition of Agency Comments

After receiving agency comments, GAO considers their substance, revises
the draft report as appropriate, and indicates in the issued report
whether the agency agreed or disagreed with GAO's findings, conclusions,
and recommendations. If the agency disagrees with GAO's findings,
conclusions, and recommendations, GAO will accept further explanations
from agency officials in support of the agency's position. However, any
available documented evidence supporting this explanation must be provided
simultaneously to allow for verification if it materially affects the
content of the report. When the agency disagrees with a finding,
conclusion, or recommendation, GAO identifies the disagreement and states
its own position in the issued report. An agency's electronic or hard-copy
written comments are typically reproduced in an appendix to the issued
report. An unsigned e-mail message describing an agency's comments will
not be printed in the issued report. However, GAO identifies the
disposition of this e-mail message in the Agency Comments section of the
report, just as it does for oral comments.

Testimony	Congressional committee or subcommittee Chairs frequently
request that GAO prepare testimony statements and that GAO witnesses
appear at hearings. GAO is required to follow the rules of the Senate and
the

House and relevant committees or subcommittees in connection with any such
testimonies. Accordingly, GAO's Agency Protocols are modified for these
requirements as described in this section. For example, because most
hearing appearances are requested and statements are delivered within
short time frames or are based on work that is new and quickly developed,
ongoing, or already completed, GAO generally does not hold an entrance
conference with agency officials. When agency officials need to be
contacted for information that was not previously obtained or was not part
of a previous review, GAO will notify the agency-designated central
liaison, generally by telephone or e-mail message. If the agency has not
designated a liaison, GAO will provide notification to the responsible
agency management official.

For testimony based on new or ongoing work, regardless of whether it is a
preliminary or a final product, GAO will, consistent with professional
auditing standards, obtain the views of agency officials on the
information collected before the testimony statement is completed to (1)
validate the accuracy of the data gathered and (2) discuss the
implications that flow from the data gathered. The agency's views are
generally obtained through a meeting with the official designated to speak
for the agency or through other means, such as a telephone conference
call. The views of the agency official will be considered in the
development of the testimony statement. If the agency is unable to
schedule a meeting to provide its views within the time frame specified by
GAO, the testimony statement will reflect that GAO was unable to obtain
the agency's views. Generally, when the testimony statement is based on
recently reported work, GAO will not seek agency views. Additionally, when
GAO testifies on investigations it conducts, it does not obtain testimony
statement views because such actions could jeopardize future proceedings.
GAO's modified protocols related to investigations are explained in
greater detail in the

separate section of this document entitled Office of Special
Investigations. GAO will distribute its written testimony statement in
accordance with the rules of the Senate or House, including the applicable
committees' rules.

Disposition of Work 	Consistent with generally accepted government
auditing standards, GAO prefers using published products to communicate
the final results of its work because they (1) communicate the results
consistently to all interested parties, (2) make the results available to
the public, (3) build a readily available subject-matter record for future
use, and (4) facilitate follow-up to determine whether appropriate
corrective measures have been taken when needed. However, an oral briefing
may be used, for example, when GAO (1) determines that further work is not
warranted; (2) provides information that is readily available to the
public, such as that in Inspector General reports; or (3) develops a
summary of previously issued GAO products that does not contain any new
findings, conclusions, or recommendations. In these instances, GAO will
notify the agency-designated central liaison or point of contact that the
engagement has been terminated without a published product.

GAO will provide electronic copies of reports to agencies upon issuance or
release. GAO teams responsible for the engagement will provide to the
agency contact via e-mail the final electronic version of the report and
the transmittal letter. However, GAO will provide the agencies with hard
copies of the report, if requested. In addition to providing copies of the
report to the agencies involved, GAO's goal is to post products on its Web
site www.gao.gov within 24 hours of release. All GAO reports have a
targeted issuance date. However, the congressional requester(s) may ask
GAO to restrict the release of a report for up to 30 calendar

days beyond the targeted issuance date. GAO reserves the right to release
any report that is under restriction, but issued to the requester, if the
report's contents are made public prior to the expiration of the
restriction date. GAO reports that contain classified or sensitive data
are not posted on the Web site.

Classified reports are distributed only to those with the appropriate
security clearances and a need to know. Reports that contain sensitive
information are distributed only to recipients who are authorized by
statute or regulation to receive the reports, have a need to know, or
both.

                        Follow-up on GAO Recommendations

GAO's recommendations are intended to improve the economy, efficiency, and
effectiveness of an agency's operations and to improve the accountability
of the federal government for the benefit of the American people.
Consequently, GAO monitors agencies' progress in implementing these
recommendations. To accomplish this monitoring, GAO maintains a database
of open recommendations. As new products with recommendations are
released, their recommendations are incorporated into the database. This
database serves both GAO and the agencies by helping them meet their
record maintenance and monitoring responsibilities.

