According to a story last month in GovExec, a poll conducted by Harris Interactive reveals that Americans believe the federal government has done a poor job of communicating important financial management information and that the public does not trust its leaders to provide full and accurate information about how the government collects and spends money. Among the poll's salient findings:

• While 72 percent of respondents believe it is extremely or very important to receive financial management information from the federal government, only 5 percent are equally satisfied with the information they receive
• Although 73 percent of those surveyed said it is extremely or very important for the government to be open and honest with its spending, just 5 percent said the government is meeting those expectations
• 71 percent of respondents who receive financial management information from the government, or believe that it is important

As the Washington Post reported, only 4 percent said the federal government "provides understandable financial information," 5 percent said it was "open and honest in spending," and 9 percent saw it as being held accountable to the public for its spending.