Only half of all federal agencies reporting to the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) can ensure complete data quality reports, a federal watchdog found, warning that those gaps are undermining federal transparency and require immediate corrective action.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a Sept. 25 report that only 36 out of 70 agencies completed required data quality reports in fiscal 2023 before reporting back to the federal government’s central database that tracks and reports federal contract spending.
Those remaining 34 agencies accounted for almost $2 billion in contract obligations, and either did not complete a report or did not respond to requests for a copy of that report, GAO found.
Officials additionally found that none of the 24 Chief Financial Officers Act agencies review met all reporting requirements outlined by the Office of Management and Budget, with 19 agencies failing to submit their reports by OMB’s set deadline. Several also lacked valid sampling methods or corrective action plans.
GAO warned that without stronger oversight and modernization – especially since the General Services Administration (GSA) has no plans to upgrade FPDS and two other key legacy systems – federal contract data will remain error-prone.
“Quality and reliable federal spending data are critical to help identify instances of waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” wrote GAO officials. “Such data also help agencies and policymakers make data-driven decisions, improve public trust, and promote the efficiency and effectiveness of government.”
Specifically, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Veterans Affairs (VA), and the U.S. Navy did not document corrective action plans for FPDS data, with accuracy rates for the VA and HHS falling below 95%.
Meanwhile, OMB and GSA did not sufficiently address FPDS data quality issues or maintain clear policies and monitoring procedures, GAO officials said.
The report pointed to outdated and unclear guidance from OMB and its lack of procedures to monitor procurement data quality reports. It also noted no clearly defined role for how OMB and GSA should collect and track data quality reports, with GAO noting that “reduces assurances for users of FPDS data, such as policymakers and the public, about the quality of federal procurement data when making data-driven decisions.”
GSA, which oversees FPDS, lacks a plan and timeline to modernize the system – and those efforts were placed on hold as of May 2025.
GAO issued 12 recommendations to ensure procurement data quality and address issues across OMB, GSA, HHS, VA, and the Departments of Energy and Defense. Five of those recommendations were specifically made to OMB.
All but OMB – who didn’t comment – agreed with the recommendations.