January 2020
Untimely Response to Audit Findings Inaction to audit findings can erode federal auditor morale and compromise auditor commitment to success. Annually, theDHHS publishes the top un implemented recommendations from its Office of Inspector General audits and evaluations (DHHS, 2018). The Department of Defense Inspector General (DoDIG) distributed a similar 2018 compendium describing about $2 billion of potential monetary benefits from open recommendations (DoDIG, 2018a). Unsustained audit fndings on contractor business systems, federal cost accounting standards, andmillions of dollars of audit exceptions reported by other DoD agencies were disclosed by the DoDIG for the years 2016 through 2019 (DoDIG, 2016, 2017a, 2018b, 2019). In 2018, federal spending was subject to evaluation by about 11,000 auditors primarily employed by theDepartments of Defense (DoD) and Health and Human Services (DHHS). Auditing Standards Oversight During this same period, federal auditors were cited for insufcient adherence to auditing standards. In 2017, the DoDIG reported the Army failed its 2017 quality control system review (DoDIG, 2017b); and in that same year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) identifed untimely audits as a reason for delinquent contract close-outs at the Departments of Defense, State, Transportation, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (GAO, 2017b). Changing Mission Guidance Rapidly changing mission guidance can trigger auditor fatigue. The customer identity confusion at the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) is a signifcant example. The Section 809 Panel (2019, p. 25) reports that about 10 years ago, in response to critical audit independence findings, DCAA identifed the “taxpayer” customer in itsmission statement. TheGAO promptly challenged this action by noting DCAA’s primary role is to advise contracting ofcers. The Section 809 Panel, in turn, bested GAO’s challenge by recommending DCAA not only advise contracting ofcers, but provide “education and training”—a recommendation that appears eligible for unintended independence abuse (Section 809 Panel, 2018a, pp. 64–65, 67).
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Defense ARJ, January 2020, Vol. 27No. 1 : 2-26
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