Army Working Capital Fund: Actions Needed to Improve Budgeting for Carryover at Army Ordnance

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From fiscal years 2004 through 2008, new orders received by the eight Army ordnance activities increased from $788 million to $1.5 billion. To the extent that the ordnance activities do not complete work at year end, the ordered and funded work is carried over into the next fiscal year. While past congressional defense committees recognized the need for carryover, the committees have on occasion raised concerns that carryover may be more than needed. GAO was asked to determine (1) whether the reported actual total carryover increased or decreased from fiscal years 2004 through 2008 and, if the carryover increased, the actions the Army is taking to reduce it; (2) the primary reasons for carryover at the eight ordnance activities; and (3) whether carryover amounts exceeded ceilings for fiscal years 2006, 2007, and 2008, and whether the methodology used to calculate the ceiling for the ordnance activities was reasonable. GAO analyzed reported carryover and related data at the eight activities.