Audit of Physical Security Standards for Department of State Temporary Structures

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Date Issued

Friday, September 29, 2023

Submitting OIG

Department of State OIG

Other Participating OIGs

Department of State OIG

Agencies Reviewed/Investigated

Department of State

Components

Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations

Bureau of Diplomatic Security

Report Number

AUD-SI-23-30

Report Type

Audit

Agency Wide

Yes

Number of Recommendations

Questioned Costs

Funds for Better Use

Open Recommendations

This report has 5 open recommendations.

Recommendation Number	Significant Recommendation	Recommended Questioned Costs	Recommended Funds for Better Use
1	Yes	$0	$0
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, (a) finalize and publish definitions and descriptions for temporary structures and related terminology, (b) update applicable policies and process documents, and (c) communicate this information to all Department of State employees who have responsibility for real property at overseas posts.
2	No	$0	$0
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (a) draft and publish guidance in the Foreign Affairs Manual requiring posts to request authorization and permits before changing the intended and permitted use of any structure and (b) communicate this information to all Department of State employees who have responsibility for real property at overseas posts.
3	No	$0	$0
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations update the Real Property Application User Manual to (a) improve the guidance provided for data entry, including guidance related to standardization and streamlining of naming and categorization, and (b) include information related to structure type consistent with the definitions published in response to Recommendation 1.
4	Yes	$0	$0
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), develop and implement a process to periodically reconcile data between the Real Property Application and key DS databases, including the Published Waivers/Exceptions database, Deficiency Database, and Published Physical Security Surveys database.
7	No	$0	$0
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations develop and implement policies and procedures to request a certification from posts indicating that they do not have any unauthorized shipping containers.