Reports

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Department of Education OIG

Michigan’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the State of Michigan (Michigan) designed and implemented awarding processes that ensured that the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER grant) was used to support local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) that were most significantly impacted by the coronavirus or LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities within the State that were deemed essential for carrying out emergency educational services; and monitoring processes to ensure that subgrantees used GEER grant funds in accordance with...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/14/2022

Small Business Administration OIG

COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Applications Submitted from Foreign IP Addresses

We evaluated the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) controls to flag or prevent potentially fraudulent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications submitted from foreign Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.Although the agency implemented several layers of controls to prevent or reduce fraud from foreign countries, individuals at foreign IP addresses were able to access the COVID-19 EIDL application system. SBA received millions of attempts to submit COVID-19 EIDL applications from foreign IP addresses and stopped most of them; however, the agency...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/12/2022

Department of Education OIG

Oklahoma’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the State of Oklahoma (Oklahoma) designed and implemented awarding processes that ensured that the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER grant) was used to support local educational agencies (LEA) and institutions of higher education (IHE) that were most significantly impacted by the coronavirus or LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities within the State that were deemed essential for carrying out emergency educational services; and monitoring processes to ensure that subgrantees used GEER grant funds in accordance with...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 7/18/2022

1.1 - Open

Provide documentation, or a full and detailed written explanation, of the process Oklahoma used to determine the initiatives it supported with GEER grant funds and the entities it selected to administer the initiatives.

1.2 - Open

Develop and implement a process to ensure that it documents the criteria and decisions made for awarding future GEER grant funds in accordance with applicable requirements.

1.3 - Open

Develop and implement internal controls to ensure that it administers current and future GEER grants in accordance with applicable Federal laws and grant requirements, including ensuring that grant subrecipients are provided the proper award documentation; and that any entity that is awarded Federal funds retains records relating to those awards in accordance with Federal requirements.

1.4 - Open

Perform a 100 percent review, or review a statistical sample, of the Stay in School Fund microgrant recipients to confirm that all students were eligible to receive GEER grant funds.

1.5 - Open

Develop and implement written policies and procedures to describe the specific circumstances under which deviations from procurement rules are warranted, including procedures about required documentation of such decisions for procurements that do not use competitive bidding but use Federal education funds.

1.6 - Open

Take appropriate action if the documentation and other information provided by Oklahoma in response to the above recommendations does not support that the State followed applicable requirements.

2.1 - Open

Return $652,720 to the Department for the unallowable Bridge the Gap expenditures we identified or provide documentation to support that the expenditures were allowable or the items were purchased with personal funds.

2.2 - Open

Perform a 100-percent review, or review a statistical sample, of the $5,473,894 in Bridge the Gap expenditures that we did not review to determine whether the expenditures were allowable, and if applicable, return the funds for any unallowable expenditures to the Department.

2.3 - Open

Develop and implement additional internal controls for the Skills to Rebuild, Learn Anywhere Oklahoma, Bridge the Gap, and Stay in School Fund initiatives that include written monitoring procedures for those processes that are already in place, and for additional procedures that include a review of expenditures and supporting documentation, and a review of documentation that supports the information in initiatives’ weekly status reports.

2.4 - Open

Develop and implement internal controls to ensure that fiscal agents for Federal grant programs obtain an understanding of the rules and regulations surrounding the grant programs they are tasked with overseeing.

3.1 - Open

Develop and implement controls to ensure that Oklahoma’s State agencies that receive Federal funds have written cash management policies and procedures, including policies for the draw down and disbursement of grant funds in accordance with Federal requirements.

3.2 - Open

Return to the Department any unexpended GEER grant funds applicable to our audit scope that are being held by GEER grant subrecipients.

3.3 - Open

3.4 - Open

Require its fiscal agent or State program representative to work closely with the Department to ensure that other GEER grants are administered in compliance with cash management rules and with any actions the Department determines are needed, if warranted.

