[CTRL] Fwd: Feds "Cooking the Books" (Should "USA Inc" Be AUDITED?)

[RoadsEnd]

-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: December 15, 2005 11:12:19 PM PST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Feds "Cooking the Books" (Should "USA Inc" Be AUDITED?) GAO faults U.S. financial reporting By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch Last Update: 4:03 PM ET Dec. 15, 2005   http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?guid={4F40C814-5788-4642-A4ED-0769B5765223}&siteid=myyahoo&dist=myyahoo WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. government didn't maintain effective controls over financial reporting in the latest fiscal year, potentially skewering the accuracy of federal financial statements, a congressional investigative group found. In a letter to President Bush and Congress, Comptroller General of the United States David Walker said government accountants found "material deficiencies" in the federal government's financial statements for 2005 and 2004. "The federal government did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting...and compliance with significant laws and regulations as of September 30, 2005," wrote Walker, who heads the Government Accountability Office. Walker said there were three major obstacles to evaluating the latest financial statements. First, he said, there were "serious financial management problems" at the Department of Defense. Second, the federal government could not adequately account for balances between federal agencies. Lastly he criticized the government's "ineffective process" for preparing its consolidated financial statements. Walker's letter was contained in the Financial Report of the United States Government for 2005. Walker also sounded a much more critical note about the country's long-term fiscal outlook than did Treasury Secretary John Snow in his own letter. "While deficits are never welcome," Snow wrote, "the 2005 deficit of $319 billion, when expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product, was lower than the deficits in 16 of the last 25 years." But, Walker said, "while the fiscal year 2005 budget deficit was lower than 2004, it was still very high, especially given the impending retirement of the 'baby boom' generation and rising health care costs." Walker also warned that the government must engineer "significant changes" in both spending and revenue to keep long-term deficits from impairing federal resources. Robert Schroeder is a reporter for MarketWatch in Washington. Copyright © 2005 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. = www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ <A HREF="">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om