DOD Travel Cards: Control Weaknesses Led to Millions of Dollars Wasted on Unused Airline Tickets
GAO-04-398
Published: Mar 31, 2004. Publicly Released: Jun 09, 2004.
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Highlights
Ineffective oversight and management of the Department of Defense's (DOD) travel card program, which GAO previously reported on, have led to concerns about airline tickets DOD purchased but did not use and for which it did not claim refunds. GAO was asked to (1) determine whether, and to what extent, airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts were unused and not refunded and (2) determine whether DOD's internal controls provided reasonable assurance that all unused tickets were identified and submitted for refunds.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | To decrease the risks associated with the use of the centrally billed accounts, the Secretary of Defense should evaluate the feasibility of establishing the individually billed account travel card as the primary payment mechanism for transportation expenses. |
Closed – Implemented
In August 2006 the DOD determined that it was feasible to establish the individually billed account travel card as the primary procurement mechanism to pay for transportation expenses. Consequently, on May 3, 2007, the DOD Defense Travel Steering Committee (DTSC) issued a memorandum which approved the use of the IBA as the primary payment mechanism for all travel costs.
|
| Department of Defense | To decrease the risks associated with the use of the centrally billed accounts, the Secretary of Defense should evaluate the feasibility of limiting the use of the centrally billed account travel card to procuring transportation expenses for those employees without access to individually billed accounts, such as new employees who have not yet obtained individually billed account travel cards and employees who do not qualify for the use of individually billed account travel cards, and for other situations in which the use of an individually billed travel card is not practical. |
Closed – Implemented
On May 3, 2007, the DOD Defense Travel Steering Committee issued a memorandum to restrict CBA transportation accounts to travelers who are not eligible for IBAs.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to evaluate the feasibility of implementing procedures to reconcile airline tickets acquired using the centrally billed accounts to travel vouchers in the current travel system. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD concluded that, based on feasibility studies, modifying existing legacy systems could prove costly. Instead, these studies recommended implementing several manual initiatives to help mitigate the problem of unused tickets until the Defense Travel System (DTS) was deployed. These initiatives, which included issuing memorandums to direct cancellation of unused tickets 30 days after the last scheduled air segment, return of unused tickets to their DOD Component, and the modification of commercial travel office contracts to require unused ticket reporting, were placed in effect until the deployment of DTS.
|
| Department of the Air Force | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to evaluate the feasibility of implementing procedures to reconcile airline tickets acquired using the centrally billed accounts to travel vouchers in the current travel system. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD concluded that, based on feasibility studies, modifying existing legacy systems could prove costly. Instead, these studies recommended implementing several manual initiatives to help mitigate the problem of unused tickets until the Defense Travel System (DTS) was deployed. These initiatives, which included issuing memorandums to direct cancellation of unused tickets 30 days after the last scheduled air segment, return of unused tickets to their DOD Component, and the modification of commercial travel office contracts to require unused ticket reporting, were placed in effect until the deployment of DTS during late FY 2006.
|
| Department of the Navy | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to evaluate the feasibility of implementing procedures to reconcile airline tickets acquired using the centrally billed accounts to travel vouchers in the current travel system. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD concluded that, based on feasibility studies, modifying existing legacy systems could prove costly. Instead, these studies recommended implementing several manual initiatives to help mitigate the problem of unused tickets until the Defense Travel System (DTS) was deployed. These initiatives, which included issuing memorandums to direct cancellation of unused tickets 30 days after the last scheduled air segment, return of unused tickets to their DOD Component, and the modification of commercial travel office contracts to require unused ticket reporting, were placed in effect until the deployment of DTS during late FY 2006.
