GAO Lobbying Report Audit Meetings To Resume When Shutdown Ends

Key Takeaways

• The Government Accountability Office conducts annual random audits of Lobbying Disclosure Act registrants, but the recent federal government shutdown led to the cancellation of scheduled audit meetings.
• The audit process now involves direct requests for documentation via email, replacing the previous web-based questionnaire.
• Registrants are advised to review their records and consult counsel before meetings to avoid sharing privileged information and to address any necessary amendments or late filings proactively.

The federal government shutdown began on October 1, just when the Government Accountability Office (GAO) had begun its annual audit meetings with federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) registrants. Each year, as directed by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA), the GAO conducts annual random audits of compliance by lobbyists, lobbying firms, and LDA registrants. As amended by HLOGA, the LDA directs the GAO to audit compliance with the LDA and submit a report to Congress by April 1 each year that assesses noncompliance with the law and makes recommendations for improvement. GAO’s most recent report, which covers LDA reporting in the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, is here. While the GAO’s report does not discuss the results of any particular audit, it lists each registrant that was audited (and, where appropriate, the client associated with the audited report) and discusses in aggregate terms the types of issues that arose.

The GAO has authority to request information and documents from LDA-registered companies and firms, as well as individual registered lobbyists, in order to carry out its audits. It identifies and reviews a random sample of approximately 100 quarterly LD-2 reports each year. From the lobbyist’s perspective, the audit begins with a notice from the GAO, typically issued in late August. It culminates in a meeting during which the GAO asks the registrant a series of questions. Each audit meeting and, therefore, the questions typically focus on one quarterly report (and if the registrant is a lobbying firm, one quarterly report for only one of its clients) that was filed within the preceding 12 months. 

The audit process has evolved significantly since it began after 2007. By the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the audit meeting process had come to include two basic parts: a web-based questionnaire for the registrant to fill out, followed by an in-person meeting with GAO personnel. The questionnaire asked a series of questions about much of the information featured on the quarterly report under audit, primarily to determine whether the registrant possessed records supporting the information reflected on the report. During the in-person meeting, GAO personnel proceeded through the answers the registrant provided on the questionnaire, asking to review the documentation on which the registrant based its LDA report. During the pandemic, the questionnaires remained, but the meetings shifted to online video conferences, and GAO has followed that format since. 

This year, audit notices were distributed as usual in late summer, and meetings were scheduled for September and October. Interactions with the GAO before the October shutdown indicate that GAO staff have stopped using the online questionnaire and instead have simply asked by email for audited registrants to prepare to share certain documentation at the online meeting. 

Any audit meetings scheduled for October 1 or thereafter were canceled, and they will likely be rescheduled when the shutdown ends. Registrants who are waiting for their audit meetings may choose to take this opportunity to prepare for this year’s format. The absence of a questionnaire may tempt some registrants to forgo planning and wait to review documentation until right before their meetings. However, without the questionnaire, GAO staff may perceive more flexibility to choose their questions than in the past. Advance review with counsel is helpful to prepare and is also necessary to ensure that privileged or proprietary information is not inadvertently shared with GAO. And preparation will also help determine, before the meeting, whether the registrant must amend the quarterly report under review, or whether semiannual LD-203 reports are missing or need to be supplemented. If an amendment or late filing must be made, it is often better to do it before the audit meeting to avoid having to communicate further with GAO afterward. 

Despite the shutdown, preparation remains key to ensuring a smooth audit experience. If you or your legal or government relations staff have any questions about the GAO audit process or the Lobbying Disclosure Act, please feel free to contact the authors of this Update directly.