National Security Agency OIG

Audit of the Implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Section 3610

The audit found the agency had significant issues implementing the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The agency did not sufficiently review CARES invoices due to changing guidelines, reduced contract oversight staffing during the pandemic, overreliance on contractor-provided information, and the lack of clear and comprehensive Contracting Officer Representative (COR) oversight procedures for CARES invoices. As a result, the OIG questioned more than $16.4 million, or 40 percent of the sampled CARES invoice charges. As of June 8, 2021, NSA reported $917 million in CARES...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Homeland Security OIG

ICE Did Not Follow Policies, Guidance, or Recommendations to Ensure Migrants Were Tested for COVID-19 before Transport on Domestic Commercial Flights

The objective was to determine the extent to which the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mitigates safety risks by testing migrants for COVID-19 before transport on domestic commercial flights and whether a process is in place for escorting noncitizen unaccompanied children (UCs) during transport.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 5/23/2022

Department of Homeland Security OIG

Management Alert - FEMA's COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Operating Procedures Are Inconsistent with Previous Interpretation of Long-Standing Regulations for Eligible Funeral Expenses

We are issuing this management alert to advise the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that its Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Funeral Assistance Program operating procedures contradict FEMA’s previous interpretation of long-standing regulations for ineligible funeral expenses established in FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide (IAPPG). This interpretation of regulations for ineligible funeral expenses remains unchanged in FEMA Policy 104-21-0001 (COVID-19-specific policy).

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of War OIG

Audit of Entitlements for Activated Army National Guard and Air National Guard Members Supporting the Coronavirus Disease–2019 Mission

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 3/30/2022

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0001.a - Closed

Rec. 1.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, update the DoD Financial Management Regulation, volume 7A, "Military Pay Policy - Active Duty and Reserve Pay," chapter 27, "Family Separation Allowance" to clearly state that the permanent duty station of a Reserve Component member on temporary duty status is the member's primary residence for the purpose of determining Family Separation Allowance entitlement.

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0001.b - Closed

Rec. 1.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, update the DoD Financial Management Regulation, volume 7A, "Military Pay Policy - Active Duty and Reserve Pay," chapter 27, "Family Separation Allowance" to clarify that Family Separation Allowance entitlement determination is based on the commuting distance between the member's primary residence and their temporary duty location.

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.a - Closed

Rec. 2.e: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to establish formal dissemination and communication procedures for National Guard Bureau policies related to entitlements provided to the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, including the policies in the preceding recommendations. The procedures should require: 1) creation of a central location where policies and procedures will be kept for easy access by all states, territories, and the District; and 2) confirmation of receipt from all of the states, territories, and the District when procedures are communicated or obtained.

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.b - Closed

Rec. 2.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to outline the process and frequency of recertification for Basic Allowance for Housing entitlement that Army National Guard and Air National Guard officials will use to verify and fully document the dependency status of members to provide clarification to the DoD Financial Management Regulation, volume 7A, chapter 26. These procedures should include: * how recertifications will be completed; * which members will complete a recertification; and * how Army National Guard and Air National Guard officials will provide oversight to ensure that information is complete and accurate.

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.c - Closed

Rec. 2.c: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to require Army National Guard and Air National Guard officials to review and document the status of a military member married to another military member regardless of which Military Service, Reserve or Active Component, or Army National Guard or Air National Guard unit the member's spouse belongs to, and identify which member will claim any applicable dependents.

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.d - Closed

Rec. 2.d: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to specify the methods for confirming eligibility and paying Family Separation Allowance for Army National Guard and Air National Guard members, in accordance with the DoD Financial Management Regulation, volume 7A, chapter 27, and include the: * timeliness of payments; * determination of Family Separation Allowance eligibility for back to back orders; * members assigned to their normal duty locations; and * requirement to track members to know when they return to their primary residence.

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.e - Closed

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0003 - Closed

Rec. 3: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement additional internal control procedures for the review of transactions manually submitted by the Army National Guard and Air National Guard to the payment system prior to payment to ensure the completeness and accuracy of transactions.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

Program and Organizational Changes Are Needed to Address the Continued Inadequate Tax Account Assistance Provided to Taxpayers

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 3/18/2022

1 - Closed

On September 20, 2021, we notified the Director, Accounts Management, that the Austin site was not requiring Accounts Management screeners to come into the office to perform their duties, resulting in a significant backlog and delays in inventory being routed to Accounts Management to be worked. We recommended that the IRS establish consistent guidance and clarification on when resources can be directed to the office to help with screening inventory, to ensure that sufficient staff is available to screen documents in a timely manner, and establish processes to monitor the progress,

10 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should update existing scanning software or obtain a new scanning software to address document capacity concerns.

