Accuracy, Cost, and Users of the Consolidated Federal Funds Report

In accordance with the Consolidated Federal Funds Report Act, GAO examined the accuracy of the data in the Consolidated Federal Funds Report (CFFR), its cost, and its potential users.

CFFR for fiscal year (FY) 1983 provided statistical data on the geographic distribution of federal funds to states, counties, and cities in a two-volume document and a computer tape. The estimated cost for 1983 CFFR was about $476,000. CFFR reflected approximately 85 percent of the domestic budget, with the major exclusion being net interest on the federal debt. GAO found that the visibility of funds reported in CFFR declined progressively at each lower geographic level, with data at the subcounty level being so limited that their usefulness was questionable. The decline in data availability was due to the fact that the data sources on which CFFR was based generally did not track dollars to the location of all the actual recipients. In addition, inherent difficulties existed in converting the various geographic coding schemes used by the data sources to the coding scheme used by the Census Bureau. A broad spectrum of user groups expressed a need for CFFR data. Some users were particularly concerned about the lack of data available on pass-through funds below the state level. Many user groups expect CFFR to meet some of their needs, but they will probably use it along with other sources. However, user knowledge is limited.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: James L. Kirkman Team: General Accounting Office: Accounting and Financial Management Division Phone: (202) 275-9450