Open Recommendations

Develop comprehensive management controls with clear roles and responsibilities at each level of the Veterans Benefits Administration to ensure effective oversight of mandatory accounts and the timely communication of any potential budgetary shortfalls.

Ensure the Office of Financial Management develops procedures to incorporate all available budgetary resources, as reported on the SF-133s, in its calculations for the status of funds reports for transparent communication to internal and external stakeholders.

Institutionalize monthly fiscal reviews between the Office of Financial Management and program offices to routinely assess performance and cost drivers that may affect the status of available funds.

Institutionalize monthly fiscal reviews between the VA Office of Budget and the Veterans Benefits Administration Office of Financial Management to routinely assess performance and cost drivers that may affect the status of available funds.

Clarify guidance for making insourcing decisions and develop more detailed cost comparison analysis and maintain records in support of insourcing decisions.

Develop controls that prohibit users from entering invalid dates into the Vehicle Information Transportation Analysis and Logistics system.

Verify drivers received required safe driver training; and enforce policies that require managers and supervisors to maintain training records in the Learning Management System.

Insource highway contract routes when economically advantageous to the Postal Service and implement a waiver process when cost is not a main factor to insource.

develop a process to monitor and evaluate the operational efficiencies received from insourcing highway contract route contracts to determine if the expected benefits are being realized.

Require employees to complete the Postal Service Supervisor Program within one year of their initial appointment to a supervisory position, and refresher training at least every three years, and maintain appropriate records of completion.

Develop and share documentation to communicate lessons learned from the challenges faced during the Postal Vehicle Operator Pilot Program to site management at future pilot sites.

Include specific requirements in the job announcements for Postal Vehicle Service operator positions (i.e. starting as part-time flexible or working outside of normal business hours).

Develop and make available the training to obtain a commercial driver's license to interested postal vehicle operators.

Determine complement and work toward hiring the number of schedule examiners vehicle runs and dispatch coordinators needed at nationwide Postal Vehicle Service sites.

Develop a process to ensure site management monitors the accuracy of drivers' license expirations and Department of Transportation physical due dates in the Vehicle Information Transportation Analysis and Logistics system.

FHFA’s DER should create examination procedures to assess the effectiveness of Enterprises’ internal controls and processes in ensuring compliance with FinCEN requirements for SAR filings, to include SAR narratives, and communicate the new procedures to the examiners responsible for this work.

FHFA's DER should consider whether to direct Freddie Mac to file an amended SAR containing a complete narrative for the case identified above, and whether to amend FHFA’s examination procedures to require this step if future examinations uncover a similar issue.

Develop written procedures that clearly define the responsibilities of the federal review process.

Develop written procedures for how errors and discrepancies should be reported, tracked, and resolved, as well as specific criteria for identifying errors or deviations from established standards.

Revise its ASOC review procedures to require an annual reconciliation of SFA funds and to require the review analyst to conduct an analysis of material changes or outliers in the key elements to ensure full compliance with SFA conditions.

Define specific and measurable risk tolerances for changes in key elements and develop related review procedures.

Design specific procedures to ensure (1) appropriate in-depth analysis and review of exceptions, and (2) ensure the review and decision-making process for exceptions and historical data is fully documented in the ASOC workbook.

Implement a formal process that identifies roles and responsibilities, including information sharing, and cooperation with DOL and Treasury to improve SFA oversight and compliance over the Reinstatement of Benefits.

Develop and document an approach for strategic risk assessments of the ASOC review program.

Conduct a strategic risk assessment to determine the most cost-effective approach to ensuring compliance with ARP and PBGC regulations. This assessment should consider factors such as the number and size of the plans submitting ASOCs and the 30-year duration of the program.