Postal performance reports called misleading

The U.S. Postal Service is getting worse, not better, at meeting the reporting requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act, according to a new General Accounting Office report. Under GPRA, agencies must submit annual performance plans which detail their goals. Agencies then report back to Congress, in annual performance reports, on whether or not they met the goals outlined in their plans. "Our assessment of the service's fiscal year 1999 performance report and its fiscal year 2001 preliminary performance plan are not as positive as our prior years' assessments of the service's efforts under GPRA," the report, "U.S. Postal Service: Enhancements Needed in Performance Planning and Reporting (GGD-00-207)" said. In fact, GAO officials said, certain aspects of the Postal Service 1999 performance report were "misleading." Only a thorough reading of the report reveals the most accurate information, the report said. In the Postal Service's 2001 preliminary performance plan, "the criteria for achieving goals were unclear, the descriptions of strategies to accomplish certain results were incomplete, and the information contained in prior years' plans were carried forward into the current year's plan without always being updated to reflect known or anticipated changes," according to GAO. "Be straightforward and clear," GAO recommended, urging the Postal Service to clearly state results so that they were not left open to misinterpretation. GAO did give the agency kudos for its efforts to present results, summarize its performance and acknowledge the importance of performance goals. Postal Service officials said future reports will address the GAO's concerns, and promised to clarify the questionable areas in the final 2001 performance plan.