Summary: In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed executive branch audiovisual activities to: (1) develop information on the volume and cost of such activities; and (2) test agencies' compliance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policies and procedures for managing such activities.
GAO found that: (1) the National Audiovisual Center understated the costs of federal audiovisual activities because the military departments did not report all the associated costs; (2) the costs for fiscal year 1984 were about $88 million, but did not include the military departments' depreciated equipment and facility costs; (3) the civilian agencies properly reported their annual audiovisual costs; and (4) the agencies reviewed generally complied with OMB policies and procedures and developed plans for controlling the production of audiovisual products. GAO also found that the private sector organization's estimate of the annual costs of federal audiovisual activities was overstated because it: (1) used a $500 million estimate for production costs, which included many categories of audiovisuals not classified as audiovisuals under the government's definition; (2) used a $500 million estimate for salaries based on nearly three times more federal workers employed in audiovisual job series than were actually employed; and (3) double-counted some salary costs.
