Budget Object Classification: Origins and Recent Trends: AIMD-94-147 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781287167556)

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on budget object classifications, focusing on: (1) their origins, development, and use; (2) present historical trend data; and (3) actual and proposed uses of object class data to reduce federal administrative expenses.

GAO found that: (1) budget object classification defines budget outlays by the personal and contractual services obtained, capital assets acquired, and other charges and payments made by the government; (2) object classes do not give precise information about services or equipment purchases, since an outlay could properly be recorded in any one of several classes; (3) object classification grew out of a voucher-based accounting system in an effort to control executive branch spending; (4) as the federal budget became more complex, object classification gave way to performance-based budgeting and became a supplementary means to provide budget information; (5) during fiscal years 1972 through 1993, object classes mirrored other budget trends such as interest costs and transfer payments which represented an increased share of the budget; (6) in 1993, the Administration and Congress sought to reduce administrative costs by reducing obligations for certain administrative object classes, but the object classes did not distinguish between administrative and program costs; and (7) the object classes targeted for reduction have experienced very low or negative annual growth rates since 1976.

Author: U. S. Government Accountability Office (
ISBN-10: 1287167551
ISBN-13: 9781287167556
Publisher: Bibliogov
Language: English
Published: 05/16/2013
Pages: 82
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.36lbs
Size: 9.69h x 7.44w x 0.17d