The Department Must Improve Processes for Addressing and Managing ‘H’ Referrals

This final report provides the results of our evaluation of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (the Department’s) processes for handling hotline complaints referred by the Office of Inspector General (OIG). The objective of our evaluation was to review the Department’s processes for responding to hotline complaint referrals where OIG requests that the Department conduct an inquiry and provide a response detailing its results (also known as H referrals). Overall, we found that the Department lacked an effective process and internal controls over its hotline \ referrals. This report includes recommendations for the Department to implement internal controls for addressing H referrals efficiently and effectively. See appendix A for specific details on our objective, scope, and methodology.