|
| Department of the Army | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to evaluate the feasibility of implementing procedures to reconcile airline tickets acquired using the centrally billed accounts to travel vouchers in the current travel system. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD concluded that, based on feasibility studies, modifying existing legacy systems could prove costly. Instead, these studies recommended implementing several manual initiatives to help mitigate the problem of unused tickets until the Defense Travel System (DTS) was deployed. These initiatives, which included issuing memorandums to direct cancellation of unused tickets 30 days after the last scheduled air segment, return of unused tickets to their DOD Component, and the modification of commercial travel office contracts to require unused ticket reporting, were placed in effect until the deployment of DTS during late FY 2006.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs establish a capability to systematically identify unused e-tickets in their computer reservation systems. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to ensure that performance standards for identifying and then processing refunds for unused electronic tickets and unused paper tickets are addressed in their CTO contracts. The modified contracts must meet established standards, one of which is for the CTO to systematically identify unused tickets.
|
| Department of the Air Force | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs establish a capability to systematically identify unused e-tickets in their computer reservation systems. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to ensure that performance standards for identifying and then processing refunds for unused electronic tickets and unused paper tickets are addressed in their CTO contracts. The modified contracts must meet established standards, one of which is for the CTO to systematically identify unused tickets.
|
| Department of the Navy | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs establish a capability to systematically identify unused e-tickets in their computer reservation systems. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to ensure that performance standards for identifying and then processing refunds for unused electronic tickets and unused paper tickets are addressed in their CTO contracts. The modified contracts must meet established standards, one of which is for the CTO to systematically identify unused tickets.
|
| Department of the Army | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs establish a capability to systematically identify unused e-tickets in their computer reservation systems. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to ensure that performance standards for identifying and then processing refunds for unused electronic tickets and unused paper tickets are addressed in their CTO contracts. The modified contracts must meet established standards, one of which is for the CTO to systematically identify unused tickets.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs identify all unused tickets based on specified criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of the Air Force | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs identify all unused tickets based on specified criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of the Navy | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs identify all unused tickets based on specified criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of the Army | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs identify all unused tickets based on specified criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs maintain daily schedules that identify unused tickets and how long they have been unused. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to maintain a daily log of unused tickets so that the GTO can ascertain that all unused tickets were turned in for refund.
|
| Department of the Air Force | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs maintain daily schedules that identify unused tickets and how long they have been unused. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to maintain a daily log of unused tickets so that the GTO can ascertain that all unused tickets were turned in for refund.
|
| Department of the Navy | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs maintain daily schedules that identify unused tickets and how long they have been unused. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to maintain a daily log of unused tickets so that the GTO can ascertain that all unused tickets were turned in for refund.
|
| Department of the Army | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs maintain daily schedules that identify unused tickets and how long they have been unused. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to maintain a daily log of unused tickets so that the GTO can ascertain that all unused tickets were turned in for refund.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs routinely provide the GTOs with unused ticket reports. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of the Air Force | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs routinely provide the GTOs with unused ticket reports. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of the Navy | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs routinely provide the GTOs with unused ticket reports. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of the Army | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs routinely provide the GTOs with unused ticket reports. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of the Air Force | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of the Navy | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of the Army | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components reviewed all existing Commercial Travel Office (CTO) contracts, identified required changes and modified the contracts to require CTOs to identify all unused tickets based on specific criteria before the unused ticket data are removed from the computer reservation systems, routinely provide the Government Travel Offices with unused ticket reports, and routinely process refunds for tickets identified as unused.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs submit to the GTOs all requests for refunds that have been processed. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to ensure that performance standards for identifying and then processing refunds for unused electronic tickets and unused paper tickets are addressed in their CTO contracts. The modified contracts must meet established standards, one of which is for the CTO to submit the GTO all requests for refunds that have been processed.
|
| Department of the Air Force | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs submit to the GTOs all requests for refunds that have been processed. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to ensure that performance standards for identifying and then processing refunds for unused electronic tickets and unused paper tickets are addressed in their CTO contracts. The modified contracts must meet established standards, one of which is for the CTO to submit the GTO all requests for refunds that have been processed.
|
| Department of the Navy | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs submit to the GTOs all requests for refunds that have been processed. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to ensure that performance standards for identifying and then processing refunds for unused electronic tickets and unused paper tickets are addressed in their CTO contracts. The modified contracts must meet established standards, one of which is for the CTO to submit the GTO all requests for refunds that have been processed.
