This course provides participants with a comprehensive understanding of how appropriated funds are authorized, allocated, and regulated across the federal government. You'll explore the legal framework governing federal spending — including the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), and the GAO's Principles of Federal Appropriations Law (the "Red Book") — while building practical skills to identify fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement of federal funding. Through case studies, exercises, and real-world scenarios, you'll learn how the federal budget and appropriations process works, how obligations and expenditures flow, and how contract law intersects with appropriations requirements.
A major focus of the course is recognizing and detecting Antideficiency Act violations, one of the most critical compliance risks in federal financial management. You'll examine how continuing resolutions and government shutdowns affect agency operations, learn to assess internal controls related to the proper use of funds, and practice applying the Bona Fide Needs Rule, the Necessary Expense Doctrine, and other key legal tests auditors rely on in the field. Whether you're conducting contract audits, performance audits, or compliance reviews, this course gives you the foundational knowledge to evaluate whether federal funds are being spent lawfully and effectively.
Receive instruction from subject‑matter experts who bring proven government experience.
Courses that are regularly updated based on feedback and industry developments, ensuring versions are mapped to federal competencies.
The instructor was wonderful and so knowledgeable. The course materials were extremely relevant to what my job is. I feel like I can be better because of this class.
— 2025 student
Directly addressing the day-to-day challenges of federal employees.
Your trusted training partner, equipping public service professionals with the skills and knowledge to excel in their roles and drive meaningful impact.
Attend this course live online or as self-paced training. Engage with expert instructors, ask questions, and get feedback on your exercises and projects.
Get the same interactivity and access to the instructor as in-person students. There are no extra fees and we’ll work with you to ensure your remote setup is perfect.
Learn at your own pace with pre-recorded video lessons and hands-on exercises. Work through the material on your schedule with access to course content and resources.
Our instructors are industry experts and experienced educators, driven to help you succeed.
Upon completion of this course, you’ll receive an official certificate testifying to your mastery of the curriculum. We’ll send you a link where you can download your certificate, share it online with your friends, post it to your professional network on LinkedIn, and view all your earned certificates. Congratulations on your achievement!
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We offer a single free retake of the class within a year.
Since 1921, Graduate School USA has partnered with over 125 federal agencies and trained more than one million federal employees. Led by instructors with deep, real-world knowledge of federal regulations, policies, and practices, our private group programs are practical, mission-driven, and tailored to your agency’s objectives. We offer expertise across key federal domains—including human resources, financial management, acquisition and contracting, leadership, and more—to deliver training where and how your team needs it.
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