According to a recent report, NASA has failed to fix the majority of the 45 accounting and financial management problems cited by the Government Accountability Office in previous audits.
NASA's new core financial management system, purchased in 2000, "has not addressed many of the agency's significant challenges -- including improving contract management, producing credible cost estimates, and producing auditable financial statements," the GAO said in the report.
NASA has been on GAO's high-risk list since 1990 due to poor oversight of contract management. The report said that progress has been slow on the issues facing the aeronautics agency.
According to the report, "The lack of reliable, day-to-day information continues to threaten NASA's ability to manage its programs, oversee its contractors and effectively allocate its budget across its numerous projects and programs."
Another problem cited by the report is NASA's failure to hire skilled, well-trained financial personnel. The GAO did add that NASA is not alone in its financial management system problems. The report said many federal financial modernization efforts have exceeded budgeted cost and scheduled delivery dates without providing the anticipated functionality.
The full report is available at
