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Government Accountability Office
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"GAO" redirects here. For other uses, see Gao (disambiguation).
Government Accountability Office
Seal of the Government Accountability Office
Logo of the Government Accountability Office

Flag of the Government Accountability Office
Agency overview
Formed
July 1, 1921
Headquarters
441 G St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20548
Employees
3,350 (2010)
Annual budget
$557 million (2011)
Agency executive
Eugene Louis Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States
Website
gao.gov
Footnotes
Measurable benefits of GAO work total $49.9 billion, a return of $87 for every dollar invested; at the end of FY 2010, over 80% of the GAO recommendations made in FY 2006 had been implemented.[1]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the United States Congress.[2] It is the supreme audit institution of the federal government of the United States.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Reports
2.1 Financial Statements of the U.S. government
2.2 U.S. Public Debt
2.3 Quinquennial Strategic Plan
3 GAO and Technology Assessment
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
History[edit]
The GAO was established as the General Accounting Office by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. The act required the head of the GAO to "investigate, at the seat of government or elsewhere, all matters relating to the receipt, disbursement, and application of public funds, and shall make to the President ... and to Congress ... reports [and] recommendations looking to greater economy or efficiency in public expenditures".[3] According to the GAO's current mission statement, the agency 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.
The name was changed in 2004 to Government Accountability Office by the GAO Human Capital Reform Act to better reflect the mission of the office.[4] While most other countries have government entities similar to the GAO, their focus (with the exceptions of the Taiwanese Control Yuan and the Israeli State Comptroller) is primarily on conducting financial audits.[citation needed] The GAO's auditors conduct not only financial audits, but also engage in a wide assortment of performance audits.
Over the years, the GAO has been referred to as "The Congressional Watchdog" and "The Taxpayers' Best Friend" for its frequent audits and investigative reports that have uncovered waste and inefficiency in government. News media often draw attention to the GAO's work by publishing stories on the findings, conclusions and recommendations of its reports. Members of Congress also frequently cite the GAO's work in statements to the press, congressional hearings, and floor debates on proposed legislation. In 2007 the Partnership for Public Service ranked the GAO second on its list of the best places to work in the federal government and Washingtonian magazine included the GAO on its 2007 list of great places to work in Washington, a list that encompasses the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
The GAO is headed by the comptroller general of the U.S., a professional and non-partisan position in the U.S. government. The comptroller general is appointed by the president, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a 15-year, non-renewable term. The president selects a nominee from a list of at least three individuals recommended by an eight-member bipartisan, bicameral commission of congressional leaders. During such term, the comptroller general has standing to pursue litigation to compel access to federal agency information. The comptroller general may not be removed by the president, but only by Congress through impeachment or joint resolution for specific reasons.[5] Since 1921, there have been only seven comptrollers general, and no formal attempt has ever been made to remove a comptroller general.
Labor-management relations became fractious during the 9-year tenure of the 7th comptroller general, David M. Walker. On September 19, 2007, GAO analysts voted by a margin of two to one (897–445), in a 75% turnout, to establish the first union in the GAO's 86-year history. The analysts voted to affiliate with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), a member union of the AFL-CIO. There are more than 1,800 analysts in the GAO analysts bargaining unit; the local voted to name itself IFPTE Local 1921, in honor of the date of the GAO's establishment. On February 14, 2008, the GAO analysts' union approved its first-ever negotiated pay contract with management; of just over 1,200 votes, 98 percent were in favor of the contract.
Seal of the General Accounting Office, from 1921 until being renamed in 2004.
The GAO also establishes standards for audits of government organizations, programs, activities, and functions, and of government assistance received by contractors, nonprofit organizations, and other nongovernmental organizations. These standards, often referred to as Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), are to be followed by auditors and audit organizations when required by law, regulation, agreement, contract, or policy. These standards pertain to auditors' professional qualifications, the quality of audit effort, and the characteristics of professional and meaningful audit reports.
