Is Federal Government Financial Management Under Control?
By Robert Deller Contributing Writer The federal government reported spending an estimated $19 million for information technology among federal agencies in fiscal 1996 to improve its financial management systems, in part as an answer to continuous concerns from Congress that federal agencies were not attaining effective financial management. The Office of Management and Budget had repeatedly called for information technology to support financial management systems. For two years, agencies provided infotech budget numbers so that OMB could assure that appropriate expenditures were targeted to accomplish financial management objectives. Based on 1996 infotech budget data and agency program documentation, agencies planned to spend 10 percent of their infotech dollars for financial management support. These dollars have not been evenly distributed across the agencies, according to data tracking five agencies with the largest proportion of infotech dollars for financial management. (Figures
