Open Recommendations

Align definitions in the ESOC Award Fee Plan with Federal Acquisition Regulation guidance

Coordinate with an existing NASA supply chain group (e.g., Supply Chain Risk Management Program) to investigate alternative supply chain management strategies, such as evaluating the feasibility of incorporating the Supply Chain Visibility Data Requirement Deliverable into ESOC to increase visibility into spacesuit supply chains.

EXIM OIG recommends the Office of Board-Authorized Finance update its policies and procedures to consider additional documentation on the status of collateral as part of the scheduled or ad hoc credit risk reviews. These updates should include information on inspections or site visits performed as well as the appropriateness of maintaining a one level improvement on the Budget Cost Level.

Require and document its justification when the agency chooses to forgo its existing agency-wide grant monitoring procedures–such as site visits and risk-based reviews of source documentation.

Develop comprehensive guidance that details the analysis its grant management specialists should perform and document when conducting payment verification and approval reviews.

Conduct an assessment of the $548 million we identified as unsupported costs to ensure the FFWR grantees’ past payment requests were used for authorized purposes. Pursue recovery for any determined improper payments.

For future grant programs, establish a process to conduct a program risk assessment and continually assess risks associated with post-award monitoring activities.

Review and correct the 48 claims we identified from Population 2, as appropriate, including development in accordance with the Social Security Administration’s policies.

To prevent future errors, establish controls to ensure employees request all relevant evidence and document all required actions in its systems before denying a claim for child’s insurance benefits, when required.

Review all processing errors on cases the OIG review team identified, correct those errors to the extent possible, and report back on the results of those actions.

Evaluate the effectiveness of control activities specifically for authorization rate outliers and determine whether new or stronger controls are needed.

Establish procedures to track all non-cash and cash equivalent non-tangible items purchased with the expense purchase card and record applicable information in the eAwards system.

Conduct periodic reviews of 1) expense purchase card transactions for compliance with policy and 2) non-cash and cash equivalent items to ensure they are entered into eAwards timely.

Designate a senior executive to lead the effort to receive a clean audit opinion by granting agencywide authority to issue directives, monitor compliance, and enforce remediation priorities across all program offices.

Leverage best practices to implement a plan for using consistent, frequent communication to ensure all agency personnel are made aware of the agencywide commitment to obtain an unmodified audit opinion.

Integrate the agencywide goal of remediating the financial statements into SBA’s strategic plan and set specific, measurable targets in the agency’s annual performance plan.

Implement a process to conduct data-driven reviews regularly using defined audit remediation goals to align program leaders’ personal performance plans with outcome-based remediation goals to hold leaders accountable for improving program data quality, in accordance with OMB Circular A-11, Part 6.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require CSDE to amend Connecticut’s State plan by updating its procedures for identifying schools for CSI to ensure that they align with the procedures in CSDE’s Accountability Guide and definition of a school identified for CSI in the ESEA.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require CSDE to provide CSI to the five Title I public schools that should have been identified for CSI in the fall of 2022.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education verify that CSDE implemented corrective actions to fix the system coding error to ensure that it correctly identifies student subgroups needing ATSI in the future.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education verify that WVDE correctly applied the minimum number of students per subgroup restriction when it identifies schools for ATSI in the fall of 2025.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education verify that WVDE does not consider the 12 schools that it incorrectly identified for ATSI for CSI-ATS identification in the fall of 2025.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require WVDE to keep all records showing that it is providing all planning and collaboration, diagnostic and monitoring activities, and technical assistance to LEAs with schools identified as needing CSI or CSI-ATS, as described in West Virginia’s approved State plan, WVDE’s written plans for CSI and CSI-ATS schools, or both.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the Governor of Wisconsin and Wisconsin’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction to return the more than $20 million that was used for ARP EANS-funded services and assistance for ineligible nonpublic schools or take other remedial actions as appropriate, such as making accounting adjustments to other valid and allowable obligations incurred during the ARP EANS period of availability.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the Governor of Wisconsin and Wisconsin’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide documentation showing that the $838,829 in CRRSA and ARP EANS funds that were recovered from the ineligible nonpublic school were returned to the Department.