Open Recommendations

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.

Obtain replacement documentation for employee forms and other documentation that have been determined to be incomplete or irretrievable from databases and other electronic sources following management's initial and periodic routine reviews.

Implement and enforce its existing policies and procedures requiring the periodic review of all open obligations to ensure that closeout of completed contracts, including the de-obligation of funds and return of the balances for any advanced payments, is performed regularly and timely.

Develop and implement a written procedure that provides detailed guidance and instructions for the calculation of the organization's year-end accounts payable and other accruals.

Develop and implement a look-back analysis or other control procedure to review disbursements made early in the subsequent reporting period (i.e., at the beginning of the next fiscal year) to identify subsequent transactions and undelivered orders balances related to goods and services received in the current and prior fiscal years that should have been included in the year-end accounts payable balance. Any prior accrual should be amended, when needed, prior to the external release or publication of the financial statements.

The Under Secretary for Health clarifies the requirements for suicide risk and intervention training for audiologists and delineates responsibility for ensuring training is completed as required.

The Under Secretary for Health evaluates the definition of healthcare provider for the purposes of suicide risk and intervention training.

The Under Secretary for Health evaluates the accuracy of suicide risk and intervention training assignment, consistent with Veterans Health Administration policy, for all healthcare providers.

The Under Secretary for Health ensures audiology staff complete suicide risk identification screening as required.

The Under Secretary for Health evaluates oversight of and barriers to mental health integration in audiology services and takes action as appropriate.

Enforce procedures for Veterans Health Administration human resources officials to monitor employee service obligations and initiate a debt notice when an employee breaches that agreement, if warranted.

Identify and review active incentives of Veterans Health Administration employees who transferred within or left VA and take action, if appropriate.

Establish enhanced internal controls to ensure compliance with the law on recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives and take appropriate action when an employee with an active service obligation transfers within the Veterans Health Administration.

Complete the evaluation of the incentives awarded to the employees identified in this report who may not have fulfilled their service obligations, determine whether a debt was incurred, and take any appropriate action.

Enforce procedures for Veterans Health Administration human resources officials to monitor employee service obligations and initiate a debt notice when an employee breaches that agreement, if warranted.

Identify and review active incentives of Veterans Health Administration employees who transferred within or left VA and take action, if appropriate.

Establish enhanced internal controls to ensure compliance with the law on recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives and take appropriate action when an employee with an active service obligation transfers within the Veterans Health Administration.

Complete the evaluation of the incentives awarded to the employees identified in this report who may not have fulfilled their service obligations, determine whether a debt was incurred, and take any appropriate action.

We recommend that USADF's Chief Information Officer remediate the 122 high-risk and 23 critical vulnerabilities identified by USADF's December 2, 2024, scans.

We recommend that USADF's Chief Information Officer evaluate its vulnerability remediation process to determine why high and critical vulnerabilities were not addressed within required time frames and implement corrective actions as appropriate.

We recommend that USADF's Chief Information Officer finalize the enterprise risk management plan to define roles, responsibilities, and authority for cybersecurity risk management.

We recommend that USADF's Chief Information Officer determine why the enterprise risk management plan was not finalized and implement corrective action as appropriate.

We recommend that USADF's Chief Information Officer determine whether USADF updated its cybersecurity training strategy and plans to incorporate the results of the workforce assessments and, if not, update and implement the strategy and plan.

Establish procedures to monitor compliance with FLRA’s Alternative Work Schedules policy.

Provide training to all employees (which includes supervisors) on all available alternative work schedules. This training should be provided to all new employees during employee orientation and to all employees whenever significant changes to the policy occur.

Modify the FLRA Policy No. 3640.2 Work Schedule Selection Form to the correct flexible schedule options that employees may choose.

GLS should amend its procedures relating to the annual count and valuation of OM&S to include verification of unit and total costs. This should include locating or reconstructing source documentation for the total quantity on hand for each item and matching the costs entered in the system to the source documents.

GLS should determine how average costs are calculated within the inventory tracking system. If the average cost in the system for specific inventory items does not represent the average cost of inventory on hand, the average cost in the system should be periodically adjusted when the annual inventory is performed or at year-end.

GLS should tighten its controls relating to personnel's completion of inventory issuance requests so that warehouse personnel are aware when items are checked out and the inventory tracking system can be updated timely.

GLS should implement a procedure (e.g., require two people to sign off on the shipping receipt or bill of lading) for all operating materials and supplies to ensure that the quantity received agrees with the quantity recorded and placed into inventory.

GLS should continue executing its corrective action plan and complete the review of the unit and total costs of inventory items.