Controller or CFO?

The Congress viewed financial statements as a benchmark expectation of federal agencies, similar to publicly traded companies, state and local governments, and non-profits receiving federal funds. In its July 2011 legislatively mandated report to the Congress and the Comptroller General, The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990-20 Years Later, the federal CFO Council and the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency concluded: "The lasting impact of the CFO Act is that it transformed federal financial management from a 'backroom' function, out of sight and out of mind to most federal executives, to a 'boardroom' function. During a 40-year federal career, he was assistant comptroller general of the U.S. for Accounting and Information Management, led GAO's largest audit unit, had responsibility for developing government auditing and internal control standards, and was a principal architect of the CFO Act.