|
| Department of the Army | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to modify existing CTO contracts to include a requirement that the CTOs submit to the GTOs all requests for refunds that have been processed. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to take immediate steps to review and then modify as necessary existing CTO contracts to ensure that performance standards for identifying and then processing refunds for unused electronic tickets and unused paper tickets are addressed in their CTO contracts. The modified contracts must meet established standards, one of which is for the CTO to submit to the GTO all requests for refunds that have been processed.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to require the GTOs to routinely compare unused tickets processed by the CTOs to the credits on the Bank of America invoice. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to incorporate in the GTO validation process procedures to reconcile unused paper and e-ticket refund requests processed by the CTO with Bank of America.
|
| Department of the Air Force | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to require the GTOs to routinely compare unused tickets processed by the CTOs to the credits on the Bank of America invoice. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to incorporate in the GTO validation process procedures to reconcile unused paper and e-ticket refund requests processed by the CTO with Bank of America.
|
| Department of the Navy | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to require the GTOs to routinely compare unused tickets processed by the CTOs to the credits on the Bank of America invoice. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to incorporate in the GTO validation process procedures to reconcile unused paper and e-ticket refund requests processed by the CTO with Bank of America.
|
| Department of the Army | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to require the GTOs to routinely compare unused tickets processed by the CTOs to the credits on the Bank of America invoice. |
Closed – Implemented
On June 4, 2004, the Under Secretary of Defense issued a directive to DOD components to incorporate in the GTO validation process procedures to reconcile unused paper and e-ticket refund requests processed by the CTO with Bank of America.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to require either the GTOs or the units responsible for monitoring the CTOs' activities to determine whether the CTOs are consistently implementing the procedures to identify unused tickets. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components have reviewed, changed, or published additional guidance for their Transportation Officers to ensure that the CTOs consistently meet the performance requirements of the modified CTO contracts. In addition, the Defense Transportation Regulation (DTR) was modified to include additional guidance for the processing of unused tickets. As a result, DOD has greater assurance that controls are in place to mitigate losses related to unused tickets.
|
| Department of the Air Force | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to require either the GTOs or the units responsible for monitoring the CTOs' activities to determine whether the CTOs are consistently implementing the procedures to identify unused tickets. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components have reviewed, changed, or published additional guidance for their Transportation Officers to ensure that the CTOs consistently meet the performance requirements of the modified CTO contracts. In addition, the Defense Transportation Regulation (DTR) was modified to include additional guidance for the processing of unused tickets. As a result, DOD has greater assurance that controls are in place to mitigate losses related to unused tickets.
|
| Department of the Navy | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to require either the GTOs or the units responsible for monitoring the CTOs' activities to determine whether the CTOs are consistently implementing the procedures to identify unused tickets. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components have reviewed, changed, or published additional guidance for their Transportation Officers to ensure that the CTOs consistently meet the performance requirements of the modified CTO contracts. In addition, the Defense Transportation Regulation (DTR) was modified to include additional guidance for the processing of unused tickets. As a result, DOD has greater assurance that controls are in place to mitigate losses related to unused tickets.
|
| Department of the Army | To enable DOD to systematically identify future unused airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts, and improve internal controls over the processing of unused airline tickets for refunds, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and the heads of DOD agencies should direct the appropriate personnel within services and agencies to require either the GTOs or the units responsible for monitoring the CTOs' activities to determine whether the CTOs are consistently implementing the procedures to identify unused tickets. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components have reviewed, changed, or published additional guidance for their Transportation Officers to ensure that the CTOs consistently meet the performance requirements of the modified CTO contracts. In addition, the Defense Transportation Regulation (DTR) was modified to include additional guidance for the processing of unused tickets. As a result, DOD has greater assurance that controls are in place to mitigate losses related to unused tickets.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to more effectively monitor unused tickets under the DTS, the Secretary of Defense should direct the appropriate personnel to use the DTS to remind travelers to claim refunds on all unused tickets. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD responded directly to our recommendation by including a link on the DTS to remind travelers of their unused tickets responsibility, which includes reporting and returning all unused tickets to the CTO as soon as possible for processing of the applicable credit, and that the unused ticket has value which belongs to the government.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to more effectively monitor unused tickets under the DTS, the Secretary of Defense should direct the appropriate personnel to include in future contracts issued for the DTS, a requirement that the CTOs establish the capability to systematically identify unused tickets. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components have reviewed, changed, or published additional guidance for their Transportation Officers to ensure that the CTOs consistently meet the performance requirements of the modified CTO contracts. In addition, the Defense Transportation Regulation (DTR) was modified to include additional guidance for the processing of unused tickets. As a result, DOD has greater assurance that controls are in place to mitigate losses related to unused tickets.
