Summary

Since the newly established Cost Accounting Standards Board began operations in July 1990, it has made minimal progress in resolving pressing cost accounting issues. The Board has completed only three of its original 12 projects, two of which dealt primarily with internal organizational and operational issues. The inherent nature of the Board's work as a standard-setter, where general acceptance is obtained through deliberative due process procedures, makes it hard to measure timeliness. However, the Board's progress has been hampered by limited staffing and inadequate planning and project management. The majority of respondents to GAO's survey of government and industry contracting representatives believed that the Board has been moving too slowly in issuing authoritative guidance and probably has too few staff.

GAO found that: (1) since 1990, the Board has made minimal progress in resolving important cost accounting issues; (2) the Board has only completed 3 of its 12 projects, 2 of which dealt with internal organizational and operational issues; (3) the Board's timeliness in resolving cost accounting issues has been difficult to measure because of the deliberative nature of its work; (4) the Board's ability to expeditiously complete ongoing projects, begin critical projects, and establish timeframes and milestone dates for ongoing projects has been hindered by inadequate staffing, planning, and project management; (5) government and industry officials believe that the Board has been slow in issuing authoritative guidance and that its staffing is inadequate; and (6) the Board needs to improve its strategic planning and project management if it is to fill existing gaps in cost accounting standards.