Federal Reports

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is initiating a risk assessment of the U.S. AbilityOne Commission’s Charge Card Programs. The “Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012” requires the Inspector General to conduct periodic assessments of the Commission’s purchase and travel card(s).

The objective of the risk assessment is to analyze and identify the risks of illegal, improper, or erroneous purchases and payments within the Commission’s charge card programs to determine whether an audit is warranted or make recommendations and identify areas of risk that the Commission could improve to strengthen its charge card programs.

The Reports Consolidation Act of 2000 requires the Executive Branch Inspectors General to identify and report annually on the top management challenges facing their agencies. The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), Office of the Inspector General (OIG), also adopted this requirement as a best practice. 

Semiannual Report to Congress: April 1, 2025, through September 30, 2025

The independent public accounting firm KPMG LLP (KPMG) under contract with the DHS, Office of Inspector General, has issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on DHS’s fiscal year 2025 consolidated financial statements.  KPMG noted that the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, DHS’s financial position as of September 30, 2025. KPMG issued an adverse opinion on DHS’s internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2025. The report identifies material weaknesses in internal control in five areas: 1. Information Technology Controls and Information Systems 2. Financial Reporting 3. Taxes Receivable, Net 4. Construction in Progress 5. Internal Control Monitoring KPMG also identified a significant deficiency related to Grant Recipient Monitoring as well as noncompliance with the following two laws: 1. Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982 2. Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996. 

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 allocated $8.8 billion to the Department of Energy for issuing grants to states, U.S. territories, and Indian Tribes for distribution to the public in the form of home energy rebates. The Department’s Office of State and Community Energy Programs is responsible for oversight and guidance of the $87.6 million of grants awarded to the New Mexico State Energy Office (NMSEO).

We initiated this inspection to assess the NMSEO’s internal controls to administer the Home Energy Rebates programs under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

We found that the NMSEO had not established a comprehensive internal controls system, though it has offered rebates since September 2024. Specifically, the NMSEO did not: (1) identify, assess, and document potential risks that could prevent the programs from achieving stated objectives; (2) document important control activities; and (3) ensure the activities of the implementing company aligned with what the Office of State and Community Energy Programs had approved.

Additionally, we identified areas of potential risk related to the NMSEO’s proposed plan to contract a company to implement a multifamily energy rebates program. Under the proposed plan, the multifamily implementing company would oversee its own work for installing energy-saving equipment and approving rebate requests. Additionally, the implementing company did not plan to verify self-reported household income or follow up with property owners to ensure they meet certain occupancy and rent requirements.

A fully established internal controls system helps protect Department funds and meet program objectives. Further, without well-documented policies and procedures, continuity of operations for the programs could be at risk when personnel normally assigned to complete those procedures are unavailable.

To address the issues identified in this report, we made one recommendation and one suggested action that, if fully executed, should help strengthen the NMSEO’s internal controls to implement the Home Energy Rebates programs.