Harris Interactive has released the results of a poll, commissioned by The Association of Government Accountants, laying bare the need for increased transparency in government spending. They found a large gap between the amount of people who say it is very important for government to provide transparency 78% and the number who are satisfied with the level of transparency they are receiving, 9%.

Other Key Findings:

• What the Public Wants: Respondents are specific in the ways in which government can address their accountability concerns, including better reporting (42%, open disclosure, easy-to-read reports), a change in attitude in communications (28%, honesty and transparency) and better information in the right channels (13%, websites, through the press).

• Across All Levels: The strongest dissatisfaction is with the information about the federal government’s financial management (Federal, 60%; State, 46%; Local, 38%).

• Impact the Vote: Almost three-quarters (71%) of those who believe that having financial information available is at least somewhat important, mention the information would influence their voting decision.

• Put it Online: A significant portion of the population is searching online for information on how the government is generating and spending money (Federal, 33%; State, 30%; Local, 24%).

The public overwhelmingly believes government has the obligation to provide reporting that explains how the government spends its money; however, government is not meeting expectations in any area included in this survey.

The poll was conducted across all regions of the country and all ages, races, education levels, income levels, political affiliation and gender were adequately represented.

The poll can be found in its entirety here.