Taxpayer Funds Oversight and Accountability Act

The Taxpayer Funds Oversight and Accountability Act would require the Office of Management and Budget to develop and submit a comprehensive four-year plan to Congress for improving how federal agencies manage their finances. This plan would address strategies for upgrading financial management systems, building a stronger financial workforce, and better reporting of performance and costs across government. The OMB would need to provide annual updates to Congress and the Government Accountability Office on progress toward these goals.

The bill would expand the duties of Chief Financial Officers at each federal agency. These officials would take on greater responsibility for overseeing their agency's budget, financial systems, internal controls, and performance measurement. CFOs would be required to prepare plans showing how their agency would implement the government-wide financial management improvements and would need to submit annual reports to Congress documenting their progress.

Additionally, the bill would establish new requirements for audits of federal agency finances, including having auditors more thoroughly evaluate whether agencies have proper internal controls in place to protect taxpayer funds. For citizens, these changes would theoretically lead to better tracking of how federal money is spent, improved accountability for government spending, and more transparent reporting on whether federal programs are achieving their intended results.

The bill has passed the House and now requires approval from the Senate before it could become law.