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50th Anniversary Lectures of the United States General Accounting Office, 19 PDF

297 Pages·2014·27.54 MB·English
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Preview 50th Anniversary Lectures of the United States General Accounting Office, 19

IMPROVING MANAGEMENT FOR MORE EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE SE? 15 19/J LIBRARY SYST£M 50TH ANNIVERSARY LECTURES OF THE UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE 1921-1971 ~~we;~-GAO LrBRAll-' -r ~ IMPROVING MANAGEMENT FOR MORE EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT 50TH ANNIVERSARY LECTURES OF THE UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE 1921-1971 ~~f l-!IO µJ9.!"0:L .r~~ ll'Of ala b7 U. Saperlutelldent of Dooamerul, I]. S. OOYerllmOllt Prtntlo1 O!!lce Wubiorton, 0.0., 20(02 -Price S2.7S (paper COVM) I ••1 17 Foreword The year 197 l marked the 50th anniversary of the creation of the United States General Accounting Office. Established by the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921, the new office was empowered to perform numerous functions to strengthen the financial system of the Federal Government. In recognition of its first 50 years of operation as an agency in the legislative branch of the Government and of the broadening scope of its operations, a series of lectures for the GAO professional staff was held throughout 1971. These lectures were delivered by recognized leaders from many fields, including government, indusrry, education, economics, law, accounting, and the press. The underlying theme of these lectures was "Improving Management for More Effective Government," a theme of great importance to the General Accounting Office with its ever-expanding concern with evaluating and improving Government operations. The most significant part of our responsibility for financial manage ment surveillance throughout the Federal Government is the audit of agency management activities. We devote the largest pan of our profes sional staff time and energy to this vast a1·ea of responsibility. Our primary objective is to provide through this work useful information for the Con gress in carrying out its legislative and oversight responsibilities and for agency management officials, all to the end of more efficient, more eco nomical, and more effective Government operations. Basic to our system of operation is the availability to our professional staffs of the most current and independent thought on management con cepts, systems, and controls, as well as the evaluation of program results. Increasingly, in recent years we have sought assistance from other parts of government and from industry and the academic community in expanding our capabilities. To further this end, this series of SOth anniversary lec tures was held, and the compilation of the lectures in book form is intended to preserve for continuing future u:;.:. and study the excellent presentations that were made. This book also includes an article that describes the important role played by the Insticute for Government Research, a predecessor of the Brookings Institution, in the evolution of the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921. In the 50 years that have gone by, recollections abouc this role have faded. We are indebted to the Brookings Institution for preparing a paper for inclusion in this book to fill this historical information gap. Comptroller General of the United States 111 House Concurrent Resolution 309 Whereas June l 0, 1971. marks the fiftieU1 anniversary of the signing of the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921, and v\lhereas such Act provided for the creation of the Gen· eral Accounting Office, under the control and direction of the Comptroller General of the UniLed States. as an estab lishment indepenclem of the executive branch responsible to the Congress, and Whereas during the fifty years since iLs establishment the General Accounting Office has contributed significantly lo the development of improved management in the Federal Government and has been of valuable assistance to the Congress with respect to determining the manner in which the Federal departments and agencies have carried out the mandate and the intent of legislation governing their ac tivities: Now, therefore, be it Re.wived by the House of Rcprrscnl.alivcs (the Senate concurring), That the Congress o{ the United States ex tends its congratulations Lo the former and present officers and employees of the General Accounting Office on the occru;ion