11 - Open

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should ensure that programming is updated to systemically reject electronic submissions of Forms 2848 and 8821 when missing one of the five essential elements (name, address, signature, etc.) without manually mailing a rejection letter.

12 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should ensure that the rejection letter used for Forms 2848 and 8821 is updated to include language that a revised form can be submitted electronically via an IRS Tax Pro Account25 or through Taxpayer Digital Communication.

13 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop an action plan to prioritize the continued expansion of documents that can be sent in via electronic fax and converted into a Correspondence Imaging System (CIS) image.

13 - Closed

Develop an action plan to prioritize the continued expansion of documents that can be sent in via electronic fax and converted into a CIS image.

14 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should Identify priority work that needs to be expedited by the Image Control Team (ICT) and assess the feasibility of creating an electronic fax number to receive this inventory.

15 - Closed

On July 12, 2021, TiGTA notified the Director, Accounts Management, of concerns regarding inaccuracies as it related to the compiling and reporting of the Accounts Management Inventory Report (AMIR). TIGTA recommended that the IRS perform a reconciliation of each Accounts Management site’s AMIR to the source reports to identify inventory inconsistencies and reporting errors by site

16 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should complete the inventory reconciliations for the four remaining Accounts Management site’s to identify and correct inventory inaccuracies and inconsistencies and implement processes to provide oversight by periodically performing reconciliations for each site so that any future inconsistencies and errors are identified and corrected in a timely manner.

17 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop specific and detailed instructions for preparing the Accounts Management Inventory Report (AMIR), including how controlled and uncontrolled inventory should be captured

18 - Open

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop a process to systemically pull all controlled inventory for each Accounts Management site for the Accounts Management Inventory Report (AMIR) to ensure consistency, reduce human error, and increase efficiencies

19 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should modify Accounts Management inventory reporting to report unassigned controlled inventory separately on the nationwide Accounts Management Inventory Report (AMIR) and limit the site-specific AMIRs to only the inventory assigned to be worked in each site.

2 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should evaluate directing taxpayers to send tax account correspondence and replies intended for Accounts Management directly to Campus Support Sites for processing to reduce backlogs at Tax Processing Centers and improve services to taxpayers.

3 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should prioritize the development and implementation of tools that will enable taxpayers seeking assistance or responding to Accounts Management to correspond with the IRS electronically, including the ability to directly upload documents into Accounts Management’s inventory.

4 - Closed

The Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer, in conjunction with the Director, IRS NEXT Office, should evaluate establishing two distinct IRS programs as part of the IRS reorganization under the Taxpayer First Act – one dedicated to answering toll-free telephone calls and one dedicated to working Accounts Management inventory – with adequate staffing to provide appropriate service to taxpayers using each channel.

5 - Closed

On June 9, 2021, we notified the Director, Customer Account Services, that Submission Processing requested resources from Accounts Management to assist with clearing the Image Control Team (ICT) backlog and was told by Campus Support management that no resources could be made available to assist with reducing the ICT backlog. We recommended that the IRS assess the availability of Campus Support’s ICT staffing or other resources that could be made available to assist with clearing the ICT backlogs at Tax Processing Centers.

6 - Closed

On September 3, 2021, we notified the Director, Accounts Management, of concerns relating to the newly stood-up Fresno Campus Support Site, including scanners not being used to the full extent possible. We recommended that IRS management provide us with it plans to address our concerns identified with the new Fresno Campus Support Site, including additional staffing to assist Image Control Team (ICT).

7 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should complete a strategic review of all 10 Image Control Team (ICT) sites to determine what contributes to the ICT’s inability to timely scan and validate documents. Based on the results of this review, initiate steps to address the concerns identified. This should include the development of an action plan to ensure that the high-capacity ICT scanners and staffing are realigned to the appropriate sites based on actual or expected inventory levels and that responsibility of the ICT operations are consolidated under the appropriate function.

