U.S. financial statement flawed (says GAO)

[Khephra]

U.S. financial statement flawed

GAO says Treasury's data on some agency spending does not match up with the agencies' own data.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The annual financial statement of the United States government, the broadest outline of the government's bottom line, still has serious accounting weaknesses, according to a congressional watchdog agency.

"The net position reported in the is derived by subtracting liabilities from assets, rather than through balanced accounting entries. In other words, the CFS is 'plugged' to make it balance," the General Accounting Office said in a recent audit of the 2002 statement delivered to Treasury Secretary John Snow and Josh Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The GAO, which acts as a non-partisan investigative agency for Congress, also said Treasury's data on some agency spending did not match up with data provided by the agencies.

For 2002, the GAO said the statement included a $17.1 billion "plug" to allow it to add up correctly. "Treasury does not identify and quantify all components of this unreconciled activity," the GAO said.

more..........

http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/07/news/economy/us_statement.reut/

[Melinda]

1. Lemme guess who does the * books... could it be....

Arthur Anderson?!?

:eyes:

[acmavm]

2. Can anybody here spell "thieves"?

.

[jpgray]

3. Very interesting, but hardly surprising

Eventually the shocking incompetence, the childish, nakedly obvious deceits and corruption just cease to have an impact. The misconduct is so ridiculously transparent it makes me sure that if our press isn't completely muzzled, it is full of fools and airheads. "Research" and "context" just aren't words anymore at the journalism schools, it seems.

[burrowowl]

4. I think Georgie Porgy

Capitalist piggy Bu$h said a while back re Enron or somebody that accounting had shades of gray!?
I think it is the only gray he allows in his balck and white world.

[JNelson6563]

5. "fake numbers" has been my mantra

for some time now and ever since that genuine imitation GDP came out last week I chant it all the more. Judging by Wall Street's reaction to three rounds of literally unbelievable numbers, I'm not alone.

Julie

[MO_Dem]

6. Fuzzy math?

nt

[kodi]

7. remember, the buck doesn't stop with bush but in haliburton's pocket

.

[DUreader]

8. kick