Federal Reports

CNCS management reported that it discovered anomalies with the National Service Participants (NSP) accounts in the National Service Trust (NST) database in which AmeriCorps members had been enrolled in Teach for America (TFA) Idaho and Chicago AmeriCorps programs between Grant Years (GY) 2013 - 2017 under multiple NSP accounts with different Social Security Numbers.

A hotline complainant reported that members serving with the St. Bernard Project (SBP), Wall Township, NJ, were unsupervised, falsely reporting service hours, and working in unsafe working conditions.

The New York State Department of Health (State agency) did not always follow Federal requirements in allocating costs to its establishment grants for implementing a health insurance marketplace.

This report should not be distributed without the accompanying financial statements on which it is based. To request a copy of the Statement of Budgetary Activity and report, file a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of the Air Force. https://www.foia.af.mil/

This audit was conducted to identify MS Access applications and databases in use across NARA, assess the security controls for those applications and databases, and determine whether NARA is appropriately positioned to accommodate and maintain the applications and databases and security controls after the planned MS Access upgrade to a newer version.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (State agency) claimed Federal Medicaid reimbursement for some nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) services that did not comply with Federal or State requirements. Of the 200 sample items, 82 complied with Federal and State requirements, but 118 did not. Of the 118 items, 48 contained more than 1 deficiency. On the basis of our sample results, we estimated that the State agency improperly claimed at least $18.7 million ($12 million Federal share) for unallowable NEMT services for the audit period.

Assessment pertains to ARC actions initiated to implement the requirements of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 20147

This report contains Sensitive But Unclassified information. To obtain further information, please contact the OIG Office of Counsel at OIGCounsel@oig.treas.gov, (202) 927-0650, or by mail at Office of Treasury Inspector General, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC 20220.

This report contains Sensitive But Unclassified information. To obtain further information, please contact the OIG Office of Counsel at OIGCounsel@oig.treas.gov, (202) 927-0650, or by mail at Office of Treasury Inspector General, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC 20220.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has identified 10 top management and performance challenges facing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as it strives to fulfill its mission "to enhance the health and well-being of Americans by providing effective health and human services and by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services." These top challenges arise across HHS programs, including, Medicare, Medicaid, the Public Health Service, and the Indian Health Service. These challenges cover critical HHS responsibilities that include delivering quality services and benefits, exercising sound fiscal management, safeguarding public health and safety, and enhancing cybersecurity. OIG maintains a list of recommended solutions to address vulnerabilities detected in its audits and evaluations and identifies the top unimplemented recommendations that, if implemented, are likely to garner significant savings and improvements in efficiency and effectiveness.

This audit provides the results of a review of a coastal restoration project in Louisiana funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, or Fisheries) Office of Habitat Conservation. Our objectives were to determine whether Louisiana’s Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) (1) complied with award terms and conditions and applicable laws and regulations, (2) met the 15.12 percent matching share requirements, and (3) claimed reasonable and allowable costs under the grant award.

The contracted auditors found that the Department’s FY 2016 Closing Package Financial Statements were presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. However, the auditors identified one material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting. Specifically, transactions valued at more than $30 billion were not properly recorded in the Department’s core financial management system, which resulted in misstatements of more than $600 million (net) to certain account balances reported in the Government-wide Treasury Account Symbol Adjusted Trial Balance System, as well as the corresponding Reclassified Financial Statements.

The National Credit Union Administration Office of Inspector General conducted this review in accordance with the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 20141 (DATA Act). Specifically, we conducted this review to gain an understanding of the processes, systems, and controls that NCUA has implemented or plans to implement to report financial and payment data in accordance with the requirements of the DATA Act.

The Office of Inspector General issued the audit of PBGC's Financial Statement Closing Package for Fiscal Year 2016 and 2015.The financial statements and accompanying notes contained in the closing package were prepared for the purpose of complying with the requirements of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Manual (TFM) Volume I, Part 2, Chapter 4700 and the Treasury’s Supplemental Guidance to TFM Volume I, Part 2, Chapter 4700 dated October 17, 2016 for the purpose of providing financial information to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Government Accountability Office to use in preparing and auditing the Financial Report of the U.S. Government, and are not intended to be a complete presentation of PBGC's financial statements.We report that the financial statements and accompanying notes presented fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of PBGC as of September 30, 2016 and 2015, and its net costs and changes in net position for the years then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and the presentation pursuant to the requirements of the TFM Volume I, Part 2 Chapter 4700.

Audit Report

CNCS management discovered a temporary CNCS employee hired to serve as a panel member for the 2016 AmeriCorps State and National Grant Review process submitted work products that appeared to have been plagiarized from her follow panel reviewers.

