	Introduction

Congress created offices of inspector general (OIGs) in 1978 (via P.L. 95-452 , the Inspector General Act of 1978, or the IG Act) to assist in its oversight of the executive branch. OIGs were designed to provide Congress and federal agency heads independent, nonpartisan analysis, conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards, to identify and recommend ways to limit waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs and enhance operational and program efficiency and effectiveness. OIGs' activities were to supplement and complement those of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which serves a similar, though not identical, role in assisting Congress fulfill its oversight function. Together, OIGs and GAO (along with the Congressional Research Service [CRS] and the Congressional Budget Office [CBO]) provide Congress with information and analysis needed to conduct effective oversight and, in the process, help Congress maintain its balance of power with the presidency. OIGs currently exist in more than 70 federal agencies, including all departments and larger agencies, numerous boards and commissions, and other entities. Recommend policies to improve their agency's administration of its programs and operations and prevent and detect fraud and abuse in those programs and operations. This report examines the SBA OIG's statutory authorities; reporting requirements; funding; staffing and organizational structure; and recent activities (audits, investigations, etc.). The SBA OIG's impact on monetary savings, SBA programs and operations, and legislation affecting the agency is also examined. Some areas of possible congressional interest, other than SBA OIG funding and staffing issues, include exploring ways to more accurately quantify the SBA OIG's claims of monetary savings and to determine if the SBA OIG should undertake additional tracking and monitoring activities to more accurately quantify the office's impact on SBA programs, operations, and legislation. 3. The SBA OIG received an appropriation of $22.9 million for FY2019. Recent Activities

As mentioned previously, the SBA OIG conducts and supervises audits and investigations of the SBA's programs and operations. Audit Reports

During FY2018, the SBA OIG issued 26 audit reports containing 111 recommendations for improving the SBA's operations. Investigations, Debarment Referrals, and Training Activities

In FY2018, the SBA OIG's investigations resulted in 62 indictments or informations and 43 convictions. Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges Facing the SBA

Pursuant to P.L. This report is, arguably, the SBA OIG's signature oversight document, focusing attention "on areas that are particularly vulnerable to fraud, waste, error, and mismanagement, or otherwise pose a significant risk and generally have been subject to one or more OIG or GAO reports." 2. 5. However, a full and complete assessment of an OIG's impact should address all of the office's statutory responsibilities, including its efforts to 
enhance programmatic and operational efficiencies and the OIG's agency's effectiveness in achieving program goals through audits; reduce waste, fraud, and abuse through investigations; assist Congress and the OIG's agency by making recommendations concerning the impact of legislation and regulations on programmatic and operational efficiencies and waste, fraud, and abuse; assist the OIG's agency by making recommendations to facilitate the agency's relationships with other governmental and nongovernmental entities; and keep the OIG's agency head and Congress fully and currently informed of its findings and the agency's progress in implementing recommended corrective actions.
Congress created offices of inspector general (OIGs) to assist in its oversight of the executive branch. OIGs provide independent, nonpartisan analysis, conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards, to identify and recommend ways to limit waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs and enhance program and operational efficiency and effectiveness. OIGs' activities supplement and complement those of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which serves a similar, though not identical, role in assisting congressional oversight of the executive branch. Together, OIGs and GAO provide Congress with information and analysis needed to conduct effective oversight and, in the process, help Congress maintain its balance of power with the presidency.
OIGs exist in more than 70 federal agencies, including all departments and larger agencies, numerous boards and commissions, and other entities. The U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG) was created under authority of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-452, as amended). Its three primary statutory purposes are to
1. conduct and supervise audits and investigations of the SBA's programs and operations; 2. recommend policies designed to promote the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the SBA's programs and operations and to prevent and detect fraud and abuse; and 3. keep both the SBA Administrator and Congress "fully and currently informed about problems and deficiencies relating to the administration of such programs and operations and the necessity for and progress of corrective action."
During FY2018, the SBA OIG issued 26 audit reports containing 111 recommendations for improving the SBA's programs and operations, and its investigations resulted in 62 indictments or informations and 43 convictions. The SBA OIG claimed that its recommendations resulted in monetary savings and recoveries of nearly $224.5 million in FY2018. In addition, the SBA OIG's annual Report on the Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges Facing the SBA focuses attention "on areas that are particularly vulnerable to fraud, waste, error, and mismanagement, or otherwise pose a significant risk and generally have been subject to one or more OIG or GAO reports."
This report examines the SBA OIG's statutory authorities; reporting requirements; funding ($22.9 million in FY2018); staffing and organizational structure; and recent activities (audits, investigations, etc.). It also examines the SBA OIG's impact on monetary savings, SBA programs and operations, and legislation affecting the agency. The report concludes with observations concerning the SBA OIG's relationship with Congress.
Some areas of possible congressional interest, other than SBA OIG funding and staffing issues, include exploring ways to more accurately quantify the SBA OIG's claims of monetary savings and to determine if the SBA OIG should undertake additional tracking and monitoring activities to more accurately quantify the office's impact on SBA programs, operations, and legislation.