Federal Government Accounting Issues

• Short sighted and confusing
• Public questions the credibility and accuracy of information provided
• Public believes that the numbers reported are intentionally deceptive
• Limitations within the federal government's budgeting and accounting systems make it possible for Congress to unknowingly incur hundred billions of dollars of unfunded liabilities

Solutions

• As the largest financial institution in the world, the federal government must be the leader in providing complete, reliable, consistent, timely and understandable financial information, so the public and policy-maker can make decisions based upon facts, not politically driven smoke and mirrors
• The budget should include the long term financial consequences of current decisions
• Federal financial information should be a true representation of our current economic performance and future commitments
• The development of new forward-looking budgeting and accounting frameworks, which would provide a more complete picture of the government's promises, including all explicit and implicit liabilities