In 1992 the GAO hosted XIV INCOSAI, the fourteenth triennial convention of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).[6]
Reports[edit]
GAO headquarters in Washington, D.C.
GAO is a United States government electronic data provider, as all of its reports are available on its website, except for certain reports whose distribution is limited to official use in order to protect national and homeland security.[citation needed] The variety of topics reported on range from Federal Budget and Fiscal Issues to Financial Management, Education, Retirement Issues, Defense, Homeland Security, Administration of Justice, Health Care, Information Management and Technology, Natural Resources, Environment, International Affairs, Trade, Financial Markets, Housing, Government Management and Human Capital. GAO often produces highlights of its reports that serve as a statement for the record for various subcommittees of the United States Congress.
Most GAO studies and reports are initiated by requests from members of Congress, including requests mandated in statute, and so reflect concerns of current political import, for example to study the impact of a government-wide hiring freeze.[7] Many reports are issued periodically and take a long view of U.S. agencies' operations.[citation needed] GAO also produces annual reports on key issues such as Duplication and Cost savings and High-Risk Update.
The GAO prepares some 900 reports annually. GAO publishes reports and information relating to, inter alia:
Financial Statements of the U.S. government[edit]
Each year the GAO issues an audit report on the financial statements of the United States Government. The 2010 Financial Report of the United States Government was released on December 21, 2010.[8] The accompanying press release states that the GAO 'cannot render an opinion on the 2010 consolidated financial statements of the federal government, because of widespread material internal control weaknesses, significant uncertainties, and other limitations'.[8]
U.S. Public Debt[edit]
As part of its initiative to advocate sustainability, the GAO publishes a Federal Fiscal Outlook Report,[9] as well as data relating to the deficit.[10] The US deficit is presented on a cash rather than accruals basis, although the GAO notes that the accrual deficit 'provides more information on the longer-term implications of the government's annual operations'.[10] In FY 2010, the US federal government had a net operating cost of $2,080 billion, although since this includes accounting provisions (estimates of future liabilities), the cash deficit is $1,294 billion.[11]
Quinquennial Strategic Plan[edit]
The most recent GAO plan, for 2010-2015, sets out four goals, namely to address: (1) Current and Emerging Challenges to the Well-being and Financial Security of the American People; (2) Changing Security Threats and the Challenges of Global Interdependence; (3) Transformation of the Federal Government to Address National Challenges; (4) Maximization of the Value of the GAO.[12]
Forensic Audits and Investigative Service (FAIS)
The Forensic Audits and Investigative Service (FAIS) team provides Congress with high-quality forensic audits and investigations of fraud, waste, and abuse; other special investigations; and security and vulnerability assessments. Its work cuts across a diverse array of government programs administered by IRS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Homeland Security, among others.
GAO and Technology Assessment[edit]
After the closing of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) in 1995, Congress directed GAO to conduct a technology assessment (TA) pilot program. Between 2002 and 2006, four reports were completed– use of biometrics for border security, cyber security for critical infrastructure protection, technologies for protecting structures in wildland fires, and cargo container security technologies. In the first report, GAO found that while biometrics technologies could be used to secure the border, they had limitations in fingerprinting and facial recognition systems. An immediate impact of the report was a congressional testimony on the use of biometrics which, in turn, helped to inform U.S. national security reform efforts. GAO reports, which are made available to the public, have become essential vehicles for understanding science and technology (S&T) implications of policies considered by the Congress.
Since 2007, Congress has established a permanent TA function within GAO. This new operational role augments GAO’s performance audits related to S&T issues, including effectiveness and efficiency of U.S. federal programs. In 2010, GAO joined European Parliamentary Technology Assessment (EPTA) as an associate member. In the last three years, GAO has completed TA reports on three topics, the most recent one being released in 2011 – rail security, climate engineering, and alternate neutron detectors. In the climate engineering report, Congress requested GAO to examine three areas: the current S&T state of climate engineering, views of experts on the future of climate engineering research, and potential public responses to climate engineering. When the GAO receives a request to conduct TA, it follows five phases: Acceptance, Planning, Data Gathering and Analysis, Product development and Distribution and Results. Phases one and two include selecting the topic and initiating the TA plan while the other ones are respectively: conducting TA, followed by developing the report and ensuring its accuracy and integrity, and finally receiving feedback from Congress and developing lessons learned to enhance the TA process.
