Conflicts of Interest in the Acquisition Process

Submitting OIG:

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation OIG

Date Issued:

Monday, September 23, 2024

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

EVAL-24-06

Location(s):

Agency-Wide

Type of Report:

Inspection / Evaluation

Questioned Costs:

Funds for Better Use:

Number of Recommendations:

Report updated under NDAA 5274:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
Final-Report-EVAL-24-06-Conflicts-Interest-Acquisition-Process.pdf	1.7 MB

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
1	Open	No
Develop a means of identifying and documenting acquisition-specific team members from the Program Offices, Division of Administration Acquisition Services Branch, Legal Division, and Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.
2	Open	No
Update the Acquisition Procedures and Guidance Manual to (1) define “reasonable planning,” (2) require the documentation of “reasonable planning” for all acquisitions, and (3) require a written description of potential or actual acquisition-specific conflict of interest-related risks in planning documentation.
3	Open	No
Develop procedures requiring acquisition team members, as defined in response to Recommendation 1, to complete a conflict of interest certification in which each team member is to assess and document that they do not have a potential or actual conflict of interest related to the specific acquisition prior to participating in any phase of the acquisition lifecycle (from planning to closeout). These procedures should require that evidence of acquisition team members’ conflict of interest certifications is maintained in accordance with requisite FDIC records retention schedule requirements.
4	Open	No
Develop procedures requiring acquisition team members, as defined in response to Recommendation 1, to re-certify annually that they remain free of actual or potential conflicts of interest as long as the acquisition is in place.
5	Open	No
Develop and deliver specialized acquisition-related conflict of interest training on at least an annual basis to all acquisition team members to strengthen employee knowledge and skills related to ethics laws and regulations.
6	Open	No
Ensure Deputy Ethics Counselors (DEC) are trained on the revised Financial Disclosure Review guidance to follow up with filers when a financial disclosure report omits an entry the DEC has independent knowledge of that is relevant to the conflict of interest analysis.
7	Open	No
Evaluate whether there should be minimum qualifications and requirements for appointed Deputy Ethics Counselors (DEC), a desired ratio of DECs to filers across FDIC Divisions and Offices, and whether DEC duties should be incorporated into FDIC employee position descriptions to better equip DECs to monitor and respond to employees’ potential and actual conflicts of interest.
8	Open	No
Develop and implement an action plan utilizing Deputy Ethics Counselor survey results and other relevant information to help identify strengths and opportunities for continuous improvement in the FDIC’s financial disclosure review program.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

Open

Develop a means of identifying and documenting acquisition-specific team members from the Program Offices, Division of Administration Acquisition Services Branch, Legal Division, and Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.

Open

Update the Acquisition Procedures and Guidance Manual to (1) define “reasonable planning,” (2) require the documentation of “reasonable planning” for all acquisitions, and (3) require a written description of potential or actual acquisition-specific conflict of interest-related risks in planning documentation.

Open

Develop procedures requiring acquisition team members, as defined in response to Recommendation 1, to complete a conflict of interest certification in which each team member is to assess and document that they do not have a potential or actual conflict of interest related to the specific acquisition prior to participating in any phase of the acquisition lifecycle (from planning to closeout). These procedures should require that evidence of acquisition team members’ conflict of interest certifications is maintained in accordance with requisite FDIC records retention schedule requirements.

Open

Develop procedures requiring acquisition team members, as defined in response to Recommendation 1, to re-certify annually that they remain free of actual or potential conflicts of interest as long as the acquisition is in place.