Financial Management: Governmentwide Treasury Account Symbol Adjusted Trial Balance System Supports Transparency Efforts

Summary

What GAO Found The Governmentwide Treasury Account Symbol Adjusted Trial Balance System (GTAS) is the central platform federal agencies use to submit standardized data for government-wide financial reporting. GTAS collects budgetary and proprietary data; validates them; and interfaces with other federal systems to support transparency, accountability, and fiscal oversight. Federal laws, including the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996, and the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act), require agencies to report standardized financial data. These laws assign implementation responsibilities to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Treasury, which issue guidance on budget formulation, technical instructions on GTAS reporting procedures, U.S. Standard General Ledger crosswalks, and attribute requirements. Together, this guidance governs how agencies complete various accounting, validation, and reporting procedures. Through a combination of manual and automated interfaces, GTAS exchanges data with fiduciary authoritative source agencies and major government-wide accounting systems, including the following: Central Accounting Reporting System (CARS) DATA Act Broker Government Invoicing (G-Invoicing) OMB Max Simplified Overview of Selected Data Inflows to and Outflows from GTAS Why GAO Did This Study GTAS plays a central role in the financial management and transparency of the U.S. federal government. It supports a wide array of government financial operations, helping to ensure the accurate reporting of intragovernmental transactions, cash flow, and other financial activities. Federal entities use GTAS as a key system to report financial and budgetary execution information to Treasury. Treasury, in coordination with OMB, uses this information to prepare the annual financial report of the U.S. government. The financial report provides the President, Congress, and the public with a comprehensive view of the federal government’s finances—its revenue, debt, and expenditures. The Government Management Reform Act of 1994 includes a provision for GAO to annually audit the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government. Because of the importance of GTAS in preparing these financial statements and ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the data, GAO conducted this review to provide a system overview. This report describes the (1) laws and guidance relevant to government-wide financial reporting requirements and the use of GTAS for that purpose, (2) major government-wide accounting systems that interface with GTAS, and (3) data flow and validation processes of GTAS. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed applicable laws, Treasury and OMB guidance, and GTAS system documentation. GAO also discussed GTAS data transmission and validation processes with Treasury officials. Treasury stated the agency did not have any comments on the report. For more information, contact Paula M. Rascona at RasconaP@gao.gov.