The GAO describes the TA as providing "thorough and balanced analysis of critical technological innovations that affect our society, the environment, and the economy" explaining "the consequences that each featured technology will have on federal agencies and departments, and their wider impacts on American society".[13] This broad working definition enables GAO analysts to utilize TA as a tool for policy analysis. Technology assessments at GAO are conducted in accordance with GAO’s quality assurance framework. GAO initiates technology assessments through congressional mandates, requests from congressional leaders, and through the authority of U.S. Comptroller General.
The Technology Assessment section of GAO's website [14] offers the latest TA reports and videos.
See also[edit]
Title 4 of the Code of Federal Regulations
Offices
Comptroller and Auditor General
Comptroller
Inspector General
Auditor general
Director of audit
Treasurer
Corporate title
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
Government Accountability Project
Project On Government Oversight
Audit
Auditor independence
Negative assurance
Positive assurance
International
Australia: Australian National Audit Office
Brazil: Court of Accounts of the Union
Botswana: Office of the Auditor General Botswana[15]
Canada: Auditor General of Canada
Europe: Court of Auditors
Hong Kong: Director of Audit of Hong Kong
India: Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Mexico: Auditoría Superior de la Federación[16]
Philippines: Commission on Audit[17]
United Kingdom: National Audit Office
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "GAO at a Glance". Government Accountability Office. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
Jump up ^ "Office of the Comptroller General". United States Government Accountability Office.
Jump up ^ Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, Sec. 312(a), 42 Stat. 25
Jump up ^ Walker, David M. (July 19, 2004). "GAO Answers the Question: What's in a Name?" (PDF). Roll Call.
Jump up ^ See Bowsher v. Synar, 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
Jump up ^ INTOSAI: 50 Years (1953-2003), Vienna: International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions, 2004, p. 67
Jump up ^ Comptroller General of the United States (March 10, 1982). Recent Government-Wide Hiring Freeze Prove Ineffective In Managing Federal Employment (PDF) (Report). Government Accountability Office (GOA). Retrieved January 24, 2017. requested sent to Charles A. Bowsher by Geraldine A. Ferraro Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Human Resources Committee on Post Office and Civil Service House of Representatives
^ Jump up to: a b "Press Release". US Government Accountability Office. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
Jump up ^ "Most Recent Federal Fiscal Outlook Report". Government Accountability Office. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b "Measuring the Deficit: Cash vs. Accrual". Government Accountability Office. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
Jump up ^ "2010 Financial Report of the United States Government (vid. pp.v, 43)" (PDF). Government Accountability Office. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
Jump up ^ "Strategic Plan: Serving the Congress and the Nation, 2010 –2015" (PDF). Government Accountability Office. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
Jump up ^ U.S. GAO - Technology Assessment. Gao.gov. Retrieved on July 19, 2013.
Jump up ^ GAO-TA
Jump up ^ OAG.org.bw Archived July 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ Auditoria Superior de la Federación. ASF. Retrieved on July 19, 2013.
Jump up ^ COA.gov.ph/
[1]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Government Accountability Office.
