Federal Reports

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements.

We performed an audit of costs billed to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) by GE Vernova International, LLC (GEVI) for parts and services for the covered units at the Allen Combined Cycle Plant as part of a long-term service agreement under Contract No. 11930. Our audit objective was to determine if costs were billed in compliance with the contract’s terms. Our audit scope included about $48.5 million in costs billed from January 1, 2021, through March 31, 2024.

In summary, we determined (1) GEVI applied incorrect discounts to noncapital parts, resulting in an overbilling of $4,278 and (2) TVA was not aware GEVI provided noncapital parts from foreign countries, including one country that was not compliant with the Trade Agreements Act as required by the contract. In addition, we noted opportunities to improve contract administration by TVA. Specifically, (1) TVA did not receive detail cost breakouts for fixed price services to determine the reasonableness of the fixed price and if the contract’s time and material rates and negotiated discounts were used to build up the fixed price; (2) TVA and GEVI agreed in a letter to revise some of the terms of the long-term service agreement in accordance with the letter’s appendix; however, the appendix was not included with the contract documentation in TVA’s Maximo system; and (3) the contract contained inconsistent language.

Our audit objective was to assess the First Responder Network Authority’s Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network services in response to the devastating wildfires that broke out on the Hawaiian island of Maui in August 2023. We focused on AT&T’s operational response, FirstNet Authority’s oversight of AT&T from a program and contract perspective, and the extent the network was a reliable means of communicating for public safety agencies during the wildfire response.

We found that FirstNet Authority’s network services were not effective in supporting the public safety response to the Maui wildfires. Specifically, FirstNet Authority did not ensure that (I) timely, adequate network services were provided to support public safety’s response, (II) a sufficient plan for business continuity and disaster recovery was developed before the wildfires, and (III) network service response efforts were accurately reported afterward.

Although DOI took steps toward building an ERM capability, we found that it was not fully implemented as required by OMB Circular A-123.

During the reporting period, the Office of Audits completed and published the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 and FY 2024 Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) audits and the Payment Integrity Information Act audit; the latter two were completed by independent public accountants (IPAs) overseen by the Office of Audits. Additionally, the audit team began work on the following audits: FY 2024 CFTC Financial Statements; FY 2024 CFTC Customer Protection Fund Financial Statements; CFTC’s Compliance with the Government Charge Card Act; and CFTC’s Enterprise Risk Management Program. The audit team is also working with the Council of Inspectors General on Financial Oversight (CIGFO) in its review of the effectiveness and internal operations of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) designation of nonbank financial companies. In addition, we established the Office Evaluations and initiated an evaluation into the CFTC’s non-disclosure policies, forms, and agreements to assess compliance with the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012.