Open Recommendations

Develop and implement internal controls designed to identify the root causes of all financial system interfacing issues, notify management of compatibility issues between Momentum and Oracle, and mitigate the issue from occurring for future transactions. (Modified Repeat)

We recommend the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) Chief Administrative Officer require the Supplies, Services and Material Management Division to identify and leverage data analytics to perform purchase card reviews to ensure compliance with AOC purchase card policies and procedures.

We recommend the Architect of the Capitol Chief Administrative Officer require the Supplies, Services and Material Management Division to update and implement the Purchase Card Review Process Standard Operating Procedure 4-13, January 27, 2020, to include criteria and procedures for conducting all purchase card reviews.

We recommend the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) Chief Administrative Officer require that purchase card approving officials perform quarterly or semiannual purchase card reviews to assist the Agency Program Coordinator in ensuring compliance with AOC purchase card policies and procedures.

We recommend the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) update the AOC Contracting Manual to include examples of split transactions and instructions on how to avoid them.

We recommend the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) develop guidance and update the AOC Contracting Manual to describe the use of third-party processors and vendors and define terms like “questionable merchant category codes,” “mandatory sources,” “third-party merchants,” “third-party processors” and “third-party vendors” in accordance with federal government best practices.

We recommend that the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) update the AOC Contracting Manual to describe the process for avoiding sales tax and add the requirement to reclaim improperly assessed taxes.

KPMG recommends that DOT management implement processes to perform administrative functions without the use of shared accounts.

KPMG recommends that DOT management design and implement controls over privileged access to certain systems, including provisioning new or modified access and periodic recertification of accounts.

KPMG recommends that DOT management re-enforce requirements for controls to consistently approve and document new or modified user account, user termination, and recertification requests as required by internal policy and standards for effective internal control systems.

Perform quarterly reviews over a sample of personnel to ensure that personnel files are maintained and updated to correctly reflect personnel actions.

Assess reviews performed by the Human Capital and Talent Management/Employee Services and Benefits division to ensure payroll benefit, leave, and deductions calculated and recorded in employee leave and earnings statements are accurate, agree to employee authorized elections, and comply with USAID's Automated Directive System and federal regulations.

Review the reconciliation process with National Finance Center Payroll/Personnel System records to determine enhancements for more effectively identifying and correcting inaccurate information.

Develop and document a process on how the Agency implements and
adopts new accounting standards and guidance going forward, including, but not limited to, the
implementation of the embedded leases portion of SFFAS 54.

Develop and document a process to ensure its leases are recorded in
accordance with SFFAS 54. At a minimum, this should include the Agency's consideration of materiality and process to assess the completeness, accuracy and reasonableness of all information from the Department of State for which USAID relies on to report in its financial statements and to include an element of management review and approval.

Determine what information needs to be captured at a transaction level to allow for the identification of the lease and the type of lease (i.e., domestic, international - USAID dedicated, international - housing pool) at the disbursement transaction level.

Develop and implement a process to capture the information identified based on Recommendation 6 to allow for automation of determining completeness of the Department of State provided lease listing.

Develop a process by which USAID can automatically calculate lease balances for leases dedicated to USAID to allow USAID to verify the accuracy of the information provided by the Department of State related to USAID's dedicated leases.

Ensure the new processes developed in Recommendations 4, 5, 7, and 8 are adequately communicated, both in writing and via training, to impacted personnel.

We recommend that the Deputy Chief Financial Officer and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training design and implement controls over their respective estimates to ensure management's review of the estimates are performed at a sufficient level of detail, and includes the review of the methodology, relevance and reliability of the underlying data, and assumptions used to develop the estimates.

We recommend that the Deputy Chief Financial Officer and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training maintain documentation of the reviews performed to assess the reasonableness of the methodology, underlying data, and assumptions used to develop the estimates that is sufficiently detailed to evidence the specific items reviewed, analysis performed, and conclusions reached.

We recommend that the Deputy Chief Financial Officer and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training update Department of Labor's policies and procedures to provide sufficient details on the performance of the reconciliation of the State Workforce Agencies monthly financial summary report to the general ledger, including the required level of precision.

Implement and periodically monitor the effectiveness of a plan to provide oversight for unsent packages in the Package Manager application.

Implement a plan to address existing unsent packages in the Package Manager application.

The Under Secretary for Health ensures Veterans Health Administration leaders assess reasons for noncompliance with training requirements and takes action as warranted.