U.S. Postal Service

The Postal Service operates and maintains one of the world’s largest computer networks, linking more than 31,000 retail locations and making communication possible among hundreds of thousands of employees. The Postal Service processes more than 146 billion mailpieces annually and delivers nearly...

This report presents the results of our self-initiated review of U.S. Postal Service actions to safeguard employees from Hurricane Katrina. Our objective was to determine whether employees were safeguarded prior to the landfall of Katrina.

Our overall objective was to determine the effectiveness of the actions to account for all employees based on whether the Postal Service (1) located employees in the days after Katrina and (2) tracked employees’ locations as they changed addresses in the days and months following the hurricane. We...

Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012, caused billions of dollars in damages on the eastern seaboard, including about $39.6 million in total costs and damages to the U.S. Postal Service. In the wake of this national disaster, we assessed the Postal Service’s efforts to protect employees, mail, and...

The objective of this audit was to determine whether internal controls over accountable paper and postal funds at the Pomona Main Post Office were managed effectively. Accountability examinations include retail floor stock (stamps sold on the retail floor), unit reserve stock (stamps used to...

For more than 200 years, the Postal Service has been a mainstay in rural America, which the OIG found values the Postal Service for not just its package and mail services but also its presence in the community. For example, more than half (56 percent) of rural customers know either their postmaster...

The Postal Service continues to face financial challenges due to declines in letter mail volume. As declines persist, strategic cost control is one of the key factors that must be addressed. And clearly, labor costs will be a critical area, as it is the greatest component of postal costs —...

Due to the impact of first‑line supervisors on Postal Service operations, the OIG sought to gain an understanding of the structure, footprint within the organization, and investments made in first‑line supervisors. As such, key human capital and performance data related to first‑line supervisors was...

Should same-day delivery remain a niche product mostly appealing to urban Millennials, next-day delivery could instead become the “new normal” for many online orders. As it keeps one eye on the future of same-day delivery, the Postal Service should also continue to focus on next-day delivery through...

We tested key financial reporting controls, traced accounting transactions, and reviewed support documentation in selected accounting processes and determined the Postal Service fairly stated accounting transactions in the general ledger, and selected controls surrounding those transactions were...