Reviewing the Consolidated Financial Statements of the U.S. Government Hearing

This week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing entitled, “A Look at the FY2010 Consolidated Financial Statements of the U.S. Government.” Witnesses included high ranking officials such as The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States (Government Accountability Office); The Honorable Richard L. Gregg, Fiscal Assistant Secretary (Department of the Treasury); and The Honorable Daniel I. Werfel Controller and Director of the Office of Federal Financial Management (Office of Management and Budget).

We mention this hearing in particular because of the role XBRL played in the testimony and questions. This comes on the heels of an interesting couple weeks in which the XBRL technology saw some critiques in articles and blogs. Fans of this blog know we have covered this topic in great detail as it relates to mutual funds and the SEC mandate.

In general, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has legislative jurisdiction over, among other things, the District of Columbia, the government procurement process, federal personnel systems, and the Postal Service. However, they pride themselves in overseeing "everything government does – from national security to homeland security grants, from federal workforce policies to regulatory reform and reorganization authority, from information technology procurements at individual agencies to government-wide data security standards." With this in mind, it will be interesting to see what outcomes come from the this hearing.