Review Of Oig Operations

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the operations of the Department of State's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to determine how differences between its authorizing legislation, the Foreign Service Act of 1980, and the Inspector General Act affect the State OIG work. GAO found that the Foreign Service Act included several important differences from the basic Inspector General Act, which permit the new State OIG to continue to operate like old OIG rather than functioning like the new independent statutory OIG established in other agencies. GAO believes that more independence is needed in the State OIG, because it found a number of situations in which the independence of the State Inspector General (IG) inspection, audit, and investigative functions could have been impaired. In addition to doing traditional audit functions, OIG is required to inspect and audit each foreign post and domestic unit at least once every 5 years. GAO believes that management, not OIG, should be responsible for these routine inspections. The role of the independent audit organization should be to evaluate how well agency management is carrying out its basic responsibilities, including its routine monitoring and assessment functions. In addition, GAO found that OIG has little operational control over investigations into allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse. It relies on the Office of Security to conduct these investigations. GAO believes that this constitutes an organizational impairment which has caused delays and a poorer quality of investigations. Finally, GAO found that government audit standards are not being complied with and that the quality of OIG work has suffered due to the lack of staff training and experience, severe time constraints, and the lack of documentation.

Policymakers and program managers are continually seeking ways to improve accountability in achieving an entity's mission. A key factor in improving accountability in achieving an entity's mission is to implement an effective internal control system. An effective internal control system helps an entity adapt to shifting environments, evolving demands, changing risks, and new priorities. As programs change and entities strive to improve operational processes and implement new technology, management continually evaluates its internal control system so that it is effective and updated when necessary. Section 3512 (c) and (d) of Title 31 of the United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Managers? Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA)) requires the Comptroller General to issue standards for internal control in the federal government.

Within the Inspector General community, inspections and evaluations have long afforded OIGs a flexible and effective mechanism for oversight and review of Department/Agency programs by using a multidisciplinary staff and multiple methods for gathering and analyzing data. These Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation have been developed as a framework for performing both inspection and evaluation work.