of the fiftieLh anniversary of tliat Office; and be it further Resolved, That as it is fitting and proper lO commemo rate the fifty-year history of the General Accounting Office, the month of June l 971 is designated for ceremonies appro priate to such commemoration. b The Comptro/{er Genernl, Elme1· B. Staats, opens the first ussion of GAO's 50th anniversary prnceedings on June 11, 1971, at the West Auditorium, New State Department Building, Washington, D.C. Seated on the platform are the Deputy Comptroller General, Robert F. Keller; tlu: firsl Jpt:ake1·, George P. Shultz, Director, Office of Managr:menl a.nd Budget: ancl GAO division directors and regional managers. Leadoff speaker at the ]urie 11 50th a.nn.iversary prnceedings, George P. Shultz, Director, Office of Management and Budget. v I I I J Other speakers at the 50th anniversary proceedings on June 11 at the West Auditorium, New Statt: Department Building. From the left: Dr. Robert C. Weavt:r, Professor of Economics, City Urliversity of New York; Elmer B. Staats, Comptroller General; Russell E. Train, Chairman, Council on Environmt:nlal Quality; and Robert F. Keller, Deputy Comptroller General. A portion of the audience listening to the nnnive1sary• lectt1res given rn the West Auditorium, New State Depm·tment Building, June 11. Vl Contents 110 JCCt Spealwr Page From the PerS"pective of the Ex.ecutive Branch View., on lmpru"ing ~lanagernent fo1· George P. 'hull1 More UTecli\"c Govc1 nment DireClOI, Office or Management and Budget Di~u~~ion 7 Improving the .\Ianagement of Ru~ell E. Train 13 Emi101unemal Program\ Chairm.in. Council on l:.11\ironmcntal Quality Di~cu~sion 20 From the Perspective of the Fonner Governm~t Executive Leadership Ev;ilu:Hion in Large James E. Webb 25 Scalc Efforts Fom1c1 :\dministralor N:nional Aeronautics and Space \dmini~tration Oiscms1on 35 Management of Urban Programs Robert C \ Veaver Profet.,or of Economics Cit} Um,er,it} of "l:ew York 55 \sse~smcnt of l:.ffort.\ J'o Assist O;n id E. Bell 59 Underdeveloped .\reas Executive Vice Pr~ident T'he Ford foundation Oiscm~1on 68 From the Perspective of the Legisl.ative Branch The General Accounting Office Chet Holifield, Chairman 77 and Lhe Congresr, Commillee on Government Operations, House of Representatives vu Subject Speaker Page New Problems of Accountability for Elmer B. Staats 85 Federal Programs Comptroller General of the United Stares From the Perspective of the Judiciary The Lawyer in Governmem Judge Harold Leventhal 101 District of Columbia Circuit Court, U.S. Court of Appeals Discussion 115 From the Pe1·spective of the Private Sector Three Paths in Search of the Alexander B. Trowbridge 119 National Interest President The Conference Board Discussion 127 What Is New in Management Sciences H. M. Boettinger 135 Director of Management Sciences, American Telephone an<l Telegraph Company Discussion 148 From the Perspective of the Economist ignorance in Government ls Not Bliss William Gorham ] 57 President The Urban Institute Discussion 169 The Construction and Use o[ Produc- John W. Kendrick 175 tivity Measures for Federnl Agencies Professor of Economics The George Washington University Discussion 185 From the Perspective of the Press Improving Public Understanding of Hugh Sidey 201 Government Affairs Chief, Time Life Washington News-Bureau Discussion 210 Vlll Subject "ipealter Pag~ From the Perspective of the Educator The C.row1ng of Public Exccuti\C'\ I l.1rlJn Cleveland 2li P1c"de111 I ni' l'I \it' of Hawaii Di~c u'~ion 228 From the Perspective of the Accounting Profession Utili1in){ \'\ h.n h New in Accountin~ I. •on:od P Sp.1cek 2!J5 Scnim Partner \rthur ,\adersen & Co. Di~cu,,ion 248 From the Perspective of tire Management Expert TlH: U\C, .ind Limitatiom of Expen john J. Coron 257 C:h;1i1 ma11 of the Board l·n Con,11ltanl\, Inc. Oi,cussion 27·1 The U~cs nnd Limitations of Ex pen' .\J.111 L. Dean 267 lkp11L\ ,\~,i,cant Director for 0 1gani1ation and \Ltnagcmcnt Sv,tcm~. Office of ~J.ma~emem and Budget D"cu\\ion 274 The Brooking' Institution and the \\',ii lCI {;, I leJtl 279 BudgtL ind .\ccounting \cl of 1921 Du ct 1or uf ..\dminl'tration The H1uoking' lnstin11ion ix

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The year 197 l marked the 50th anniversary of the creation of the. United States General Accounting Office. Established by the Budget and. Accounting Act, 1921, the new office was empowered to perform numerous functions to strengthen the financial system of the Federal Government. In recognition of
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