Budget Object Classification

Object classification, one of several ways to present budgetary information, is concerned with the personal and contractual service obtained, capital assets acquired, and other charges and payments made by government. This report provides information on budget object classes. Specifically, GAO defines object classifications; discusses their origins, development, and use; presents historical trend data; and comments on recent actual and proposed uses of object class data to lower federal administrative costs.

GAO found that: (1) budget object classification defines budget outlays by the personal and contractual services obtained, capital assets acquired, and other charges and payments made by the government; (2) object classes do not give precise information about services or equipment purchases, since an outlay could properly be recorded in any one of several classes; (3) object classification grew out of a voucher-based accounting system in an effort to control executive branch spending; (4) as the federal budget became more complex, object classification gave way to performance-based budgeting and became a supplementary means to provide budget information; (5) during fiscal years 1972 through 1993, object classes mirrored other budget trends such as interest costs and transfer payments which represented an increased share of the budget; (6) in 1993, the Administration and Congress sought to reduce administrative costs by reducing obligations for certain administrative object classes, but the object classes did not distinguish between administrative and program costs; and (7) the object classes targeted for reduction have experienced very low or negative annual growth rates since 1976.