Which provision did the 1921 Budget and Accounting Act require?

• A. Established the GAO to audit the executive branch and required the POTUS to submit a national budget.
• B. Created the IRS audit system.
• C. Required quarterly budgeting by states.
• D. Established the Treasury as sole budgetary authority.

Answer: (A)

This question tests understanding of how the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 reshaped federal budgeting. The act established a formal, centralized process by requiring the President to prepare and submit an annual national budget to Congress, creating a comprehensive view of proposed revenues and spending. It also set up the General Accounting Office to audit the executive branch, providing independent scrutiny of how funds were used. Together, these changes built a structured budget system with oversight.

The other options don’t fit the act’s provisions. It didn’t establish an IRS audit system—that concerns tax administration, not budgeting. It didn’t require quarterly budgeting by states, which relates to state finances rather than the federal budgeting process. It also didn’t make the Treasury the sole budgetary authority; instead, the act created entities to assist in budgeting (the Budget Bureau, later the OMB) and to audit the executive branch (GAO), distributing roles rather than concentrating budget control solely in the Treasury.