Audit of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Contract Management of Information Technology Services

The NRC could improve its IT services and support through more consistent management with an emphasis on service level agreements (SLAs) and the closeout of IT-related contracts. Consistent with federal regulations and prudent business practices, contract requirements should be clearly defined, and the appropriate performance standards should be developed so the contractors’ performance can be measured. However, the NRC does not consistently use SLAs when awarding IT contracts because the agency has no specific guidance on how or when to use SLAs. As a result, the NRC may be limiting its ability to measure contractor performance and may not receive the services the agency requires or purchases. The NRC is required to close out contracts in an orderly and timely manner. However, the NRC is not always prompt in contract closeouts and in deobligating excess funds. This occurs because the NRC does not always prioritize contract closeouts and does not have a tracking method for contracts in the closeout process. This has led to a surplus of unliquidated obligations that could be put to better use. This report makes two recommendations to improve the NRC's management and closeout of IT contracts.