Conclusions

No comprehensive source provided guidance to either Enforcement staff or the bureaus on the circumstances under which bureaus are required to interact with Enforcement. In addition, established documentation did not exist for 12 of the 29 circumstances under which the bureaus are required to interact with Enforcement, and when it did exist, the documentation was generally broad in nature and did not provide explicit information on the expected interaction between the bureaus and Enforcement. About one-half of the bureau officials we interviewed said that they were not aware of written requirements for their bureaus’ interactions with Enforcement or that they knew when to interact through such factors as their professional responsibility, experience, judgment, or common sense. An agency’s internal control needs to be clearly documented and that documentation should be readily available for examination. Without a clearly defined and documented set of policies and procedures covering operational and communications activities, Enforcement runs the risk of not being able to perform its functions and meet its goals efficiently. The implementation of the plan requires the oversight of the Department. Treasury’s Office of Enforcement coordinated and compiled Treasury’s MTW.
Why GAO Did This Study

This report discusses GAO's review of the Department of the Treasury's Office of Enforcement. The office was created to provide oversight, policy guidance, and support to Treasury's enforcement bureaus.

What GAO Found

GAO found that no comprehensive source provided guidance to either the office staff or to the bureaus on the circumstances under which bureaus are required to interact with the office. In addition, established documentation did not exist for 12 of the 29 circumstances under which the bureaus are required to interact with the office, and when it did exist, the documentation was generally broad in nature and did not provide explicit information on one-half of the expected interaction. About one-half of the bureau officials that GAO interviewed said that they were not aware of written requirements for their bureaus' interactions with the office or that they knew when to interact through such factors as their professional responsibility, experience, judgment, or common sense. An agency's internal control needs to be clearly documented and that documentation should be readily available for examination. Without a clearly defined and documented set of policies and procedures covering operational and communications activities, the office runs the risk of not being able to perform its functions and meet its goals efficiently.