Open Recommendations

We recommend the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer require the High Value Asset system owner to perform configuration testing and verify that all approved settings are implemented.

We recommend the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer require the High Value Asset system owner to implement multifactor authentication for all database and application programming interface accounts.

We recommend the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer direct the High Value Asset system owner to ensure user accounts are reviewed annually.

We recommend the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer confirm the current enterprise learning management system adequately retains documentation to demonstrate users’ compliance with security awareness training, privileged user training, and role-based training.

EXIM's Office of Board Authorized Finance should develop and implement a policy to address changes in exposure fees following Board approval, including in co-financing transactions.

EXIM's Office of Board Authorized Finance should define the approval responsibility for changes in exposure fees.

EXIM's Office of Board Authorized Finance in coordination with Office of General Counsel should develop and implement guidelines or a checklist requiring management to verify that appropriate legal and policy guidance is in place prior to initiating direct loan transactions.

EXIM's Office of Board Authorized Finance should update procedures and checklists to ensure the SAM debt offset check is completed and reviewed by management prior to loan authorization.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations establish thresholds for special act awards based on award value and frequency.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations enforce documentation requirements for special act awards to ensure the awards are properly justified and comply with agency policy.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations enforce retention guidelines for award justifications to support third-party reviews and for reconstruction purposes.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations develop a formal process to prevent the duplication of awards for the same contribution or achievement.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations establish procedures to validate the accuracy of award processing and ensure compliance with the OPM Operating Manual.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations implement reconciliation and validation procedures for any office not using the performance award tool to prevent duplicate awards or overlapping appraisal periods.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations provide guidance for prorating awards based on an employee’s work schedule and duration of employment during the appraisal period.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations implement validation controls within the performance award tool to ensure that cash awards fall within the policy-defined limits for each performance rating.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations track time-off awards to maintain compliance with the leave year limit and monitor their impact on productivity.

We recommend that PFM develop and implement policies and procedures to provide bureaus with guidance on the treatment for reporting submerged lands.

We recommend that PFM develop and implement a process to review supporting documentation and validate Federal land acres reported by bureaus that includes steps to follow up with bureaus when PFM identifies discrepancies or deficiencies.

We recommend that PFM update Chapter 29, "DOI Land Reporting Policy," to instruct bureaus to develop and document their methodologies for determining predominant use subcategories and include guidance for bureaus to develop and implement systems and processes for capturing and recording acreage information by predominant use subcategories (conservation and preservation, operational, or commercial use).

We recommend that BLM provide a detailed listing of Federal land acres that supports the number of estimated Federal land acres reported to PFM.

We recommend that BLM provide training on SFFAS 59 requirements for classification of predominant use subcategories to all BLM staff entering Federal land acres data.

We recommend that OCIO assess and update its IT-related user product code list to streamline the selection process for Financial and Business Management System users.

We recommend that OCIO develop a user product code guide with examples of IT-related purchases for which these codes may be used.

We recommend that OCIO develop and provide training to purchase request creators and approvers on how to identify the appropriate user product codes for IT-related purchase requests.