GAO's goal is to remove all closed recommendations from the database on an
ongoing basis. However, close to the end of each fiscal year, special
attention is directed to this effort. GAO removes a recommendation from
its database after determining that (1) the agency has implemented the
recommendation or has taken action that in substance meets the intent of
the recommendation or (2) circumstances have changed and the
recommendation is no longer relevant. The open recommendations database is
available to the public on GAO's Web site at www.gao.gov. Specific

recommendations can be identified because the database is searchable by
agency, congressional committee, and key words. Congressional
appropriations, authorization, and oversight committees can use the
database to prepare for hearings and budget deliberations.

Agencies also have a responsibility to monitor and maintain accurate
records on the status of recommendations. These requirements are detailed
in two OMB Circulars. OMB Circular A-50 provides the policies and
procedures for use by executive agencies when considering reports issued
by GAO and Inspectors General, other executive branch audit organizations,
and nonfederal auditors where follow-up is necessary; and OMB Circular
A-123 addresses internal management control systems. Among the
requirements included are that the agency (1) appoint a top-level audit
follow-up official, (2) maintain accurate records on the status of
recommendations, and (3) assign a high priority to following up on audit
recommendations.

Additionally, when GAO issues a report containing recommendations to the
head of an agency, 31 U.S.C. S:720 requires that the agency head submit a
written statement of the actions taken by the agency on GAO's
recommendations to the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the
House Committee on Government Reform not later than 60 days after the date
of the report. The agency's statement of action shall also be submitted to
the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations with the first request
for appropriations that is submitted more than 60 days after the date of
the report. If the congressional requester has asked that the distribution
of the report be restricted, as provided by GAO's Congressional Protocols,
the 60-day period begins on the date the report is released.

Because agency personnel serve as the primary source of information on the
status of recommendations, GAO requests that the agency also provide it
with a copy of the agency's statement of action to serve as preliminary
information on the status of open recommendations. GAO will follow up by
discussing the status of recommendations with cognizant agency officials;
obtaining copies of agency documents supporting the recommendations'
implementation; and performing sufficient work to verify that the
recommended actions are being taken and, to the extent possible, that the
desired results are being achieved.

Office of Special Investigations

The Office of Special Investigations (OSI) is a specialized unit within
GAO that is staffed by criminal investigators. OSI's mission is to improve
the performance and ensure the accountability of government by conducting
oversight investigations concerning allegations of serious wrongdoing that
may involve potential violations of criminal law. When OSI investigations
disclose potential violations of law, the information is referred to the
appropriate law enforcement agency, such as the Office of Inspector
General or the Department of Justice. OSI investigations typically focus
on allegations of corruption, fraud, misconduct, contract and procurement
improprieties, conflicts of interest, and ethics violations in federal
programs or activities.

OSI also engages in proactive operations that test the security of
agencies' systems, controls, and property. These operations are
coordinated with appropriate authorities, such as the Department of
Justice. OSI will inform the agency of any serious security issues
discovered during these operations shortly after the operations have been
completed and before any of the related findings are made public. In
addition, OSI's work involves law enforcement-related issues or programs.

OSI also utilizes GAO's FraudNET, an automated system that affords the
public an opportunity to report allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, and
mismanagement of federal funds. Typically, OSI refers this information to
the appropriate agency's Office of Inspector General or another law
enforcement agency for action. GAO expects to receive a report from the
agency on the results of the action.

It is GAO's policy to conduct investigations according to standards
established by the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE)
as adapted for GAO's work. PCIE standards place upon GAO and its
investigators the responsibility to ensure that (1) investigations are
conducted by personnel who collectively possess the required knowledge,
skills, and abilities to perform the investigations; (2) judgments made in
collecting and analyzing evidence and communicating results are impartial;
and (3) due professional care (e.g., thoroughness, appropriate use of
investigative techniques, impartiality, objectivity, protection of
individual rights, and timeliness) is exercised. OSI seeks evidence of
wrongdoing either in conjunction with or independently of audits and
evaluations. OSI focuses on physical, testimonial, documentary, and
analytical evidence that is relevant, material, and admissible in criminal
and civil proceedings. To ensure admissibility in subsequent judicial
proceedings, OSI performs its work in accordance with the requirements of
the U.S. Constitution, statutes, and court decisions applicable to
obtaining evidence in criminal and civil cases.

Like GAO's other units, OSI expects that an agency will promptly comply
with requests for access to its records and to agency personnel directly
involved with the matter under investigation. Furthermore, there should be
no interference with an investigator's ability to obtain relevant
information concerning an investigative matter. When OSI becomes aware of
an ongoing executive

branch investigation pertaining to a matter OSI is currently
investigating, OSI will coordinate its work with the law enforcement
agency involved.