8 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should cross-train additional mail clerks at Campus Support Sites to work Image Control Team (ICT) validations, freeing up additional resources in sites with higher inventories needing to be scanned, or consider shipping inventory to sites with less inventory to be scanned.

9 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop specific instructions and a common template for all 10 Image Control Team (ICT) sites to consistently capture ICT inventory information.

Railroad Retirement Board OIG

Railroad Retirement Board Did Not Implement Sufficient Internal Controls in the Mobile Phones Deployed as a Result of the Pandemic

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 3/17/2022

1 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should update their mobile phone policies to include and implement a National Archives and Records Administration-approved records schedule and transfer procedures for electronic records associated with mobile phones.

10 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should develop and implement a records management and retention system for electronic records.

11 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should research the capabilities of Railroad Retirement Board's Microsoft Azure Cloud's functionality to determine feasibility of incorporating the automated records management and retention capabilities to govern the mobile phones electronic records.

2 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should submit a yearly affidavit to confirm electronic records associated with mobile phones have been identified and retained until the full transition into Microsoft Azure Cloud.

3 - Closed

The Railroad Retirement Board's Director of Administration should define and communicate 'personal usage' establishing Railroad Retirement Board's core hours of 5:00 am to 7:00 pm. Any usage outside of core hours would be considered personal usage excluding business management purposes.

4 - Closed

The Railroad Retirement Board's Bureau of Information Services should 1) continue efforts to update the Telecommuting and Mobile Security Computing Policy with current laws and regulations and 2) develop a periodic monitoring control to assess personal usage and address it according to agency guidance.

5 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should incorporate the mobile phones in an existing assessable unit and update their mobile phone policies to include documentation regarding the specific roles and responsibilities of each office overseeing the mobile phone program.

6 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should enforce and execute a review and approval process for application and software download and restrict access to specified applications found in their Railroad Retirement Board G-6 Rules of Behavior.

7 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should implement procedures to periodically track, log, and monitor iPhone usage and the completion of the G-6 Acknowledgement Statement.

8 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should periodically review the mobile phone inventory for completeness and accuracy to include a comparison with Railroad Retirement Board's personnel position index.

9 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should implement the use of unique identifiers between disparate data sets (e.g., mobile phone inventory, personnel position index) to facilitate comparisons and reconcile inconsistent information.

Environmental Protection Agency OIG

EPA Should Consistently Track Coronavirus Pandemic-Related Grant Flexibilities and Implement Plan for Electronic Grant File Storage

The EPA Office of Grants and Debarment does not know the full extent to which program offices and regions have implemented grant flexibilities and exceptions permitted by the Office of Management and Budget due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Office of Grants and Debarment tracked grants that received flexibilities through its issued class waivers and regulatory exceptions but did not track grants that received flexibilities and exceptions approved by program offices and regions. The lack of agencywide tracking of grant flexibilities and exceptions hindered the Agency’s ability to assess how...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Date Range

Report Category

Submitting Agency

Agency Reviewed

Related Organizations

Any Open Recommendations

Reports

Michigan’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund

COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Applications Submitted from Foreign IP Addresses

Oklahoma’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant

Audit of the Implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Section 3610

ICE Did Not Follow Policies, Guidance, or Recommendations to Ensure Migrants Were Tested for COVID-19 before Transport on Domestic Commercial Flights

Management Alert - FEMA's COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Operating Procedures Are Inconsistent with Previous Interpretation of Long-Standing Regulations for Eligible Funeral Expenses

Audit of Entitlements for Activated Army National Guard and Air National Guard Members Supporting the Coronavirus Disease–2019 Mission

Program and Organizational Changes Are Needed to Address the Continued Inadequate Tax Account Assistance Provided to Taxpayers

Railroad Retirement Board Did Not Implement Sufficient Internal Controls in the Mobile Phones Deployed as a Result of the Pandemic

EPA Should Consistently Track Coronavirus Pandemic-Related Grant Flexibilities and Implement Plan for Electronic Grant File Storage

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