Managing for Results

During the past decade, GAO has identified many opportunities for improving management in the federal government. The following four basic management issues consistently emerged: (1) developing more-precise program and business goals and better measuring performance against them, (2) improving operational effectiveness by taking fuller advantage of reengineering opportunities and investments in modern technology, (3) strengthening financial management to instill accountability and control costs, and (4) building the capacity of the federal workforce to more effectively and efficiently implement and manage programs. Congress, through the Government Performance and Result Act, the Chief Financial Officers Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, and other initiatives, has established a basic management framework focusing on the outcomes of federal programs. As agencies streamline their programs and processes in order to do more with less, the key is to do so in a focused and planned way that holds modern management systems accountable for producing results.