Investigations by their very nature do not support the use of entrance or
exit conferences. Nor do the standards of the President's Council on
Integrity and Efficiency require these conferences. Revealing information
at the start of an investigation may lead to the destruction or
concealment of evidence, thus jeopardizing the investigation. However, in
investigations that will result in a public report or testimony, OSI will
brief agency officials after the investigation has been completed and
before the information is made public. On occasion, OSI works jointly with
other GAO units or independently on compliance or evaluation issues. In
those cases, the provisions of GAO's standard agency protocols are
applicable.

Access to Agency Information

The Congress relies on GAO to examine virtually every federal program,
activity, and policy, as well as institutions that rely on federal funds.
Generally accepted government auditing standards make GAO analysts and
financial auditors responsible for planning, conducting, and reporting
their work in a timely manner without internal or external impairments to
the work. These standards require that analysts and financial auditors
promptly obtain sufficient, competent, and relevant evidence to afford a
reasonable basis for any related findings and conclusions. Therefore,
prompt access to all records and other information associated with these
activities is needed for the effective and efficient performance of GAO's
work. While for the most part, agencies have provided GAO with requested
information within agreed-upon time frames, the following sections
describe the steps GAO is authorized

to follow if it believes it is experiencing unreasonable delays in
obtaining the requested access.

The Congress has given GAO broad statutory rights of access to a wide
range of federal agency documents. The basic access authority is
established in 31 U.S.C. S:716(a), which requires each agency to give GAO
"information the Comptroller General requires about the duties, powers,
activities, organization, and financial transactions of the agency." GAO
is also authorized to inspect an agency's records to secure the required
information. This authority includes access to inter-and intra-agency
memorandums and electronic files as well as sensitive information,
including business-confidential or proprietary data. While the Freedom of
Information Act, the Trade Secrets Act, and other statutes may generally
protect certain categories of information from disclosure by an agency to
the public, this protection does not justify withholding the information
from GAO. GAO has a statutory right to access predecisional and
deliberative documents unless the President or the Director of OMB
certifies that certain standards are met under 31 U.S.C. S:716(d)(1)(C),
as added by the General Accounting Office Act of 1980. (For further
information see Senate Report No. 96-570, Feb. 8, 1980, pp. 6-8.) Aside
from the general access statute, various forms of special legislation
govern GAO's access to certain types of agency records and information,
such as tax, social security, financial institution, and employee benefit
plan records and information. In addition, under certain circumstances,
GAO has the authority to access information from other entities receiving
federal funds, such as the District of Columbia, state and local
governments, and private sector contractors.

Handling and  GAO secures all information obtained during the course
Disclosing of its work. When GAO needs access to classified, Information 
proprietary, or otherwise sensitive information, it will comply with all
applicable statutory requirements, including obtaining the necessary
security and other clearances for assigned GAO staff. Under 31 U.S.C.
S:716(e), GAO is obligated to give the information the same level of
confidentiality and protection required of the agency. Because of its
statutory access authority, GAO generally does not sign a nondisclosure or
other agreement as a condition of gaining access to sensitive or
proprietary data to which it is entitled.

While GAO is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, its disclosure
policy follows the spirit of the act consistent with GAO's duties and
responsibilities to the Congress. It is GAO's policy not to provide
records to the public that originated in another agency or a nonfederal
organization. Instead, GAO refers those who request such records to the
originating organization. Further information on the public availability
of the documents and data that form GAO's audit documentation can be found
in 4 C.F.R. part 81.

GAO will grant Members of Congress, upon their written request, access to
its audit documentation at GAO offices or will provide copies of selected
audit documentation after a product has been made publicly available.
After a product has been issued to a requester but is not yet publicly
available, GAO may grant access to specific, selected audit documentation
after receiving a written request from the requesting Member(s). In this
situation, copies of the audit documentation will not be provided until
the report has been made publicly available. This access is subject to
legal and privacy considerations, such as those concerning taxpayer return
information and protected banking information.

GAO's work involves different collection approaches to meet the evidence
requirements of the generally accepted government auditing standards. Such
evidence falls into four categories:

o 	physical evidence (e.g., the results of direct inspection or
observation);

o 	documentary evidence (e.g., information created by and for an agency,
such as letters, memorandums, contracts, management and accounting
records, and other documents in various formats, including electronic
databases);

o 	testimonial evidence (e.g., the results of face-to-face, telephone, or
written inquiries, interviews, and questionnaires); and

o 	analytical evidence (developed by or for GAO through computations, data
comparisons, and other analyses).

