UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 

Institutionalisation

GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government – that is, it works for the U.S. Congress. Often called the »congressional watchdog«, GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars and helps improve the performance of the federal government. GAO provides Congress with timely information that is objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, non-ideological, fair, and balanced. All types of work at GAO are conducted under strict professional standards of review and referencing, and all facts and analyses in GAO work are thoroughly checked for accuracy. Types of GAO work include:

• Technology assessments that provide a thorough and balanced analysis of primary, secondary, indirect, and delayed consequences or impacts of a technological innovation on society, the environment, or the economy;
• Performance audits that evaluate how well government programmes and policies are working, and which may contain recommendations for executive branch agencies to act upon;
• Financial audits that provide an independent assessment of whether an entity’s reported financial information (e.g. financial condition, results, and use of resources) are presented fairly in accordance with recognized criteria;
•  Legal decisions and opinions, such as deciding bid protests.

© EPTA, version 20 Oct 2012; provided by ITA