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Open Recommendations (2 total)

Disaster Response: Agencies Should Assess Contracting Workforce Needs and Purchase Card Fraud Risk

GAO-21-42
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Corps of Engineers The Secretary of the Army should ensure that the Commanding General of the Army Corps of Engineers updates its fraud risk profile for the purchase card program to include an assessment of how, if at all, the risk profile differs for purchase card use in support of disaster response. (Recommendation 4)
Open – Partially Addressed

 Actions that partially satisfy the intent of the recommendation have been taken.
The Department of Defense (DOD) agreed with this recommendation. In October 2020, DOD stated that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Director of Contracting will work with the Headquarters USACE National Internal Control Program Manager to enhance USACE's fraud risk profile during the 2022 Risk Management and Internal Control Program (RMICP) cycle. DOD stated that the enhanced fraud risk profile will document how, if at all, the USACE risk profile for purchase card use differs in support of disaster response. In December 2021, the USACE Director of Contracting emailed USACE district-level staff stating that RMICP risk profiles should consider both fraud risk for normal purchase card use and fraud risk for purchase card use in support of disaster response. In addition, the Director of Contracting requested that staff verify that the local USACE Internal Control Administrator and Contracting Chief include these two separate risk items on RMICP risk profiles. In June 2022, USACE issued guidance for the upcoming RMCIP cycle, including an updated template for the development of USACE's fraud risk profile, which includes purchase card use in contingency operations. According to the June 2022 guidance, a completed fraud risk profile is expected in December 2022.
Corps of Engineers The Secretary of the Army should ensure that the Commanding General of the Army Corps of Engineers develops guidance to ensure that its district-level affordability determinations account for the agency's disaster response contracting activities. (Recommendation 1)
Open – Partially Addressed

 Actions that partially satisfy the intent of the recommendation have been taken.
The Department of Defense (DOD) agreed with this recommendation. In October 2020, DOD said that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Director of Contracting will provide guidance to commanders to support completion of the USACE Annual Workforce Workload Assessment, which is an assessment to ensure that USACE districts have the capability to accomplish planned contracting workload and disaster response missions arising throughout the year. As part of the workload assessments, USACE districts and major subordinate commands assess effects of current workload and operations tempo impacting the contracting workforce determinations on enterprise contracting. In December 2021, USACE's Director of Contracting issued a request to USACE district commanders that they ensure district-level affordability determinations account for the agency's disaster response contracting activities and verify that Annual Workforce Workload Assessments provide commands with the capability to accomplish both planned contracting activities and disaster response missions that may arise throughout the year. In September 2022, USACE officials stated that they would provide an example of an Annual Workforce Workload Assessment to demonstrated how the guidance has been implemented.
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