Federal Reports

This report summarizes work we initiated and completed during this semiannual period on a number of critical Departmental activities. Over the past 6 months, our office completed 19 audits, inspections, and responses to Congressional requests— as well as 2 Congressional testimonies—addressing programs and personnel associated with the Economic Development Administration (EDA), Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA), International Trade Administration (ITA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and the Department itself.

This final report documents the results of our audit on the effectiveness of the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA’s) unliquidated obligation (ULO) review policies and procedures developed since our OIG audit report issued in June 2013 (OIG-13-026-A). In our 2013 report, we concluded that Department-wide controls over the management of ULOs needed strengthening. We also concluded that effective management of outstanding obligation balances allows bureaus to review and deobligate unneeded funds, promoting a better use of federal resources. Our objective for the current audit was to evaluate the effectiveness of EDA obligation and deobligation practices as well as review policies and procedures that were implemented since our June 2013 audit report.