Audit of Department of State Efforts To Identify and Terminate Unneeded Contracts Related to Afghanistan

Submitting OIG:

Department of State OIG

Date Issued:

Monday, September 18, 2023

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

Department of State

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

AUD-CGI-23-26

Component, if applicable:

Bureau of Administration

Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services

Location(s):

Afghanistan

Agency-Wide

Type of Report:

Audit

Questioned Costs:

Funds for Better Use:

Number of Recommendations:

Report updated under NDAA 5274:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
AUD-CGI-23-26.pdf	3.27 MB

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
1	Open	Yes
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, develop and implement a process that can be used in response to an emergency situation at an overseas post to identify contracts that require termination or other contract administration actions.
2	Open	Yes
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration develop and implement a contingency action plan that could be enacted to optimize Contracting Officers’ workload management during challenging periods, such as when a surge of contracts need to be terminated, suspended, or closed out.
3	Open	Yes
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration develop and implement an effective tool to track the status of contracts from termination through closeout. At a minimum, the tool should identify the steps remaining to be completed in the termination and closeout process, including identifying overdue steps, and the time elapsed between key steps.
4	Open	Yes
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration develop a plan to assess and take action to ensure Contracting Officers’ compliance with Department of State requirements regarding maintaining contract administration file documentation in eFiling.
5	Open	No
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration conduct a survey among Contracting Officers and Contracting Officer’s Representatives to identify issues related to the use of the mandated eFiling module and suggested improvements to the module, specifically pertaining to maintaining contract administration documentation.
6	Open	Yes
Following implementation of Recommendation 5, OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration (a) analyze the results of the survey to identify the factors hindering the use of eFiling to maintain contract administration documentation, including technical issues that need to be addressed and (b) develop and implement, if appropriate, a corrective action plan to increase the use of the mandated eFiling module.
7	Open	Yes
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration update the Foreign Affairs Manual, Foreign Affairs Handbook, and supplemental procurement guidance to assist and support Contracting Officers in conducting contract terminations. At a minimum, the policies and procedures should include guidance detailing the contents of termination dockets, such as the type and extent of documentation to maintain; expected timelines for adding documents; and standardized methods for organizing and naming documents. The policy and procedures should also include helpful tools, such as a checklist of documents that are required to be maintained in the termination docket and a post-termination conference meeting template.
8	Open	Yes
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Foreign Service Institute, modify contract administration training that is offered by the Department of State to include guidance on the contract termination process.
9	Open	No
Following implementation of Recommendations 7 and 8, OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration develop a communication strategy and disseminate to procurement personnel the updates to policy, procedures, and training related to contract terminations to ensure awareness of contract termination process requirements, including documentation requirements.
10	Open	No
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, within 45 days of issuance of this report, develop and implement a plan of action to address the contracts related to Afghanistan that are in the termination process to ensure prompt completion of the process and move contracts to closeout.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

Open

Yes

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, develop and implement a process that can be used in response to an emergency situation at an overseas post to identify contracts that require termination or other contract administration actions.

Open

Yes

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration develop and implement a contingency action plan that could be enacted to optimize Contracting Officers’ workload management during challenging periods, such as when a surge of contracts need to be terminated, suspended, or closed out.

Open

Yes