Open Recommendations

The Bureau of Administration should require the Records and Archives Management Division to establish a process to identify the status of permanent records that are eligible for retirement but not yet retired, in accordance with Department guidance.

The Bureau of Administration should require the Records and Archives Management Division to review electronic records for compliance with Department records retirement requirements.

The Bureau of Administration should require the Records and Archives Management Division to comply with the requirements established in Executive Memorandum M-19-21 and National Archives and Records Administration Bulletin 2020-01.

The Bureau of Administration should require the Records and Archives Management Division to update records disposition schedules for overseas posts to reflect all Department messaging methods.

We recommend that the NOAA Deputy Under Secretary for Operations update policies and procedures to ensure user observation requirements are validated in advance of next-generation satellite system acquisitions.

We recommend that the NOAA Deputy Under Secretary for Operations assign responsibility and design a process for determining the relative priority of each NOAA user observation requirement.

We recommend that the NOAA Deputy Under Secretary for Operations ensure that the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) standardizes requirement priority definitions for next-generation programs, to include information about the extent to which its programs contribute to meeting NOAA user observation requirements.

We recommend that the NOAA Deputy Under Secretary for Operations ensure that NESDIS revises policies and procedures for assigning requirements to next-generation satellite programs.

CMS should develop its own source of race and ethnicity data.

CMS should use self-reported race and ethnicity information to improve data for current beneficiaries.

CMS should develop a process to ensure that the data are as standardized as possible.

CMS should educate beneficiaries about CMS's efforts to improve the race and ethnicity information.

Rec. 1: The DoD OIG recommended that the Defense Commissary Agency Internal Review Office Chief update the Standard Operating Procedures to include the specific procedures used for performing quality reviews, in accordance with the 2018 revision of Government Auditing Standard 5.42, and require that the basis for conclusions reached in quality reviews be fully documented.

Rec. 2: The DoD OIG recommended that the Defense Commissary Agency Internal Review Office Chief update the Standard Operating Procedures to require the audit organization to perform quality reviews that ensure a thorough assessment of compliance, in accordance with the 2018 revision of Government Auditing Standard 5.43.

Rec. 3: The DoD OIG recommended that the Defense Commissary Agency Internal Review Office Chief update the Standard Operating Procedures to include policy for communicating the quality review results to appropriate personnel, in accordance with the 2018 revision of Government Auditing Standard 5.44.

Rec. 5 (Letter of Comment): The DoD OIG recommended that the Defense Commissary Agency Internal Review Office Chief issue a memorandum reminding the auditors that they must document all discussions with management in the audit files.

Rec. 6 (Letter of Comment): The DoD OIG recommended that the Defense Commissary Agency Internal Review Office Chief issue a memorandum reminding the auditors of the requirements in the Standard Operating Procedures for complying with quality control procedures, including the audit report checklist, the project quality control checklist, the independent reference review checklist, and the independent reference review certification.

Rec. 7 (Letter of Comment): The DoD OIG recommended that the Defense Commissary Agency Internal Review Office Chief issue a memorandum reminding auditors of the requirements in Government Auditing Standard 9.14 and the Standard Operating Procedures for documenting the sampling methodology and design in the audit report.

Rec. 8 (Letter of Comment): The DoD OIG recommended that the Defense Commissary Agency Internal Review Office Chief develop a tool, such as a checklist, to ensure the timely issuance of final reports in accordance with the Government Auditing Standards and the Standard Operating Procedures for the Defense Commissary Agency Internal Review Office.

Rec. 9 (Letter of Comment): The DoD OIG recommended that the Defense Commissary Agency Internal Review Office Chief issue a memorandum reminding auditors of the importance of completing a statement of independence annually and including a copy of the statement in the audit file for each audit, in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures for the Defense Commissary Agency Internal Review Office.

Remove or disable group accounts to comply with established requirements and criteria.

We recommend that CAS update its Review Guide to conform with applicable Federal regulations and CAS internal policies and procedures.

We recommend that CAS take steps to ensure that branch chiefs and negotiators follow all Federal and internal CAS requirements.

We recommend that CAS include all federally required documents on checklists provided to the nonprofit organizations and on checklists used by CAS officials.

We recommend that CAS review its staffing levels and determine whether resources are aligned efficiently, and adjust as needed, to ensure that the indirect cost rate-setting process is conducted in a timely manner.