Reading Room Document

Comprehensive Audit Authority of the General Accounting Office

The document is a response to a request for an opinion on whether the proposed comprehensive audit of the Tax Division by the General Accounting Office is authorized and whether it violates the separation of powers doctrine. The conclusion reached is that the Congress has authorized the GAO to conduct investigations beyond established fiscal auditing practices, but departments and agencies can decline to give the GAO access to information subject to executive privilege. The document also presents questions regarding the GAO's authority to conduct comprehensive audits, the statutory basis for the GAO's authority, and the implications of executive privilege and separation of powers in relation to the GAO's investigations. It also discusses past instances where the GAO's investigative authority was invoked and the implications of such authority on various government agencies.

August 30, 1965