GAO High-Risk List as a Compass: Accountability, Performance & Government Modernization

Mar, 09 2026 2:00pm - Mar, 09 2026 4:00pm

For more than three decades, the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s High-Risk List has identified programs vulnerable to waste, mismanagement, and operational weakness. But beyond oversight, the High-Risk List has become a powerful driver of modernization, reform, and performance improvement across government.

Join the National Academy of Public Administration’s Standing Panel on Public Service for a special hybrid event featuring a fireside chat with the Acting Comptroller General of the United States, Orice Williams Brown, facilitated by Kimberly Walton, followed by a practitioner panel moderated by Vince Micone.

Distinguished leaders, including Academy Fellows Diana Maurer, and former GSA executive Katy Kale, will share firsthand perspectives on how agencies respond to High-Risk designations and translate oversight into sustained institutional reform.

This discussion will explore how the High-Risk List can serve not merely as an accountability mechanism, but as a strategic compass guiding government toward long-term resilience, modernization, and mission effectiveness.