Commodity Futures Trading Commission – The introductory information to this report is excellent and clearly explains how this agency fits into the financial regulatory environment.  The agency’s organization and structure are discussed in detail to provide great context to the user and enhance the reader’s understanding of the agency.

Internal Revenue Service – The Agency Head’s message is candid, comprehensive, and inspirational; it provides a vision, highlights challenges and progress, speaks to serving the people, and includes a video link for readers to access the Agency Head’s update on the vision.   The Message from the Chief Financial Officer continues with the commitment to service and recognizes the value of the Chief Financial Officer organization far beyond the backroom of accounting and financial reporting by highlighting modernization efforts and a commitment to innovation and enhanced transparency, in addition to strengthening internal controls and continuing financial reporting excellence.

U.S. Department of the Interior – This agency’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis is exemplary in providing a clear and candid overview of the agency’s performance, accomplishments, and strategic management of programs and resources.  The accompanying graphs and charts visually represent the narrative, making complex data more accessible and easier to understand and allowing readers to quickly grasp key trends and insights.

U.S. Department of the Treasury – This report presents an excellent summary of the current tax structure and the tax gap. The presentation of these topics is an invaluable resource and a must-read for anyone wanting to gain a basic understanding of these complex issues. The use of charts and graphs in this report visually illustrates the progressive tax structure and how it affects different economic groups.  The discussion of the tax gap helps readers understand the management of different streams of tax revenue and helps frame the effect of various tax credits and deductions on overall revenues. 

Architect of the Capitol – This agency discusses the maturity of its enterprise risk management program, its annual risk assessment, and links identified risks with the challenges reported by the Office of Inspector General. The detailed enterprise-level risk discussion with risk ratings is exceptional. 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration – This agency presents an easy-to-understand analysis of its financial statements and incorporates informative graphs and charts.  It also includes an analysis of the sources of its funding and aligns gross costs by strategic goal to provide additional insights into the agency’s operations.

National Credit Union Administration – The agency presents a comprehensive and well-organized discussion of its annual internal control assessment and analysis of its compliance with applicable laws and regulations.  The description of its Federal Information Security Management Act assessment, along with risk ratings, is particularly informative. 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Overall, the agency provides an effective presentation of the fiscal year’s performance. It clearly identifies the agency’s strategic goals and objectives and provides clear and concise information on the results for each one, including the Agency Priority Goals. The agency’s use of graphs, charts, and callout statistics in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis enhances its readability and enables the user to understand the information more quickly. 

Federal Aviation Administration – This agency presents complete, timely, balanced, and integrated financial and mission results.  The tables at the beginning of each performance measure provide an excellent visual summary highlighting each measure, including how the public benefits from the entity’s performance. The quality assurance and quality financial management subsections add important context and insights.

U.S. Government Accountability Office – This agency’s performance is highlighted with many visuals, notes, and supplementary information, making it easy to comprehend the vast material. The FY 2024 Snapshot section is easy to follow, summarizes key highlights from the year, and consistently does a good job of telling the story of the agency and its impact on federal agencies and the public. The agency provides transparency into its own performance and the financial risks to the federal government. 

Federal Trade Commission – This agency clearly presents the cost of its strategic goals to inform users as to how it spends the various funds and appropriations it receives.  It also presents a set of financial management indicators for the agency and an informative cost-benefit discussion illustrating the value that the agency provides to the public. 

U.S. Department of State – Despite managing one of the largest and most diverse lease portfolios in the federal government, this agency effectively implemented the new lease accounting standards. Going beyond the disclosure requirements, the agency implemented a noteworthy presentation by separately displaying the portion of its right-to-use lease assets attributable to domestic and overseas leases. The agency is to be commended for its efforts to generate support for its lease disclosures as well as to provide information needed by other federal agencies.  It also candidly discussed the remaining challenges relating to internal controls and the identification of embedded leases.

Social Security Administration – This agency has faced management challenges that have been building over many years.  FY 2024 became a time of transformation with a renewed emphasis on meaningful and candid performance reporting.  This was supported by integrating the challenges identified by the Inspector General throughout the report to highlight the way forward and discuss accomplishments in addressing the agency’s issues.