The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released its regular performance audit for state and local administration of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. The report is a combination of new information gathered on the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (the Board), and existing information gathered through bimonthly audits of state administration. Findings covered the extent to which the Board is monitoring Recovery Act-related federal contract spending and the success of states to maintain competitive procedures when awarding Recovery Act contracts. Approximately 35 percent of proposed stimulus funding has been administered to date.

Approximately $300 billion will be administered through federal contracts, overseen by the Board. GAO met with members of the Board, reviewed available documents, and checked against federal reporting to assess initiatives taken to ensure compliance on contracts issued. The review found the Board to be quite effective in its oversight. Successful initiatives included competition guarantees, fixed price contracts, focus on high-risk areas, and using the help of taxpayers to report anomalies. GAO took particular interest in the Board’s predictive analysis tool.

GAO gathered state information from key procurement officials, reviewing dollar value, risk level and status of Recovery contracts issued. The range of contract types makes generalized statements as to success difficult. GAO’s investigation into competition emphasis and fixed-price contract use found states’ methods consistent with Recovery Act goals.

The report finds the Board and state procurement officials to be more than adequately overseeing Recovery Act contracts. GAO will continue to issue audit reports throughout ARRA fund distribution.

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