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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
18-P-0153
April 16, 2018
Why We Did This Project
The Improper Payments
Elimination and Recovery Act
of 2010 (IPERA), as modified
by the Improper Payments
Elimination and Recovery
Improvement Act of 2012,
requires that each fiscal year
the Inspector General of each
agency determine whether the
agency is in compliance with
the law. In addition, Office of
Management and Budget
(OMB) Memorandum M-15-02
states that the Office of
Inspector General may
evaluate the accuracy and
completeness of agency
reporting. Our audit focused on
the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA's)
compliance with these
requirements.
This report addresses the
following:
• Compliance with the law.
EPA Complied With Improper Payments
Elimination and Recovery Act Requirements
What We Found
The EPA complied with IPERA and OMB
Memorandum M-15-02 requirements when
reporting improper payments in its fiscal year
2017 Agency Financial Report (AFR). IPERA
and OMB Memorandum M-15-02 established
six mandatory steps for agency compliance:
Through compliance with
IPERA, the EPA provides
better assurance that efforts
are being made to reduce
improper payments.
•	Publish an AFR or Performance and Accountability Report for the most
recent fiscal year and post that reporting and any accompanying materials
required by OMB on the agency website.
•	Conduct a program-specific risk assessment for each program or activity
that conforms with 31 U.S.C. Section 3321 (if required).
•	Publish improper payment estimates for all programs and activities
identified as susceptible to significant improper payments under its risk
assessment (if required).
•	Publish programmatic corrective action plans in the AFR or Performance
and Accountability Report (if required).
•	Publish, and meet, annual reduction targets for each program assessed to
be at risk and estimated for improper payments (if required and applicable).
•	Report a gross improper payment rate of less than 10 percent for each
program and activity for which an improper payment estimate was obtained
and published in the AFR or Performance and Accountability Report.
In its fiscal year 2017 AFR, the EPA reported an estimated $15.79 million of
improper payments. We found that the EPA reported accurate and complete
data. Also, the EPA's reported current reduction targets should assist in reducing
future estimated improper payments. According to the fiscal year 2017 AFR, the
information, data and analyses presented in the AFR provide assistance to the
President, Congress and the public in evaluating the agency's yearly activities
and accomplishments.
There are no recommendations for corrective action in this report.
Send all inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391
or visit www.epa.gov/oiq.
Listing of OIG reports.

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