|
| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to more effectively monitor unused tickets under the DTS, the Secretary of Defense should direct the appropriate personnel to establish, in the DTS, a capability to routinely match travel vouchers to tickets issued through the centrally billed accounts. |
Closed – Implemented
As of March 2007, DOD had implemented DTS at 280 major DOD sites and 8,760 total sites worldwide, including a module for reconciling travel vouchers to tickets issued on the CBA. Implementation of this module will improve DOD's assurance that airline tickets purchased through the CBAs were either used or refunded.
|
| Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) | To recover outstanding claims on unused tickets, the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should immediately submit claims to the airlines to recover the $21 million in fully and partially unused tickets identified by the airlines and included in this report. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD initiated action to pursue recovery of all unused and partially unused tickets. As of March 2007, the General Services Administration (GSA), on behalf of DOD, had collected about $30 million in refunds from three of the five airlines identified in our report, and was reviewing or had accepted offers for additional refunds from four of the airlines.
|
| Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) | To recover outstanding claims on unused tickets, the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should calculate, with the assistance of the airlines, the residual value of the partially unused tickets identified by the airlines and included in this report. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD initiated action to pursue recovery of all unused and partially unused tickets. As of March 2007, the General Services Administration (GSA), on behalf of DOD, had collected about $30 million in refunds from three of the five airlines identified in our report, and was reviewing or had accepted offers for additional refunds from four of the airlines.
|
| Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) | To recover outstanding claims on unused tickets, the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should work with the five airlines identified in this report and other airlines from which DOD purchased tickets with centrally billed accounts to identify the feasibility of determining the recoverability of other fully and partially unused tickets purchased with DOD centrally billed accounts. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD initiated action to pursue recovery of all unused and partially unused tickets. As of March 2007, the General Services Administration (GSA), on behalf of DOD, had collected about $30 million in refunds from three of the five airlines identified in our report, and was reviewing or had accepted offers for additional refunds from four of the airlines.
|
| Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) | To recover outstanding claims on unused tickets, the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should work with the five airlines identified in this report and other airlines from which DOD purchased tickets with centrally billed accounts to determine the value of the unused portions of those tickets. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD initiated action to pursue recovery of all unused and partially unused tickets. As of March 2007, the General Services Administration (GSA), on behalf of DOD, had collected about $30 million in refunds from three of the five airlines identified in our report, and was reviewing or had accepted offers for additional refunds from four of the airlines.
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| Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) | To recover outstanding claims on unused tickets, the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should work with the five airlines identified in this report and other airlines from which DOD purchased tickets with centrally billed accounts to initiate actions to obtain refunds. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD initiated action to pursue recovery of all unused and partially unused tickets. As of March 2007, the General Services Administration (GSA), on behalf of DOD, had collected about $30 million in refunds from three of the five airlines identified in our report, and was reviewing or had accepted offers for additional refunds from four of the airlines.
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| Department of Defense | To enable DOD to more effectively monitor unused tickets under the DTS, the Secretary of Defense should direct the appropriate personnel to include in future contracts issued for the DTS, a requirement that the CTOs establish the capability to process these tickets for refunds. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD Components have reviewed, changed, or published additional guidance for their Transportation Officers to ensure that the CTOs consistently meet the performance requirements of the modified CTO contracts. In addition, the Defense Transportation Regulation (DTR) was modified to include additional guidance for the processing of unused tickets. As a result, DOD has greater assurance that controls are in place to mitigate losses related to unused tickets.
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