Audit Overview
The OIG’s Audit Division issued 52 internal and external audit reports, which contained more than $2.5 million in questioned costs and made 225 recommendations for management improvement. Specifically, the Audit Division issued 25 internal audit reports of Department programs and 27 external audit reports of contracts, grants, and other agreements funded at over $34 million; and 14 Single Audit Act audits of programs funded at more than $12 million. In addition, the Audit Division issued two Notifications of Irregularities.
| Questioned Costs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reports | Number of Reports | Total Questioned Costs (including unsupported costs) |
Unsupported Costs |
| Audits | |||
| No management decision made by beginning of period1 | 12 | $7,325,302 | $116,781 |
| Issued during period | 182 | $2,750,206 | $1,968,909 |
| Needing management decision during period | 30 | $10,075,508 | $2,085,690 |
| Management decisions made during period: – Amount of disallowed costs3 – Amount of costs not disallowed |
26 2 |
$4,353,847 $5,696,286 |
$2,080,514 $0 |
| No management decision at end of period | 2 | $25,375 | $5,176 |
| Evaluations | |||
| Nothing to report from the Evaluation and Inspections Division. | |||
| Special Reviews | |||
| Nothing to report from the Oversight and Review Division. | |||
2 Of the audit reports issued during this period with questioned costs, three were Single Audit Act reports.
3 Includes instances in which management has taken action to resolve the issue and/or the matter is being closed because remedial action was taken.
| Funds Recommended to Be Put to Better Use | ||
|---|---|---|
| Reports | Number of Reports | Funds Recommended to Be Put to Better Use |
| Audits | ||
| No management decision made by beginning of period1 | 3 | $3,051,384 |
| Issued during period | 0 | $0 |
| Needing management decision during period | 3 | $3,051,384 |
| Management decisions made during period: – Amounts management agreed to put to better use2 – Amounts management disagreed to put to better use |
0 3 |
$0 $3,051,384 |
| No management decision at end of period | 0 | $0 |
| Evaluations | ||
| Nothing to report from the Evaluation and Inspections Division. | ||
| Special Reviews | ||
| Nothing to report from the Oversight and Review Division. | ||
2 Includes instances in which management has taken action to resolve the issue and/or the matter is being closed because remedial action was taken.
| Significant Recommendations for Which Corrective Actions Have Not Been Completed |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Report Number and Date | Report Title | Rec. No. | Recommendation |
| Audits | |||
| Audit Report 07-05 (December 2006) | The Department of Justice’s Grant Closeout Process | 26 | The OIG recommends that the OVW remedy the $37,279,986 in questioned costs related to drawdowns occurring more than 90 days past the grant end date. |
| 44 | The OIG recommends that the OVW deobligate and put to better use the $14,285,431 in remaining funds related to expired grants that are more than 90 days past the grant end date. | ||
| Audit Report 10-01 (October 2009) |
Explosives Investigation Coordination between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives | 1 | The OIG recommends that the Department implement new directives delineating lead authority for explosives investigations between the FBI and ATF. At a minimum, this guidance should: (1) assign responsibility to either the FBI or ATF to serve as the overall investigational “lead agency” for each specific type of explosives crime; (2) supersede all prior guidance on FBI-ATF explosives coordination; (3) detail actions required to coordinate jointly in circumstances when the motive is unclear. Consideration should be given to whether to divide jurisdiction between the components by device type, defined territories, technical specialization, or reassigning explosives functions and personnel under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 599A; and (4) establish a formal procedure for components to seek resolution of jurisdictional conflicts from the Department. |
| Evaluations | |||
| I-2010-004 (May 2010) |
The Department’s Preparation to Respond to a Weapons of Mass Destruction Incident | 5 | The OIG recommends that the Department ensure that it is prepared to fulfill its emergency support function responsibilities under the National Response Framework, including reviewing the designation of ATF as the Department’s lead agency to coordinate public safety and security activities, approving a Concept of Operations Plan, and staffing national and regional coordinator positions. |
| I-2009-002 (May 2009) |
ATF’s Project Gunrunner | 15 | The OIG recommends that ATF ensure that the reforms discussed in their September 2010 document entitled “Project Gunrunner – A Cartel Focused Strategy” are fully and expeditiously implemented. |
| 6 | The OIG recommends that ATF develop a method for Southwest border intelligence personnel to regularly share analytical techniques and best practices pertaining to Project Gunrunner. | ||
| Special Reviews1 | |||
| September 2010 | A Review of the FBI’s Investigations of Certain Advocacy Groups | 3 | The OIG recommends that the FBI specify the potential violation of a specific federal criminal statute as part of documenting the basis for opening a preliminary or full investigation in cases involving investigation of advocacy groups or their members for activities connected to the exercise of their First Amendment rights. |
| March 2007 | A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Use of National Security Letters | 2 | The OIG recommends that the FBI improve the FBI-OGC NSL tracking database to ensure that it captures timely, complete, and accurate data on NSLs and NSL requests. |
