U.S. Comptroller General Looks Back at 50 Years of Service
After serving 50 years in government, including the last 16 years as the U.S. Comptroller General at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Gene Dodaro certainly has some interesting information to share about his experiences related to improving government efficiency and what he considers are key qualities for auditors.
As the keynote speaker for the National Intergovernmental Audit Forum's meeting on Dec. 10, Dodaro provided some thoughts about his years of service, noting that he was proud of GAO’s efforts in helping the federal government respond to national financial emergencies, the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal data standards and the development of federal high-risk program list. However, he felt his greatest accomplishment was “enhancing GAO’s reputation as nonpartisan, objective, independent organization in one of the most politically difficult climates that we’ve had over the years." "We treat both parties the same in term of access to our resources and support," he said. "You have to build those relationships with leaders in Congress and federal agencies. We spend a lot of time at GAO working together as a team to make sure we act in consummate with our core values in how we want to be perceived.”
As he faces the last year in his term as U.S. Comptroller General, Dodaro explained that he aims to find ways to capitalize on the current attention to improve efficiencies in the federal government as the incoming Trump administration prepares to establish a new Department of Government Efficiency. “They are drawing attention to important areas and we’ll have to see how that unfolds, but we have issued thousands of unimplemented GAO recommendations [to federal agencies]. Even through 70% of our recommendations are implemented, we’ve estimated that the amount of savings that could accomplished from our open recommendations are up to $208 billion. We’re continuing to make new recommendations all the time so I’d like to capitalize on this. The [open] recommendations we have made could be implemented without any adverse consequences.”
When it comes to suggesting skills and values that auditors can take to succeed, Dodaro explained that the most important skill is to be able to critically think about how to diagnose a problem and address a problem, as well as communicate it effectively, while the most important value is to be honest and tell the truth. “You have your credibility, and it’s all based upon people trusting you,” he said. “You need to be honest and consistent over time.” Lastly, he advised auditors to always be patient and constructive, as well as be self-motivated. “You can’t always be looking for motivation from others; you’re not going to motivate other people if you can’t motivate yourself.”
We at Thompson Grants have covered many events over the years in which Dodaro has been a speaker and have always valued his judgement and wisdom. We are thankful for his service over these many years.
Join us for our following Thompson Grants events:
2025 Thompson Grants Workshop: Procurement | Jan. 30, 2025 | Virtual Event
2025 Thompson Grants Workshop: Indirect Costs | March 25, 2025 | Virtual Event
