Open Recommendations

Rec. B.2.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Director, Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service, in coordination with the applicable DoD Component Human Resource Office and other appropriate agencies review on an annual basis each remote work employees SF 50 and remote agreement for the correct duty location to ensure correct pay and determine whether corrective actions are needed.

The Bureau of Global Acquisition should coordinate with bureaus providing federal assistance to international organizations, review the provisions in use across the Department for voluntary contributions to international organizations, and revise the Federal Assistance Directive to standardize, to the extent practicable and appropriate, the Department's oversight provisions for those funds.

The Bureau of Global Acquisition, in coordination with the Bureau of Personnel and Training, should coordinate with bureaus providing federal assistance to international organizations; review training offered on providing, managing, and overseeing funding to international organizations; and adjust formal training curricula to address any identified gaps related to the topic.

The Bureau of Global Acquisition should review the oversight provisions that other donors include in their voluntary contribution agreements with international organizations and revise the Department's standard provisions to incorporate similar language where appropriate.

The Bureau of International Organization Affairs should coordinate implementation of Section 7048(h) of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 with all Department bureaus that provide contributions to international organizations.

The Bureau of International Organization Affairs should develop and implement a plan to take additional steps to comply with Section 7048(h) of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024.

Provide specialized training to SecD supervisors and investigators that focuses on recognizing potentially constitutionally protected activity and includes guidance on conducting interviews without unnecessarily intruding into such activity.

Establish clear protocols that require: (a) a heightened approval process for opening SecD investigations of employees with security clearances when these investigations are likely to concern potentially constitutionally protected activity; and (b) notifications within SecD leadership when such investigations are opened.

Implement heightened supervision of SecD investigations of employees with security clearances when these investigations are likely to concern potentially constitutionally protected activity. Consultation with the FBI's Office of General Counsel regarding the propriety of interview questions in such investigations should be part of the heightened supervision process.

Rec. 1.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Commanding General of the Army Contracting Command assess whether contracting officers should be held accountable for not completing the contracting officer annual review of contracting officers representative files and contracting officers representatives should be held accountable for not uploading surveillance documentation into the DoD system of record. If so, take administrative action, such as recommending additional training in these specific procedures or other actions as appropriate.

Rec. 1.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Commanding General of the Army Contracting Command develop and implement a plan, or direct the contracting centers, to regularly monitor staff turnover, retirements, resignations, and other personnel losses to ensure contracts are not lacking contracting officers or contracting officers representatives.

Amend its existing policy regarding the review and approval of journal vouchers to include a review of all non-reversing entries recorded during the fiscal year and to review all year-end journal vouchers before they are recorded in the agency's general ledger.

Perform and document a review of all manual journal entries that includes a before and after analysis which illustrates the effect of the entry on the principal financial statements using the current year Treasury United States Standard General Ledger (USSGL) Section V Crosswalks to the financial statements. If accounts are presumed to offset, then they must offset within the same line of the same financial statement within the same fiscal year reporting period (i.e., before closing entries are recorded following the end of the fiscal year).

At least quarterly, initiate and document a review of all entries and account balances for which a manual correcting entry may be needed to address potential misstatements due to system posting logic, such as offsetting upward and downward adjustments of prior year obligations, and record the appropriate entries to prevent misstatement of financial statement accounts and line items.

During the review of manual journal vouchers, verify and document that the authoritative guidance and internal tools used to support the entry are valid and current.

Have the STB Finance Team complete training relating to adjusting entries, including the selection of USSGL accounts, to improve the quality and precision of the review and approval process.

Independently review the most current version of OMB Circular A-136 and the USSGL Treasury Crosswalks to identify changes in data elements, classification, and presentation and ensure that these changes are incorporated into financial statement and footnote templates for current year reporting. A search for new versions of the USSGL Crosswalks and OMB Circular A-136 should be performed each time the financial statements are prepared.

Review the current version of OMB Circular A-136 to independently verify that all required footnotes are included and bring any omissions to the service provider's attention so that errors or omissions can be corrected.

Review the service provider's Financial Statement and Notes Review Checklist to verify that the checklist is up to date and includes all required elements per OMB and Treasury guidance and then complete the checklist independently. Alternatively, STB management should develop and complete its own review checklist based on current Treasury and OMB reporting requirements.

Request its financial management service provider to: 1) reevaluate the inclusion of account balances that were excluded in the Other Liabilities footnote, or 2) disaggregate (i.e., separately report) intragovernmental Other Liabilities balances reported as a single line item on the balance sheet that are not included in the footnote so that the total amounts reported for Other Liabilities on the Balance Sheet and in the footnote agree.

Ensure that its review process includes procedures to disaggregate material balances reported in the financial statements and footnotes, agree balances to source documents, agree the footnotes to the principal financial statements, and verify the mathematical accuracy of all statements and schedules included in the financial statement package.

Document the review and certification of the financial statements and footnotes clearly and indicate what was reviewed, when the review was performed, and who performed the review for each reporting period.

Complete training relating to the preparation and/or review of financial statements and footnotes to improve management's understanding of Federal reporting requirements and to ensure that the financial statements and footnotes are complete, accurate, and appropriately presented.

Perform a review of 100 percent of employee benefit elections and Official Personnel Folders(OPFs) to ensure they are complete and accurate.

Develop policies and procedures that include the performance of periodic reviews of employees' OPFs to ensure that they are complete and accurate.