| May 2006 | A Review of the FBI’s Handling and Oversight of FBI Asset Katrina Leung | 2 | The OIG recommends that the FBI should require that any analytical products relating to the asset, together with red flags, derogatory reporting, anomalies, and other counterintelligence concerns be documented in a subsection of the asset’s file. |
| Reports Without Management Decisions for More than 6 Months | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report Number and Date |
Report Title | Report Summary |
| Audits | ||
| Nothing to report from the Audit Division. | ||
| Status: | ||
| Evaluations | ||
| Nothing to report from the Evaluation and Inspections Division. | ||
| Status: | ||
| Special Reviews1 | ||
| Nothing to report from the Oversight and Review Division. | ||
| Status: | ||
| Description and Explanation of the Reasons for Any Significant Revised Management Decision Made During the Reporting Period |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Report Number and Date |
Report Title | Rec. No. | Recommendation |
| Audits | |||
| Nothing to report from the Audit Division. | |||
| Status: | |||
| Evaluations | |||
| Nothing to report from the Evaluation and Inspections Division. | |||
| Status: | |||
| Special Reviews1 | |||
| Nothing to report from the Oversight and Review Division. | |||
| Status: | |||
| Significant Recommendations in Disagreement for More than 6 Months | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Report Number and Date |
Report Title | Rec. No. | Recommendation |
| Audits | |||
| Nothing to report from the Audit Division. | |||
| Evaluations | |||
| Nothing to report from the Evaluation and Inspections Division. | |||
| Special Reviews1 | |||
| Nothing to report from the Oversight and Review Division. | |||
National Defense Authorization Act Reporting
OIG Reporting Required by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008
The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 requires all Inspectors General appointed under the IG Act to add an annex to their Semiannual Reports: (1) listing all contract audit reports issued during the reporting period containing significant audit findings; (2) briefly describing the significant audit findings in the report; and (3) specifying the amounts of costs identified in the report as unsupported, questioned, or disallowed. This Act defines significant audit findings as unsupported, questioned, or disallowed costs in excess of $10 million or other findings that the Inspector General determines to be significant. It defines contracts as a contract, an order placed under a task or delivery order contract, or a subcontract.
The OIG did not issue any audits that fit these criteria during this semiannual reporting period.
Audit Follow-up
OMB Circular A-50
OMB Circular A-50, Audit Follow-up, requires audit reports to be resolved within 6 months of the audit report issuance date. The Audit Division monitors the status of open audit reports to track the audit resolution and closure process. As of September 30, 2011, the OIG was monitoring the resolution process of 220 open audit reports and closed 102 audit reports this reporting period.
Evaluation and Inspections Workload and Accomplishments
The following chart summarizes the workload and accomplishments of the Evaluation and Inspections Division during the 6-month reporting period ending September 30, 2011.
| Evaluation and Inspections Workload and Accomplishments |
Number of Reviews |
|---|---|
| Reviews active at beginning of period | 9 |
| Reviews cancelled | 0 |
| Reviews initiated | 1 |
| Final reports issued | 1 |
| Reviews active at end of reporting period | 9 |
Investigations Statistics
The following chart summarizes the workload and accomplishments of the Investigations Division during the 6-month period ending September 30, 2011.
| Source of Allegations | |
|---|---|
| Hotline (telephone, mail, and e-mail) Other sources Total allegations received |
1,441 4,544 5,985 |
| Investigative Caseload | |
| Investigations opened this period Investigations closed this period Investigations in progress as of 9/30/11 |
174 210 362 |
| Prosecutive Actions | |
| Criminal indictments/informations Arrests Convictions/Pleas |
50 51 52 |
| Administrative Actions | |
| Terminations Resignations Disciplinary action |
17 47 45 |
| Monetary Results | |
| Fines/Restitutions/Recoveries/Assessments/Forfeitures Civil Fines/Restitutions/Recoveries/Penalties/Damages/Forfeitures |
$3,562,636 $11,699,367 |
Investigations Division Briefing Programs
OIG investigators conducted 27 Integrity Awareness Briefings for Department employees throughout the country. These briefings are designed to educate employees about the misuse of a public official’s position for personal gain and to deter employees from committing such offenses. The briefings reached more than 835 employees.
OIG Hotline
During FY 2011, the OIG received the majority of its Hotline complaints through its recently modified electronic complaint form located within the OIG website at www.justice.gov/oig.
In addition, Department employees and citizens are able to file complaints by telephone, fax, e-mail, and postal mail. The online access, e-mail, fax, and postal mail all provide the ability to file a complaint in writing to the OIG.
From all Hotline sources during the second half of FY 2011, more than 1,400 new complaints related to department operations or other federal agencies were entered into our complaint tracking system. Of the new complaints, 990 were forwarded to various Department components for their review and appropriate action; 157 were filed for information; 253 were forwarded to other federal agencies, and 8 were opened by the OIG for investigation.
