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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
12-N-0516
June 4, 2012
Why We Did This Review
We analyzed U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Office of
Inspector General (OIG) policies
and procedures addressing the
Council of the Inspectors General
on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE)
Quality Standards for Federal
Offices of Inspector General
(Silver Book). We sought to
determine whether the EPA OIG
has adequate policies, procedures,
and other guidance that will help
ensure compliance with the CIGIE
standards and to determine
compliance with our own internal
standards.
Background
CIGIE was statutorily established
as an independent entity within the
executive branch by the Inspector
General Reform Act of2008.
The CIGIE mission is to address
integrity, economy, and
effectiveness issues that transcend
individual government agencies;
and to increase the professionalism
and effectiveness of personnel by
developing policies, standards, and
approaches to aid in the
establishment of a well-trained and
highly skilled workforce in the
offices of the Inspectors General.
For further information,
contact our Office of Congressional
and Public Affairs at (202) 566-2391.
The full report is at:
www.epa.gov/oiq/reports/2012!
20120604-12-N-0516.pdf
Analysis of Office of Inspector General
Policies and Procedures Addressing
CIGIE Quality Standards
What We Found
EPA OIG has policies and procedures or other guidance to satisfy Silver
Book requirements in all except one area. The one area lacking guidance
pertains to training for the auditors and evaluators and the responsibility of
key managers to ensure their staff members have the skills necessary to
match the OIG's needs.
We noted that 21 of the 28 policies and procedures reviewed, or 75 percent,
are past the required review date prescribed by EPA OIG Policy 001,
OIG Directives System. Of those 21 that are out of date, 48 percent are at
least 3 years overdue for review/update.
We concluded that our Policy 503, Allegations Against OIG Employees
(last approved September 2001), needs to be updated to be consistent with
current law and provisions. Further, we concluded that additional policies
and procedures need to be assessed by the responsible offices to determine
whether they are subject to Silver Book requirements or are sufficient to meet
those requirements. These policies and procedures cover management
challenges; annual plans; training provided to the Agency on fraud, waste,
abuse, and mismanagement; and the need for independent external peer
reviews.
What We Recommend
We recommend that the Inspector General direct offices we identified as
having policies, procedures, or other guidance past the required review date
to update them. We also recommend that the Inspector General direct
responsible offices to develop and issue necessary guidance and improve
current guidance.
Inspector General's Response
The Inspector General agreed with all recommendations and directed the
responsible OIG offices to provide specific milestone and/or completion
dates for their respective policies highlighted in the report.

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