Today, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) announced the release of the PRAC’s new Agile Products Toolkit, a resource to assist federal, state, and local oversight agencies and professionals in conducting timely reviews and oversight of federal funding. It was prepared under the guidance of SBA Inspector General Mike Ware, who chairs the PRAC’s subcommittee on Audit, Inspections, and Evaluations.
The CARES Act and other related legislation provided approximately $2.6 trillion in federal spending to address the public health and economic crises resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Since grants and loans were used to disburse large amounts of funds quickly, these funds require a significant amount of attention and support from federal agencies and they are also at high risk of fraud and misuse.
OIGs have a duty to provide policymakers and the public with expeditious reporting of potential risks and management concerns related to federal pandemic response programs and spending. The Toolkit provides OIGs and other oversight offices a set of guidelines, best practices, and lessons learned to help prepare these types of reports for CARES Act oversight and beyond.
“The public and policymakers demand, expect, and deserve more timely reporting of potential risks and management concerns. The Agile Toolkit was designed to provide oversight professionals with a blueprint for how to produce these types of reports quickly, increasing transparency for stakeholders,” said Mr. Ware.
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The PRAC was established by the CARES Act to promote transparency and support independent oversight of the funds provided by the CARES Act and other related emergency spending bills. In addition to its coordination and oversight responsibilities, the PRAC is tasked with supporting efforts to “prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement [and] mitigate major risks that cut across program and agency boundaries.”
If you have additional questions, please contact Lisa Reijula at lisa.reijula@cigie.gov