Open Recommendations

Update the Acquisition Procedures and Guidance Manual to (1) define “reasonable planning,” (2) require the documentation of “reasonable planning” for all acquisitions, and (3) require a written description of potential or actual acquisition-specific conflict of interest-related risks in planning documentation.

Develop procedures requiring acquisition team members, as defined in response to Recommendation 1, to complete a conflict of interest certification in which each team member is to assess and document that they do not have a potential or actual conflict of interest related to the specific acquisition prior to participating in any phase of the acquisition lifecycle (from planning to closeout). These procedures should require that evidence of acquisition team members’ conflict of interest certifications is maintained in accordance with requisite FDIC records retention schedule requirements.

Develop procedures requiring acquisition team members, as defined in response to Recommendation 1, to re-certify annually that they remain free of actual or potential conflicts of interest as long as the acquisition is in place.

Develop and deliver specialized acquisition-related conflict of interest training on at least an annual basis to all acquisition team members to strengthen employee knowledge and skills related to ethics laws and regulations.

Evaluate whether there should be minimum qualifications and requirements for appointed Deputy Ethics Counselors (DEC), a desired ratio of DECs to filers across FDIC Divisions and Offices, and whether DEC duties should be incorporated into FDIC employee position descriptions to better equip DECs to monitor and respond to employees’ potential and actual conflicts of interest.

Develop and implement an action plan utilizing Deputy Ethics Counselor survey results and other relevant information to help identify strengths and opportunities for continuous improvement in the FDIC’s financial disclosure review program.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Iowa torequire Des Moines to return to the U.S. Department of Education the $164,580 that Des Moines improperly charged tothe ARP ESSER grant for LEA advertising and public relations or reallocate the funds to other allowable costs. Identifyany additional improper charges to ESSER grants for LEA advertising and public relations, including those made duringperiods not covered by our review, and if applicable, return the funds to the U.S. Department of Education or reallocatethem to other allowable costs.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Iowa torequire Des Moines to provide documentation to support payment of the unsupported portion of the HVAC upgradesexpenditure, return to the U.S. Department of Education the $33,326 in ARP ESSER grant funds, or reallocate the fundsto other allowable costs.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Iowa torequire Des Moines to calculate the interest earned (actual or imputed) on any ESSER grant funds that were retained(withheld) and not immediately paid to vendors, and if applicable, ensure that the correct amount of interest is returned tothe Federal government in accordance with 2 C.F.R. section 200.305(b)(9).

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Iowa torequire Des Moines to ensure that LEA officials responsible for making or reviewing and approving purchases receivesufficient training on Federal rules and regulations related to grant administration and management, particularly thoseaddressing allowability, documentation requirements, and cash management.

We recommend that the Director of Acquisition and Contract Management develops standard operating procedures for issuing contract modifications.

We recommend that the Director of Acquisition and Contract Management provides training on the updated contracting procedures.

We recommend that the Director of Acquisition and Contract Management develops a contracting officer representative handbook that alights with the contracting officer representative designation memo and includes policies, standard operating procedures, and best practices to assist the contracting officer representative with contract oversight.

We recommend that the Director of Acquisition and Contract Management defines and communicates the roles, responsibilities, and standard operating procedures for the technical point of contact to ensure efficiency in executing the contract activities.

We recommend that the Director of Acquisition and Contract Management develops a centralized system for maintaining contract files to ensure that contracting officer representatives are compliant with the Federal Acquisition Regulation and record retention requirements.

We recommend that the Director of Acquisition and Contract Management ensures that contracting officers review the contracting officer representative files annually and develop a checklist for the review.

We recommend that the Director of Acquisition and Contract Management ensures that contract management personnel have access to Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System and develops and implements standard operating procedures for performance assessments to be submitted into Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System at the time the work under the contract or order is completed.

We recommend that the Director of Acquisition and Contract Management ensures contracts are closed out within the specified Federal Acquisition Regulation timeframes and backlogged contracts are properly closed.

We recommend that the Director of Acquisition and Contract Management works with the contracting officer representative to establish processes and standard operating procedures that ensure de-obligations are completed when the period of performance ends and the final invoice is paid.

The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs should implement a detailed plan for the coordinated performance of all program evaluation requirements bureau-wide, including systematic briefings to bureau leadership on evaluation results.

The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs should bring licensing reviews into compliance with federal standards.

The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs should implement a centralized contract tracking system in compliance with federal acquisition regulations.

The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs should bring the contracting officer's representative program into compliance with Department standards.

The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, should bring its contract and contracting officer's representative files into compliance with Department and federal guidance.

The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Information Resource Management, should complete the assessment comparing bureau assets and inventory against Bureau of Information Resource Management data and correct any discrepancies.