Office of the Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress April 1, 2023 – September 30, 2023

During this semiannual reporting period, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) completed two audits – one focused on the NEA’s compliance with Federal information security requirements and the other an audit of four NEA grants awarded to a state arts agency. From these audits, we issued two reports that include questioned costs of $1,986,620 a potential refund due of $36,089, and 20 recommendations to help improve NEA information security operations and awardees’ stewardship of grant funds. We also worked with the NEA on the follow-up process, required by the Office of Management and Budget, that resulted in the NEA and awardees taking corrective actions on 24 OIG recommendations – nearly 44 percent of open recommendations for the semiannual period. In addition, we resolved 78 percent of the hotline complaints received during the semiannual period, and two complaints will be considered for inclusion in our 2024 audit plan. Finally, we continuously monitor NEA’s top management challenges and noted that the NEA continues to make progress in addressing these challenges, and is quick and strategic in responding to new challenges as they occur. In terms of new challenges, NEA has demonstrated its ability to effectively steward increased funding over the past three years. NEA also faces an enhanced role in President Biden’s Executive Order #14084, which includes a whole-of-government approach for advancing the arts, the humanities, and museum and library services. We will include a more thorough discussion of this and other challenges in our next semiannual report. I applaud the NEA and the OIG staff for continuing to press forward and effectively work together to deliver our respective missions in a high-quality manner. The value-added work that the OIG accomplished this period is due to my staff’s commitment to excellence, continued growth, and dedication; along with the support of the NEA Chair and her staff. We will continue to work with the NEA Chair and staff to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness while helping to ensure integrity, excellence, and value in the delivery of NEA’s mission