DATA Act Compliance Audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Chief Financial Officer

In accordance with the statutory requirements of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) and standards established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, we audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Chief Financial Officer’s (OCFO) compliance with the DATA Act for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020. The audit was statutorily mandated by Congress. Our objectives were to assess the (1) completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and quality of HUD OCFO’s fiscal year 2020, third quarter, financial and award data submitted for publication on USASpending.gov and (2) HUD’s implementation and use of the governmentwide financial data standards established by OMB and Treasury. HUD OCFO generally complied with the reporting requirements of the DATA Act. The information it submitted for inclusion on USASpending.gov for the third quarter, fiscal year 2020, was complete, accurate, timely, and in accordance with the governmentwide data standards established by OMB and Treasury. In addition, the overall quality of the summary-level and detailed data submitted for the indicated quarter scored 97.1 percent, a score of excellent, according to the DATA Act standards. However, we identified a few exceptions. Specifically, we determined that (1) award data reported in File C were not always reported in File D2 in a timely manner and (2) inaccuracies existed between the data reported and the source documentation for the business type, action type, and other data elements. The exceptions occurred because of (1) timing differences in processing issuances of the Indian Housing Loan Guarantee (IHLG) program loan guarantees and (2) potential errors in recording the information in HUD’s financial systems or errors caused by third-party sources. HUD OCFO later submitted the IHLG program award data. It also indicated having implemented procedures to correct timing differences. Further, HUD OCFO acknowledged potential data entry errors in the business type and action type data elements, however, we considered these errors immaterial. Although we identified a few exceptions, we concluded that HUD had implemented and used the governmentwide data standards to successfully submit the spending data to Treasury’s DATA Act Broker. We do not have any new recommendations as a result of this audit. We determined that HUD had satisfactorily addressed the reasons why program award data were not submitted in a timely manner. Also, the remaining exceptions related to potential errors in the business type, action type, and other data elements were immaterial or due to causes outside HUD’s control. Further, HUD has taken corrective actions that address all open recommendations from our prior audit, and these actions address remaining issues identified in the current year audit.