Financial Reports
Department of Agriculture publishes a financial report that outlines in detail the work that the agency does. The total document for 2014 amounted to 300 pages. The mandate for the report is to provide "high level performance information to the President, the Congress and to the American people" (p.4).
The first section of the report consists of the overview of the organization, its mission statement, vision statement, organizational chart and other introductory information that should put the report into context. The USDA is organized by mission areas, such as farm and forest agricultural services; food, nutrition and consumer services; natural resources and environment, and other areas. Within each mission area, there might be multiple separate operational units. There is also a section of the report that highlights the key strategic mission areas.
Much of the report is dedicated to the financial information. The information is structured in a top down fashion, beginning with the percentage breakdown of outlays for each mission area. The largest budgetary area is food, nutrition and consumer services. Farm and forest agricultural services, and rural development, are two other major areas of spending outlay. The report also notes that the...
Specific areas where the decrease was targeted are also noted. For example, risk management agency was hit with the most significant spending cuts, largely in the area of crop insurance. There is also a section on the balance sheet. As with the outlays section prior, the format is more of a discussion format with simple aggregate numbers and a lot of visuals, making this information appropriate for all stakeholders.
The report contains other sections as well. One of these is a discussion on managerial controls. There is a summary of material weaknesses, which illustrates that the organization has looked for weaknesses so that it can develop a plan to address these weaknesses in the coming fiscal year. This is one of the elements of the report that indicates a fairly high level of transparency and accountability in the management of public organizations.
The second major section of the report is the financial information. There is a statement from the auditors, showing that the reports have been subject to audit, which should increase public confidence in the material contained within the report. The entire audit report is included. The financial data is presented first with a balance sheet, highlighting…
