Open Recommendations

Embassy Chisinau should require the embassy employee association board to conduct its oversight responsibilities in accordance with Department standards.

The Bureau of Information Resource Management, in coordination with Embassy Chisinau, should remediate the network and telephone cabling issues at the embassy, in accordance with Department standards.

(U) Rec. 1: The DoD OIG recommended that the Director of the Defense Health Agency work with the Program Executive Officer of the Program Executive Office, Defense Healthcare Management Systems to document and implement the process for identifying and collecting patient health data of DoD patients in the Military Health System in current and future registries within their purview in a written document, such as a standard operating procedure. The procedure should identify, at a minimum, the internal controls throughout the process, the relevant data sources, data fields, and diagnostic codes used in the computer scripts, and should be reviewed…

(U) Rec. 4.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Director of the Defense Health Agency work with the Chief of the Joint Trauma System establish and implement a process for selecting Coronavirus Disease-2019 events for entry into the Coronavirus Disease-2019 Registry to limit selection bias.

(U) Rec. 5.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) establish and implement a policy for developing and populating patient registries that aligns with the Department of Health and Human Services best practices, "Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes: A User's Guide," current edition.

(U) Rec. 5.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) conduct a review of all patient registries in the Military Health System to verify the reliability of data in each registry and implement corrective actions, as necessary.

Embassy Cotonou should comply with the requirements of the 2013 letter of agreement (and subsequent amendments) between the United States and Benin.

Embassy Cotonou should manage asylee files in accordance with Department guidance.

Embassy Cotonou should update and reissue its motor vehicle policy to adhere to Department requirements for other authorized use of U.S. government vehicles.

Embassy Cotonou should dispose of excess expendable property in accordance with Department guidelines.

Embassy Cotonou should manage its bulk fuel operations in accordance with Department standards and the embassy’s standard operating procedure on fuel ordering and delivery.

Embassy Cotonou should dispose of medications and controlled substances in accordance with Department standards.

Embassy Cotonou should maintain accurate inventory records of medications in accordance with Department guidelines.

Treasury OIG should confirm that appropriate corrections have been made, or if not, determine whether these funds ($6,952) have been returned to Treasury.

Treasury OIG should pursue obtaining supporting documentation from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians’ (TMBCI) personnel and ensure reporting corrections are made. Further, based on TMBCI’s responsiveness to Treasury OIG’s requests and its ability to provide documentation, Treasury OIG should determine if a full-scope audit is feasible.

Treasury OIG should follow-up with TMBCI personnel to obtain sufficient support to quantify expenditures related to these allegations and determine whether the amounts represent eligible CRF costs.

Treasury OIG should pursue obtaining documentation from LA County management and ensure reporting corrections are made. Further, based on LA County’s responsiveness to Treasury OIG’s requests and its ability to provide documentation, Treasury OIG should determine if a focused audit is feasible over LA County’s Contracts greater than or equal to $50,000 and Aggregate Reporting less than $50,000.

Prioritize and complete the review of the 2,172 awards that were flagged by the point-of-sale partner as having unsupported gross sales and take appropriate administrative actions to recover improper payments, which includes 110 awards that were suspected of fraud.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration develop and implement a process to improve oversight of posts' Furniture and Appliance Pool program management activities. The process should include oversight controls that address Furniture and Appliance Pool data issues.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, develop and implement oversight controls to prevent overseas posts from maintaining Furniture and Appliance Pool program assets in ineligible locations. The oversight controls should include a plan of action to consult with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations when necessary.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services and the Foreign Service Institute, enhance current Furniture and Appliance Pool program training to provide detailed guidance on asset classification; asset lifecycles; asset replacement dates; spending plans; furniture and appliance pool eligible and ineligible assets; maintenance of the furniture, furnishings, appliances, and equipment listing; and data, asset, and financial management.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services and the Foreign Service Institute, annually disseminate information to all personnel with Furniture and Appliance Pool program responsibilities at overseas posts regarding the availability of and expectation to complete furniture and appliance pool-specific training developed in response to Recommendation 3.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, reevaluate existing policy requirements for furniture and appliance pool asset lifecycles and update policies and procedures with clarifying language related to adjusting furniture and appliance pool asset lifecycles from the standards specified.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, develop and disseminate guidance that instructs overseas posts to periodically review and update the furniture, furnishings, appliances, and equipment listing in posts' Furniture and Appliance Pool program policies.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services revise Furniture and Appliance Pool (FAP) program policy to clarify the requirement for overseas posts to maintain multi-year FAP program spending plans.