Federal Reports

Our objective was to assess Function 4 operational efficiency in the Suncoast District. USPS financial systems track customer service operations as Function 4 operations. Function 4 includes customer service activities of employees at post offices, stations, and branches involved in distribution of mail, retail window, and miscellaneous administrative operations. Hurricane Irma hit Florida in September 2017, impacting Postal Service operations, including those in the Suncoast District. As a result of this storm, we suspended our audit work and did not conduct site visits and observations at six of the 12 post offices selected, limiting our audit scope to the work that was conducted prior to the hurricane.

We completed the survey phase of our audit of NPS Centennial Challenge projects and programs. Our audit intended to determine whether NPS 1) received and verified the full non-Federal partner match for the Centennial Challenge projects and programs, 2) managed the partner matches in accordance with the partnership agreements and applicable policies and regulations, and 3) appropriately monitored the projects and programs.We gathered information about NPS financial systems and tested internal controls used to manage the CC projects within our scope, as well as considering previous Office of Inspector General audit results and a Government Accountability Office audit that essentially found the CC program worked as planned. We also looked at how the NPS verified receipt of the matching funds and how it managed and monitored the projects and the controls used to administer the program. In particular, we reviewed how NPS accounted for CC project funds by testing transactions for each reviewed project.Our survey work found that NPS verified that the parks received the required non-Federal match for the projects we reviewed and that it properly appropriated those project’s Federal funds. We also found that NPS managed and monitored the reviewed projects according to applicable guidance.

On March 2, 2017, the VA Office of Inspector General Administrative Investigations Division received allegations that Ms. [redacted] , former (resigned) Deputy Counsel, Office of the General Counsel (OGC), improperly received the higher locality pay for Los Angeles, CA, while she lived and worked in Phoenix, AZ. We found that Ms. [redacted] received about $6,500 in Los Angeles locality pay for 6 months while residing and reporting for duty in Phoenix.

The VA Office of Inspector General Administrative Investigations Division received an allegation that Dr. Gavin West, former (reassigned) Senior Medical Advisor to Dr. Thomas Lynch, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health (ADUSH) for Clinical Operations, and a former (resigned) VA employee misused VA travel funds for personal rather than official business. We did not substantiate the allegation of a misuse of VA travel funds, and we will not discuss it further in this report.In reviewing Dr. West’s personnel records related to the original allegation, we found that Dr. West was improperly paid $19,800 for Temporary Quarters Subsistence Expenses (TQSE) in connection with a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move that he did not execute. The TQSE was paid to Dr. West to relocate from his then duty station in Salt Lake City, UT to Washington, DC, after accepting a position as the Special Assistant to the ADUSH for Clinical Operations on September 22, 2013. Dr. West did not relocate nor did he repay VA for the TQSE. We also found that his annual salary was increased from $188,049 to $206,527 to make his “salary competitive with the market rate in the Washington DC Metro geographical region.” Because he did not relocate, this resulted in overpayments to Dr. West of over $55,000.

CNCS has devoted significant resources to improving cybersecurity over the past few years, with meaningful progress. Although its information security program is not yet sufficiently mature, it can reach effectiveness with continued effort and investment.Achieving effectiveness will require attention to weaknesses that pose significant risks to information security. Our 2017 evaluation found inadequacies in risk management, configuration management, identity and access management, information security continuous monitoring, and contingency planning. Enforcement of information security is inconsistent across the enterprise, with field components remaining especially vulnerable. These continuing vulnerabilities leave CNCS operations and assets at risk of unauthorized access, misuse and disruption. Our report offers 34 recommendations to address the identified weaknesses and assist CNCS in strengthening its information security program. Eight of the recommendations relate to prior findings that have not been completely addressed by CNCS.

OIG investigated transaction irregularities on a Department of the Interior purchase card assigned to an employee at Nez Perce National Historic Park, National Park Service (NPS). The questionable purchases included a $17,000 charge at a pawn shop, two tuition payments at a local university, and purchases that appeared to have been structured to circumvent the micro purchase limit.We confirmed that the employee purchased art for the park museum from a pawn shop for $17,000 and, at the direction of a supervisor, made tuition payments for other employees on the DOI purchase card. We further determined those purchases were not for private gain, but the employee did admit to structuring those purchases and others to circumvent the micro purchase limit in violation of NPS policy. Finally, we found that the employee’s two supervisors were aware of his policy violations and took no corrective action. The employee and the two supervisors have all left the Department.

Audit Report

In FY 2016, CIGIE continued to meet its mandated missions, and through this report, we present CIGIE’s accomplishments in FY 2016 reflecting our efforts in meeting our mandate. Together, the work of the OIG community resulted in significant improvements to the economy and efficiency of programs Governmentwide, with potential savings totaling approximately $45.1 billion. With the OIG community’s aggregate FY 2016 budget of approximately $2.7 billion, these potential savings represent about a $17 return on every dollar invested in the OIGs. In Background, we summarize the Council’s history and the Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2016, the most recent enhancement to the Inspector General Act of 1978. We also discuss some of the accomplishments of CIGIE’s standing committees in FY 2016. Then, in Strategic Plan Business Goal Accomplishments, we describe CIGIE’s accomplishments under FY 2016’s three major strategic business goals. Next, we summarize current issues of concern to CIGIE members in Key Legislation Affecting the IG Community and Shared Management and Performance Challenges. We then offer perspective on IG Community Accomplishments and provide Contact Information for CIGIE Members. Finally, we recognize the recipients of the most noteworthy 2016 CIGIE Awards.