OIG identified monitoring and reporting on the integrity of HHS programs, including responsible stewardship of HHS programs and protection of resources, as a top management and performance challenge for HHS. NIH operations are responsible for the prudent management and careful stewardship of approximately $1.8 billion in accountable personal property. The Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 and the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019, P.L. No. 115-245, provided HHS OIG with $5 million from the NIH appropriation for oversight of grant programs and operations of NIH.Our objective was to determine whether NIH had controls in place to effectively and efficiently track and monitor information technology (IT) resources and internet protocol (IP) addresses.
Open Recommendations
| Recommendation Number | Significant Recommendation | Recommended Questioned Costs | Recommended Funds for Better Use | Additional Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 269523 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| To enhance its stewardship activities, we recommend that the National Institutes of Health: establish an oversight body that ensures property accountability management responsibilities and control activities for Government property are performed | |||||
| 269524 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| To enhance its stewardship activities, we recommend that the National Institutes of Health: appoint a Board of Survey and Survey officers at each IC and complete investigations and reviews on incidents to accountable property, and conduct them going forward according to property management policy and procedures | |||||
| 269525 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| To enhance its stewardship activities, we recommend that the National Institutes of Health: formalize and implement a performance indicator for the completion of investigations for lost, damaged, stolen, or destroyed accountable property and risk indicators to use together with other performance indicators in its accountable personal property management program; | |||||
| 269526 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| To enhance its stewardship activities, we recommend that the National Institutes of Health: implement routine mandatory training for ICs’ procurement personnel and Property Custodial and Accountability officers on its Personal Property Management policies and procedures; | |||||
| 269527 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| To enhance its stewardship activities, we recommend that the National Institutes of Health: complete corrective actions for FYs 2017 and 2018 FMFIA audits’ control deficiency record; | |||||
| 269528 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| To enhance its stewardship activities, we recommend that the National Institutes of Health: develop relevant milestones with estimated milestone completion dates that support the implementation of a standardized agencywide operating model that centralizes and integrates software asset management and software license management; | |||||
| 269529 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| To enhance its stewardship activities, we recommend that the National Institutes of Health: employ a primary software asset management tool that centralizes and automates the capture of software inventory and entitlement data into each IC operating environment. | |||||
