Says Agency Does Well With Identifying Its Own Problems

Given the agency's recent, high-profile series of blunders regarding maintenance inspections at the nation's airlines, our brains have some difficulty joining the terms "Federal Aviation Administration" and "accountability excellence" in the same sentence. Then again... we don't work for the government.

For the fourth time in five years, the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) bestowed one of its top honors to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the agency’s 2007 Performance and Accountability Report. The association's 15,000 members consider the Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting (CEAR) the "highest form of recognition in federal government management reporting." 

"The bottom line begins and ends with accountability," said Robert A. Sturgell, the FAA's acting administrator. "As public servants, we're holding ourselves to a higher standard. We made a commitment to manage the taxpayer's investment. The CEAR Award is confirmation that we're taking care of business."

Published in November 2007, the FAA report examined the performance, management, and financial direction of the agency in meeting its strategic goals toward a safer and more efficient global airspace system. The FAA measures these goals through specific programs and policies, which are accompanied by specific, measurable performance metrics.

AGA’s CEAR program has helped agencies produce high-quality performance and accountability reports since 1997. The program was established in conjunction with the Chief Financial Officers Council and the Office of Management and Budget to improve financial and program accountability by streamlining reporting and improving the effectiveness of reporting by federal agencies.

The AGA wrote in a letter to the agency, "FAA has prepared a well written Performance and Accountability Report. Presenting contexts for the information and the liberal use of transitions has resulted in a readable and interesting document. The explanations of the reasons and plans for unmet performance measures are a tribute to FAA’s transparency."

In other words, the FAA may have its problems... but it also acknowledges them, which is a start...

FMI: www.faa.gov/about/plans_reports/