GAO expects that an agency will promptly comply with its requests for
access to the agency's records so that it can obtain all categories of
needed evidence. Such access generally includes the ability to make and
retain copies of the evidence. GAO also expects that it will receive full
and timely access to agency officials who have stewardship over the
requested records; to agency employees who are responsible for the
programs, issues, events, operations, and other factors covered by such
records; and contractor personnel supporting such programs, issues,
events, and operations. In addition, GAO expects that it will have access
to the agency's facilities and other relevant locations. GAO will endeavor
to conduct work related to requests for information with minimal
interruption to the agency's operations.

Resolving Disputes  Timely access to information is in the best interests
of Over Access both GAO and the agencies. GAO needs to efficiently use the
time available to complete its work to minimize the impact on the agency
being reviewed and to meet the time frames of the congressional
requester(s). Therefore, GAO expects that an agency's leadership and
internal procedures will recognize the importance of and support prompt
responses to GAO's requests for information. For the most part, agencies
have provided GAO with requested information within agreed-upon time
frames. However, if GAO believes it is experiencing unreasonable delays in
obtaining requested access, GAO officials will contact the agency's
leadership for resolution and notify the congressional requester(s) of the
work affected, as appropriate. Consistent with GAO's reporting standards,
when there is difficulty in obtaining timely access to information that
adversely affects either the completion of an engagement, its scope, or
both, GAO's product will reflect that GAO had this difficulty. In
addition, unreasonable delays in gaining access to an agency's information
can reduce the time available for the agency to provide its views or
comments on GAO's work.

To ensure GAO's access to information maintained by federal agencies, the
Congress provided in 31 U.S.C. S:716(b) for enforcement actions to compel
the production of a record. First, the Comptroller General sends a written
request to the agency head for the record that has not been made available
to GAO within a reasonable time after an initial request. The agency head
then has 20 calendar days to respond, either by providing the record for
inspection or by explaining why it is being withheld. If the agency head
does not provide the record, the Comptroller General may file a report
describing the access issues with the President, the Director of OMB, the
Attorney General, the agency head, and the Congress. If the agency head
does not provide the record within 20 calendar days of the report's
filing,

the statute authorizes the Comptroller General to bring a civil action in
federal district court to enforce GAO's access rights. If the Comptroller
General is successful in this action, the court will issue an order
directing the agency head to produce the record.

Extremely limited exceptions to the authority are established in 31 U.S.C.
S:716(b) for a civil enforcement action to compel access to a record. The
most notable exception is if the President or the Director of OMB
certifies that (1) the record could be withheld under either of two
Freedom of Information Act exemptions in 5 U.S.C. S:552(b)(5)
(deliberative process) and (b)(7) (law enforcement records) and (2)
disclosure could reasonably be expected to impair substantially the
operations of the government-a requirement that, as the legislative
history of Section 716 makes clear, presents a very high standard for an
agency to meet. As previously noted, the fact that materials may be exempt
from public disclosure does not justify withholding them from GAO.
Moreover, GAO's statutory right of access to an agency's records is not
diminished by the certification provisions of the legislation. Rather, the
certification simply allows the President or the Director of OMB to
preclude the Comptroller General from seeking a judicial remedy in certain
limited situations. In the event there is a certification, generally
accepted government auditing standards require that the limitations to
GAO's access to records be identified in the product and that the audit
findings be adjusted accordingly.

Press Policy	In response to inquiries from the media about ongoing work,
GAO will provide information only about the objectives, scope, and
methodology of an assignment; the names of the requester(s); and the
expected completion date. GAO will refer inquiries for any
additionalinformationto the congressional requester(s).

However, in response to media inquiries about ongoing OSI investigations,
GAO will neither confirm nor deny the existence of such an investigation.
As a professional courtesy, GAO will inform the requester(s) of
substantive media inquiries during an ongoing review. As appropriate, such
courtesy will be extended by GAO staff conducting the work to the
agency-designated central liaison or point of contact for the work. Once a
product is publicly released, GAO staff with expertise in the subject
matter will answer questions from the media. On-camera interviews for
television news programs are done only on request and only when GAO deems
them appropriate for public understanding of the facts, findings,
conclusions, and recommendations of GAO's products. GAO's policy is that
the senior executives with the broadest knowledge of a completed
engagement do such interviews. Before GAO agrees to an on-camera
interview, GAO will advise the requester(s) of the media source and the
expected broadcast date and time, if available. If asked to participate in
press briefings sponsored by requester(s), GAO will provide support if the
press briefing is held in Washington, D.C. In such instances, GAO will
provide knowledgeable staff with the understanding that they are present
only to answer questions about the specifics of released GAO products.
Although GAO does not generally hold press conferences or issue press
releases about its products, it does advise the media, agency personnel,
and the public of the release of GAO products via the World Wide Web and
other venues.

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