Government Auditing Standards (Yellow Book)
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The Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), commonly referred to as the "Yellow Book", are produced in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
by the
Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal gover ...
(GAO). The standards apply to both
financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...
and
performance audit Performance audit refers to an independent examination of a program, function, operation or the management systems and procedures of a governmental or non-profit entity to assess whether the entity is achieving economy, efficiency and effectivene ...
s of
government agencies A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...
. Five general standards are included: *
Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...
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Due care Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a ...
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Continuing professional education Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive ...
(CPE) 80 hours every 2 years, 24 hours directly related to government auditinghttps://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-18-568g.pdf *
Supervision Supervision is an act or instance of directing, managing, or oversight. Etymology The English noun "supervision" derives from the two Latin words "super" (above) and "videre" (see, observe). Spelling The spelling is "Supervision" in Standard E ...
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Quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach place ...
The Yellow Book standards are used by auditors who examine the federal government, including the Government Accountability Office, various offices of
inspectors general An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory of ...
, and others. Many local government performance auditors also use the yellow book standards. In addition, CPA firms that perform local government financial audits that include an A-133 "single audit" must follow yellow book standards. In addition to financial audits, the Yellow Book standards cover Performance Audits, which evaluate the performance of a program or project against defined objectives, such as objectives for efficiency and effectiveness.


Other government auditing standards, used by supreme audit institutions

The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) has developed the INTOSAI Auditing Standards


References


See also

* GAO Yellow book requirement

* CGAP (Certified Government Auditing Professional) certificate of the
Institute of Internal Auditors The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an organization which advocates, provides educational conferences, and develops standards, guidance, and certifications for the internal audit profession. History Established in 1941, the IIA today ...
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Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level execut ...
Auditing in the United States Financial regulation in the United States Government Accountability Office Auditing standards {{Accounting-stub