View source for Chief Financial Officers Act

{{Short description|United States federal law concerning accountability of government financing}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle = Chief Financial Officers Act
| longtitle = An act to amend [[Title 31 of the United States Code|title 31]], United States Code, to improve the general financial management of the Federal Government.
| enacted by = 101st
| signedpresident = George H. W. Bush
| effective date = November 15, 1990
| leghisturl = https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/house-bill/5687/all-actions
| introducedby = [[John Conyers]] {{uspolabbr|D|MI}}
| introducedin = [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
| introducedbill = {{USBill|101|H.|5687}}
| introduceddate = September 21, 1990
| signeddate = November 15, 1990
| passedbody1 = House
| passeddate1 = October 15, 1990
| passedbody2 = Senate
| passeddate2 = October 27, 1990
| agreedbody3 = Houses
| agreeddate3 = October 28, 1990
| agreedvote3 = by voice
| cite public law = {{uspl|101|576}}
| acronyms = CFO Act
}}
The '''Chief Financial Officers''' ('''CFO''') '''Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–576)''' signed into law by President [[George H. W. Bush]] on November 15, 1990, is a [[United States federal law]] intended to improve the government's [[Managerial finance|financial management]], outlining standards of financial performance and disclosure. Among other measures, the [[Office of Management and Budget]] (OMB) was given greater authority over federal financial management. For each of 24 federal departments and agencies, the position of [[Chief financial officer#Federal government of the United States|chief financial officer]] was created. In accordance with the CFO Act, each agency or department vests its financial management functions in its chief financial officer. The following is a list of the 24 affected agencies, which includes all 15 [[United States federal executive departments|federal executive departments]] whose heads are included in the [[Cabinet of the United States]], as well as other large agencies:<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title31/html/USCODE-2011-title31-subtitleI-chap9-sec901.htm
| title = 31 U.S.C. §901. Establishment of agency Chief Financial Officers
| accessdate = 15 April 2019}}"    (b)(1) The agencies referred to in subsection (a)(1) are the following:

        `(A) The Department of Agriculture.
        `(B) The Department of Commerce.
        `(C) The Department of Defense.
        `(D) The Department of Education.
        `(E) The Department of Energy.
        `(F) The Department of Health and Human Services.
        `(G) The Department of Homeland Security.
        `(H) The Department of Housing and Urban Development.
        `(I) The Department of the Interior.
        `(J) The Department of Justice.
        `(K) The Department of Labor.
        `(L) The Department of State.
        `(M) The Department of Transportation.
        `(N) The Department of the Treasury.
        `(O) The Department of Veterans Affairs.
        `(P) The Environmental Protection Agency.
        `(Q) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

    `(2) The agencies referred to in subsection (a)(2) are the following:

(A)The Agency for International Development.
(B)The General Services Administration.
(C)The National Science Foundation.
(D)The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(E)The Office of Personnel Management.
(F)The Small Business Administration.
(G)The Social Security Administration.</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*Department of Agriculture
*Department of Commerce
*Department of Defense
*Department of Education
*Department of Energy
*Department of Health and Human Services
*Department of Homeland Security
*Department of Housing and Urban Development
*Department of the Interior
*Department of Justice
*Department of Labor
*Department of State
*Department of Transportation
*Department of Treasury
*Department of Veterans Affairs
*Environmental Protection Agency
*National Aeronautics and Space Administration
*Agency for International Development
*Social Security Administration
*General Services Administration
*National Science Foundation
*Nuclear Regulatory Commission
*Office of Personnel Management
*Small Business Administration
{{div col end}}
The Act created a new position in the OMB, the '''Deputy Director for Management''', who is the government's chief financial management official. It also created a new sub-division of the OMB, the [[Office of Federal Financial Management]] (OFFM), to carry out government-wide financial management responsibilities. The OFFM's chief officer was designated as the newly created Controller position. Both the Deputy Director for Management and the Controller are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The [[Committee on Government Reform]] oversees the management and infrastructure of the federal agencies, including those covered by the CFO Act.

The CFO Act also established the '''CFO Council''', consisting of the CFOs and Deputy CFOs of the largest federal agencies and senior officials of OMB and Treasury.<ref>[https://www.cfo.gov/about-council CFO.gov About Council Page] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716031850/https://www.cfo.gov/about-council |date=July 16, 2015 }}</ref>

For a discussion of the history and motivation underlying the CFO Act - with particular emphasis on the difficulties the U.S. Department of Defense has experienced attempting to comply with the financial-statement reporting requirements of the Act - see "Financial Accountability at the DOD:  Reviewing the Bidding," published in the July 2009 issue of the Defense Acquisition Review Journal, pgs. 181–196.<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.dau.mil/library/arj/ARJ/arj51/ARJ51.pdf
| title = Financial Accountability at the DoD, Reviewing the Bidding
| accessdate = 22 Feb 2018
| archive-date = 22 February 2018
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180222230010/https://www.dau.mil/library/arj/ARJ/arj51/ARJ51.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

The CFO Act was authored by staff of the House of Representatives Committee on Government Operations, now the Committee of Government Oversight and Reform, under the leadership of Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Ranking Minority Member Frank Horton (R-NY).  The CFO Act passed the House of Representatives by Unanimous Consent.

Federal agencies not listed above, including at least 75 small or "micro" agencies, are not subject to the CFO Act.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-04 |title=75 small, micro agencies to have access to advanced cyber services under new award |url=https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2020/05/75-small-micro-agencies-to-have-access-to-advanced-cyber-services-under-new-award/ |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Federal News Network |language=en-US}}</ref> These agencies may be subject to other financial reporting standards under provisions such as the Accountability of Tax Dollars Act of 2002.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hatch |first=Garrett |url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R42975.pdf |title=Federal Financial Reporting: An Overview |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]] |year=2013 |pages=7}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board|Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB)]]

== References ==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cfo.gov CFO Council Website]
*[https://www.gao.gov/assets/afmd-12.19.4.pdf Guide to the CFO Act] (U.S. General Accounting Office now known as the Government Accountability Office)
*[https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-104/pdf/STATUTE-104-Pg2838.pdf Text of the CFO Act of 1990]
*[http://whereisthemoney.org/FAQ-who.htm Where Is The Money FAQ: Who's In Charge]

[[Category:1990 in American law]]
[[Category:John Conyers]]
[[Category:Presidency of George H. W. Bush]]
[[Category:United States federal government administration legislation]]
[[Category:Government finances in the United States]]


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