Every two years at the start of a new Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) calls attention to agencies and program areas that are considered "high risk" due to vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or are most in need of transformation.

On May 1, 2014, the National Academy of Public Administration co-hosted a panel discussion with GAO entitled "Getting Off the High Risk List: Strategies, Tactics, and Tips to Improve Performance," designed to help those government entities who found themselves on this list.

This half-day forum featured keynote speakers Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States, Beth Cobert, Deputy Director for Management at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and Robert Hale, Comptroller of the Department of Defense, discussed efforts to address management challenges. A panel discussion designed to share strategies, tactics, and tips to getting off the “High Risk List” followed. The Academy and GAO spurred a robust discussion centered around a meaningful exchange that benefited representatives of sixteen federal departments and agencies in attendance.