Reports

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board established the PPPLF to extend credit to financial institutions that originate loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s guaranteed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), taking the PPP loans as collateral. The PPPLF, managed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and operated out of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, distributed billions of dollars to eligible lenders. We will assess the effectiveness of internal controls to (1) determine lender eligibility, extend credit, and process repayments and (2) identify at-risk advances, handle instances of nonpayment, and detect and mitigate fraud. We also plan to assess the extent to which the Federal Reserve System coordinates with the U.S. Small Business Administration to determine lender eligibility, recover losses due to nonpayment, and detect and mitigate fraud.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act designated $10 billion to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to support continuing operations at U.S. airports following the sharp decline in passenger traffic and other airport business due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. By the end of fiscal year 2020, FAA had obligated approximately $9.4 billion in formula grants to airports for such purposes as capital expenditures, operating expenses (including payroll and utilities), and debt payments. We are initiating this audit because the act also provided $5 million to OIG for conducting oversight of DOT projects and activities supported by CARES Act funds. Our objective is to assess whether FAA’s policies and procedures for awarding and overseeing CARES Act grants are sufficient to protect taxpayer interests.

Evaluate controls implemented by the IRS to ensure the $765.7 million in appropriated funds received for its Coronavirus response is adequately tracked and used for its intended purpose. 

The objective of the evaluation is to determine whether the IRS effectively used its telework program to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on IRS operations.

Assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on IRS customer service operations and evaluate the development of the IRS’s comprehensive customer service strategy. 

(Audit number: 202040633) Objective: Assess the IRS’s processes and procedures to ensure the validity of COVID-19 relief credit claims.

The overall objective was to evaluate whether the IRS timely and accurately processed individual paper and electronically filed tax returns during the 2020 Filing Season.