Federal Reports

The OIG contracted with the independent public accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA) to audit VA’s financial statements. This audit is an annual legislative requirement. CLA provided an unmodified opinion on VA’s financial statements for FY 2020 and FY 2019. It identified five material weaknesses in internal control in the following areas: (1) controls over significant accounting estimates; (2) obligations, undelivered orders, and accrued expenses; (3) financial systems and reporting; (4) IT security controls; and (5) entity level controls including chief financial officer organizational structure. The material weakness involving information technology security controls has been reported for more than 10 years. CLA made recommendations for addressing each of the material weaknesses. The firm is responsible for its audit report dated November 24, 2020, and the conclusions expressed in it. CLA also reported instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. Among these, VA did not substantially comply with federal financial management systems requirements and the United States Standard General Ledger at the transaction level, as required by the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act. The auditors attributed this to VA’s complex, disjointed, and legacy financial management system architecture, which no longer supports stringent and demanding financial management and reporting requirements. VA continued to be challenged in consistently enforcing established policies and procedures throughout its geographically dispersed portfolio of outdated applications and systems.

We conducted this audit in response to a January 27, 2020 congressional request from Senator Margaret Hassan, who raised concerns regarding complaints at multiple Postal Service facilities in New Hampshire. Our objective was to evaluate mail delivery and customer service operations at selected locations.

The objective of our inspection was to assess the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) plans and procedures for returning employees to the federal office in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, including what existing guidance the Department considered when developing its plans and procedures. We found that the Department generally incorporated available guidance, which was intended to provide for a safe and gradual return to federal offices, in its Workplace Reconstitution Transition Plan (Reconstitution Plan). However, we noted that the Department’s Reconstitution Plan does not address anti-retaliation as recommended in OSHA guidance. In addition, we found that the Department did not periodically reassess and update self-screening questions as necessary in its Reconstitution Plan as suggested by OMB.

A Lead Service Agent, based in New York City, resigned on December 12, 2020, prior to her disciplinary hearing for violating Amtrak policies by adding tips to at least two Café Car credit card transaction receipts without the knowledge or authorization of the customers.

The U.S. Congress authorized the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to receive $48 billion in funding for the 5-year period beginning October 1, 2008, to assist foreign countries in combating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Congress authorized additional funds to be appropriated through 2023.The Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (the Act) requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), among others, to provide oversight of the programs implemented under the Act, including PEPFAR. To meet this requirement, we have conducted a series of audits of organizations receiving PEPFAR funds from HHS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In audits of PEPFAR recipients, some findings indicated common trends among the recipients.Our objectives were to identify: (1) trends related to findings in our prior audits of CDC PEPFAR recipients, (2) CDC's actions to improve oversight of PEPFAR recipients, and (3) internal control weaknesses in CDC's post-award oversight of PEPFAR recipients.

Two senior Amtrak Information Technology employees were terminated on December 11, 2020 for violating company policies by (1) steering contracts to close personal friends; (2) failing to disclose relationships between company employees and vendors; (3) engaging in conflicts of interest by approving invoices for personal gain; and (4) coordinating with contractors during a competitive solicitation, misrepresenting Amtrak’s requirements, and engaging in other activities that undermined the Procurement department’s ability to ensure its decisions were in the company’s best interest.