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`
Jump up ^ United States Congress. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (December 17, 2013). Government Accountability Office Improvement Act. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 2013. pp. 113–128. Retrieved on September 28, 2015
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Against All Odds (1984 film)
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Against All Odds
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Taylor Hackford
Produced by
William S. Gilmore
Taylor Hackford
Screenplay by
Eric Hughes
Based on
Out of the Past
by Daniel Mainwaring
Starring
Rachel Ward
Jeff Bridges
James Woods
Alex Karras
Jane Greer
Richard Widmark
Music by
Larry Carlton
Cinematography
Donald E. Thorin
Edited by
Fredric Steinkamp
William Steinkamp
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures
Release date
March 2, 1984 (1984-03-02)
Running time
121 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$13 million
Box office
$21.7 million
Against All Odds is a 1984 American romantic neo-noir thriller film, a remake of Out of the Past (1947). The film was directed by Taylor Hackford and stars Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges and James Woods alongside Jane Greer (who had starred in Out of the Past), Alex Karras, Richard Widmark and Dorian Harewood. The film revolves around an aging American football star who is hired by a mobster to find his girlfriend.
The film's soundtrack, nominated for a Grammy Award, featured songs from Big Country, Kid Creole & the Coconuts, Stevie Nicks and Genesis breakout stars Mike Rutherford, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins; the latter performed the title song, which was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Original Song and for a Golden Globe Award as Best Original Song, being one of the top-selling singles of 1984.
Contents
[hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Soundtrack
4 Production notes
5 Reception
6 References
7 External links
Plot[edit]
Professional football player Terry Brogan (Jeff Bridges) is released by his team. Aging, injured and in need of money, he is contacted by an old acquaintance, the shady gambler and nightclub owner Jake Wise (James Woods), who wants Terry to find Jake's girlfriend Jessie Wyler (Rachel Ward), daughter of the Outlaws' owner. Jake claims that Jessie assaulted him, stole money and fled. Terry is reluctant to take on the job, but needs the money and knows Wise is capable of blackmailing him.
Terry gets in touch with Jessie's mother (Jane Greer), ostensibly to find out where Jessie can be found, but mainly to convince Mrs. Wyler and her business partner Ben Caxton (Richard Widmark) to reinstate him on the team. Mrs. Wyler makes clear that she has no interest in his football career. She's willing to pay him more than Jake would if he will find Jessie for her. Beyond that, she has no use for him. Hank Sully (Alex Karras), the team's trainer, strongly advises Terry to stay away from Jake and offers to help Terry get a coaching job. Terry is convinced his days as a player are not over and instead decides to work for Jake to tide him over until the next season, when he can try to continue his playing career.
Terry finds Jessie living in Cozumel. He makes multiple attempts to approach Jessie, but she rebuffs him, aware that he must have been sent by either Jake or her mother. Terry tires of pursuing a spoiled brat and packs to leave, but Jessie appreciates that he hasn't revealed her whereabouts and invites him to see where she is staying. They become lovers. Terry confides the leverage Jake has over him is the knowledge that Terry once shaved points in an important game after he had fallen into debt.
Terry and Jessie remain happily together for a few weeks, with Terry continuing to tell Jake he's been unsuccessful in locating her. Sully is sent by Jake to investigate. He catches the lovers alone at the ruins of Chichen Itza. Wielding a gun, Sully demands that Terry turn over the girl and warns him she's "no good." He, too, has been involved in corruption with Jake's sports syndicate. A struggle between the men ensues and Jessie fatally shoots Sully. She wants to flee, as the two will be unable to offer an explanation that will allow them to avoid jail. But when Terry refuses, insisting that the two cannot just run away from the matter, Jessie abandons him.
After disposing of Sully's body, Terry returns to Los Angeles and finds to his astonishment that Jessie has returned to Jake. He is bitter toward her, but Jake maintains a hold over him with the point-shaving incident, as well as Sully's sudden disappearance. Terry is sent to break into the office of Kirsch (Saul Rubinek), the team's corrupt lawyer, who is also involved in Jake's gambling operation. Terry's mission is to retrieve Kirsch's files, which implicate everyone involved.