The Consolidated Reports Act of 2000 and OMB Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements, require that the Office of Inspector General provide the agency head with a summary of the top management and performance challenges facing the agency. It is our assessment that the areas of financial management, human capital, information technology, and grantee accountability represent the top management and performance challenges for NEA.

The Office of Inspector General reports annually on the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) top management challenges, as required by law. For fiscal year 2017, DOT faces eight major challenges: (1) maintaining transportation safety while keeping pace with rapidly evolving technologies; (2) bolstering vehicle and surface transportation safety; (3) strengthening cybersecurity strategies to address increasing threats; (4) strengthening controls to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse; (5) enhancing the capacity, efficiency, and resiliency of the national airspace system; (6) increasing oversight of critical transportation infrastructure; (7) enhancing oversight of acquisition and financial management; and (8) managing existing and new mandates and initiatives. This report was included in DOT’s Annual Financial Report.

NARA OIG performed this audit to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of NARA's procurement program in acquiring goods and services.

The Office of Inspector General issued an audit of the internal controls over financial operations for the Single-Employer and Multiemployer Program Funds administered by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).This report provides a more detailed discussion of the specifics underlying the unqualified opinion on internal control over financial reporting reported in the internal control deficiencies section of the combined Independent Auditors’ Report dated November 15, 2016 (AUD-2017-2/FA-16-110-1). We reported:Serious internal control weaknesses in PBGC’s programs and operations include four significant deficiencies: (1) Controls over the Present Value of Future Benefit (PVFB) Liability, (2) Present Value of Nonrecoverable Future Financial Assistance (PV NFFA), (3) Entity-Wide Security Program Planning and Management, and (4) Access Controls and Configuration Management.During FY 2016, we observed improvements to the internal controls within PBGC operations that impacted long-standing control deficiencies reported in previous years. These improvements led to a change in classification of a previously reported material weakness in controls over the PVFB liability to a significant deficiency.

The Office of Inspector General issued the audit of the financial statements of the Single-Employer and Multiemployer Program Funds administered by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) as of and for the years ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 finding:The financial statements were presented fairly, in all material respects, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. This is the 24th consecutive unmodified financial statement audit opinion.PBGC maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2016.Serious internal control weaknesses in PBGC’s programs and operations include four significant deficiencies: (1) Controls over the Present Value of Future Benefit (PVFB) Liability, (2) Present Value of Nonrecoverable Future Financial Assistance (PV NFFA), (3) Entity-Wide Security Program Planning and Management, and (4) Access Controls and Configuration Management).During FY 2016, we observed improvements to the internal controls within PBGC operations that impacted long-standing control deficiencies reported in previous years. These improvements led to a change in classification of a previously reported material weakness in controls over the PVFB liability to a significant deficiency.Instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be reported in accordance with Government Auditing Standards.Antideficiency Violation: On August 23, 2016, PBGC reported a violation of 31 U.S.C, 1342 in connection with voluntary services of an independent subcontractor.Potential Antideficiency Violation: PBGC maintains operating leases for all office locations and its Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) site. However, PBGC did not record its full contractual obligation under its current multiyear lease arrangements.

This Newsletter provides a bimonthly summary of selected investigative accomplishments.

Seek link below for the full report, report summary, multimedia or any agency follow-up.

In keeping with its responsibilities under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, the OIG monitored the audit of TVA's fiscal year 2016 financial statements performed by Ernst and Young LLP (EY) to assure their work complied with Government Auditing Standards. Our review of EY's work disclosed no instance in which the firm did not comply in all material respects with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Seek link below for the full report, report summary, multimedia or any agency follow-up.

A hotline complainant reported that Senior Resources of Guilford (SRG), Greensboro, NC, officials fraudulently claimed that the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) Project Director worked a percentage of her time on the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), for which the grantee sought reimbursement.

The OIG’s contracted auditors found that the FY 2016 financial statements for the Department and FSA were presented fairly in all material respects, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. However, the auditors identified two significant deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting: (1) The auditors found significant deficiencies in controls over the Department’s processes for model design and development, risk assessment, model operation and validation, and oversight. (2) The auditors found persistent information technology controldeficiencies, including security management, access controls, and configuration management, which can increase the risk of unauthorized access to the Department’s systems used to capture, process, and report financial transactions and balances, affecting the reliability and security of the data and information.

The OIG’s contracted auditors found that the FY 2016 financial statements for the Department and FSA were presented fairly in all material respects, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. However, the auditors identified two significant deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting: (1) The auditors found significant deficiencies in controls over the Department’s processes for model design and development, risk assessment, model operation and validation, and oversight. (2) The auditors found persistent information technology controldeficiencies, including security management, access controls, and configuration management, which can increase the risk of unauthorized access to the Department’s systems used to capture, process, and report financial transactions and balances, affecting the reliability and security of the data and information.