When agencies do not report the required  information, Congress may lack the information necessary to monitor the  implementation of IPERA and take action to address problematic  programs in a timely manner. Some IGs reported compliance based on the presence or absence of the  required analysis or reporting (hereafter referred to as a pass/fail  determination by the IG), regardless of whether the IGs identified flaws,  whereas other IGs reported agencies as noncompliant based on the IGs  performing some degree of evaluative procedures to determine whether  the agencies’ analyses or reports were substantively adequate (hereafter  referred to as a determination based on evaluative procedures). While we recognize that the  severity of the issues may have resulted in the IGs’ reporting  noncompliance for some agencies, we found, as noted in some of the  examples below, the types of issues identified for both the compliant and  noncompliant agencies were similar. Lastly, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency  (CIGIE) stated that although it provided general guidance to the IGs in  fiscal year 2011, it has not provided the IGs with any guidance regarding  how compliance determinations should be made. Majority of CFO Act Agency IGs Reported Performing One or More Optional Procedures during Their Fiscal Year 2015 IPERA Compliance Reviews

We reviewed the IGs’ fiscal year 2015 IPERA compliance reports and  found that 20 of the 24 agencies’ IGs reported that they performed at  least one procedure beyond what is required by IPERA and IPIA, as  amended by IPERIA. Specifically, we found that 15 of the 24 IGs reported that  they evaluated the accuracy and completeness of their agencies’  reporting on improper payments. Conclusions

The total amount of estimated improper payments reported government- wide has been estimated to total over $1.2 trillion from fiscal year 2003  through fiscal year 2016. Five years after the implementation of IPERA,  15 of the 24 CFO Act agencies were reported as noncompliant under  IPERA for fiscal year 2015. OMB guidance and IPERA  do not specify what, if any, evaluative procedures should be conducted as  part of the IGs’ compliance determinations. CIGIE, which represents the  IGs, has also not issued such guidance. In addition, IGs reported programs at 7 agencies as noncompliant for 3 or  more consecutive years as of the end of fiscal year 2015, and as a result,  the agencies were required to submit certain information to Congress. However, USDA had not submitted the required information despite prior  recommendations from its IG and GAO. Recommendations for Executive Action

We are making the following two recommendations:  To help ensure that government-wide compliance under IPERA is  consistently determined and reported, we recommend that the Director of  OMB coordinate with CIGIE to develop and issue guidance, either jointly  or independently, to specify what procedures should be conducted as part  of the IGs’ IPERA compliance determinations. The extent to which the 24 agencies listed in the Chief Financial  Officers Act of 1990, as amended (CFO Act), complied with the  criteria listed in the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act  of 2010 (IPERA), for fiscal years 2011 through 2015 as reported by  their inspectors general (IG); the criteria and programs that the IGs  concluded were responsible for instances of agency noncompliance  and the number of programs at the 24 CFO Act agencies that were  reported as noncompliant under IPERA criteria by their IGs for 3 or  more consecutive years as of fiscal year 2015: and the extent to  which the responsible agencies submitted the required information to  Congress. 2. 3. The extent to which the IGs’ fiscal years 2011 through 2015 IPERA  compliance reports included recommendations and the status of these  recommendations as of December 31, 2016, and for the open  recommendations associated with noncompliant agencies, the extent  to which the recommendations were designed to address agencies’  noncompliance with one or more of the six IPERA criteria. We corroborated our findings with OMB  and all 24 CFO Act agencies and IGs. Appendix IV: Reported Improper Payment Estimates by Agency and Program/Activity for Fiscal Year 2015

Table 3 lists the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-reported  improper payment estimates by agency and program or activity for fiscal  year 2015, which relate to fiscal year 2015 compliance determinations of  the CFO Act agency inspectors general (IG) as discussed in this report.
Why GAO Did This Study

Fiscal year 2015 marked the fifth year of the implementation of IPERA, which requires IGs to annually assess and report on whether executive branch agencies complied with six IPERA criteria related to the estimation of improper payments. Improper payments have been estimated to total over $1.2 trillion government-wide from 2003 through 2016.
This report examines (1) the extent to which the 24 CFO Act agency IGs reported that agencies complied with the six IPERA criteria for fiscal years 2011 through 2015 and the programs reported as noncompliant for 3 or more consecutive years; (2) the extent to which the IGs reported that they performed optional procedures during their fiscal year 2015 reviews; and (3) the number and status of the IGs' fiscal years 2011 through 2015 IPERA compliance review recommendations. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed the IGs' fiscal years 2011 through 2015 IPERA compliance reports and corroborated the findings with OMB and all 24 CFO Act agencies and their IGs.

What GAO Found

Five years after the implementation of the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA), 15 of the 24 Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act) agencies were reported by their inspectors general (IG) as noncompliant under IPERA for fiscal year 2015. The programs associated with these 15 agencies accounted for $132 billion (or about 96 percent) of the reported $136.7 billion government-wide improper payment estimate for fiscal year 2015. In addition, the inconsistent IG compliance determinations in the IGs' fiscal year 2015 IPERA compliance reports may present potentially misleading information. Specifically, certain IGs reported compliance based on the presence or absence of the required analysis or reporting, regardless of whether the IGs identified flaws, whereas certain other IGs reported agencies as noncompliant based on their performance of some degree of evaluative procedures to determine whether the analysis or reporting that the agency produced was substantively adequate. While the severity of the IGs' findings may have resulted in the IGs reporting noncompliance for some agencies, similar findings were identified for both the compliant and noncompliant agencies. IPERA and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance does not specify what, if any, evaluative procedures should be conducted as part of the IGs' compliance determinations. The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), which represents the IGs, has also not issued such guidance.
IGs reported programs at 7 agencies as noncompliant for 3 or more consecutive years as of the end of fiscal year 2015 and, as a result, were required to submit certain information to Congress. However, the Department of Agriculture had not submitted the required information, despite prior recommendations from its IG and GAO. When agencies do not submit the required information, Congress may lack the information necessary to effectively monitor the implementation of IPERA and take action to address problematic programs in a timely manner.
The IGs' IPERA compliance reviews serve a key function: to reasonably assure that federal dollars are not misspent and that improper payment estimates are accurate, reliable, and complete. To that end, 20 of the 24 IGs reported in their fiscal year 2015 IPERA compliance reports that they also performed one or more optional procedures, which included evaluating the accuracy and completeness of their agencies' reporting. The IGs made 425 recommendations in their fiscal years 2011 through 2015 IPERA compliance reports, and 320 of these recommendations were closed as of December 31, 2016.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that the (1) Director of OMB coordinate with CIGIE to develop and issue guidance, either jointly or independently, to specify what procedures should be conducted as part of the IGs' IPERA compliance determinations and (2) Department of Agriculture submit a proposal to Congress, as required in response to 3 years of IPERA noncompliance. In response to the draft report, OMB had no comments and CIGIE stated that it would coordinate with OMB. Also, the Department of Agriculture concurred with the recommendation to it.