Terry breaks into the office only to find Kirsch dead. A security guard has been hired to kill Terry and make it look like Terry committed the murder. Terry fights off the security guard, then hides Kirsch's body. He finds a local bar frequented by Kirsch's secretary, Edie (Swoosie Kurtz), where he tells her what has happened and that she too is in danger. Edie tells him about a secret box that contains the information to bring down the entire syndicate and local politicians. They return to the office to retrieve the box, where a fight occurs with another two guards, but again Terry escapes, this time with Edie and the files.
Jessie remains at Jake's side but claims to be still in love with Terry. She knows that Jake is behind Kirsch's murder and informs Caxton, telling him that Jake has been handling bets on his old football team using information he's been given by Sully and Kirsch. What she doesn't know is that Caxton is actually Jake's boss at the syndicate.
Caxton takes charge. He arranges to meet Terry at the site of a new construction project that he and Mrs. Wyler are backing. Terry is able to disarm Caxton's armed henchman Tommy (Dorian Harewood). He says his price for turning over the files is that Caxton must take down Jake. Caxton indicates he is receptive to that idea, whereupon Jake pulls his own gun and threatens to kill Jessie, forcing Terry to drop his weapon. While the men have their attention focused on each other, Jessie retrieves the dropped gun and shoots Jake.
Having killed both Jake and Sully, she must agree to terms set by Caxton to avoid going to jail. Caxton's terms include Jessie returning to her estranged mother's side and ending her relationship with Terry.
Months later, Terry stays in the background while attending a publicity function for Caxton's and Mrs. Wyler's construction project. He just wants a last look at Jessie before leaving Los Angeles to play for a team in Miami. Caxton reminds him that he is no longer a part of Jessie's life. Terry acknowledges that this is true for the moment, but predicts that some day Jessie will break free of the hold that Caxton and Mrs. Wyler have on her. In the meantime, all Terry and Jessie can do is stare at one another from a distance.
Cast[edit]
Jeff Bridges as Terry Brogan
Rachel Ward as Jessie Wyler
James Woods as Jake Wise
Alex Karras as Hank Sully
Jane Greer as Mrs. Grace Wyler
Richard Widmark as Ben Caxton
Dorian Harewood as Tommy
Swoosie Kurtz as Edie
Saul Rubinek as Steve Kirsch
Pat Corley as Ed Phillips
Soundtrack[edit]
Main article: Against All Odds (soundtrack)
Production notes[edit]
The film featured two cameo appearances by stars of Out of the Past on which the film is based. Jane Greer, who was the star of Out of the Past, plays Rachel Ward's mother. Paul Valentine, who played hood Joe Stephanos in the first film, played a councilman in Against All Odds.
Jeff Bridges' age and appearance in this film is used as a reference to re-create a 35-year-old version of him for the characters of Kevin Flynn and CLU in the film Tron: Legacy, released in December 2010.[1]
Reception[edit]
The film has a 67% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on nine critic reviews.[2]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "We used Jeff's performance of CLU and remapped it onto a digital version of himself at 35 years old. I used the movie Against All Odds as a reference for CLU's appearance." - Tron: Legacy Director Joseph Kosinski Forces of Geek: Celebrate Your Pop Culture Obsessions1: FOG! Chats With TRON: Evolution Director Joseph Kosinski
Jump up ^ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/against_all_odds/
External links[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Against All Odds
Against All Odds on IMDb
Against All Odds at Rotten Tomatoes
Against All Odds at Box Office Mojo
Against All Odds at AllMovie
[hide]
v
t
e
Films directed by Taylor Hackford
Teenage Father (1978)
The Idolmaker (1980)
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Against All Odds (1984)
White Nights (1985)
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987)
Everybody's All-American (1988)
Blood In Blood Out (1993)
Dolores Claiborne (1995)
The Devil's Advocate (1997)
Proof of Life (2000)
Ray (2004)
Love Ranch (2010)
Parker (2013)
The Comedian (2016)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Against_All_Odds_(1984_film)&oldid=805537161"
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1984 films
English-language films
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1980s thriller films
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1980s crime films
Films directed by Taylor Hackford
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Films shot in Mexico
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