U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	08-P-0080
Office of Inspector General	February 12 2008

At a Glance
Why We Did This Review
The Office of Inspector
General (OIG) undertook this
review to determine (1) the
status of corrective actions
responding to OIG
recommendations for selected
OIG air reports, and (2) how
complete and up to date the
Management Audit Tracking
System (MATS) is for
selected OIG air reports.
Background
Audit followup is essential to
good management and
improving the efficiency and
effectiveness of U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) programs and
operations. EPA has audit
followup procedures and
designated officials who
manage this process. EPA
Manual 2750 outlines the audit
followup process. EPA is
required to report to Congress
on audit followup, including
any reasons for delays in
taking corrective actions not
implemented within 1 year of
issuing a report.
For further information,
contact our Office of
Congressional and Public
Liaison at (202) 566-2391.
To view the full report,
click on the following link:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2008/
20080212-08-P-0080.pdf
Catalyst for Improving the Environment
EPA's Office of Air and Radiation Needs to
Improve Compliance with Audit Followup Process
What We Found
EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) had generally taken corrective actions
to implement the recommendations for the five air-related reports we reviewed.
However, documented evidence of completion of agreed-to corrective actions was
in the files for only 1 of 29 corrective actions. Upon reviewing additional
information not contained in the official files, we determined that corrective
actions had been completed for 26 of the 29 agreed-to recommendations reviewed.
The three incomplete corrective actions had not been implemented within 1 year,
as stipulated in EPA Manual 2750, and OAR had not notified the OIG of these
delays.
Also, OAR did not follow the processes specified in EPA Manual 2750 for
certifying the completion and implementation of corrective actions. In two
instances where OAR reported audits as inactive - meaning corrective actions
were completed - the required certifications were not completed and placed in the
official files.
The Agency's audit tracking system (MATS) was incomplete and contained
mistakes. OAR omitted from MATS 10 agreed-to corrective actions pertaining to
two reports. For another instance, the information in MATS was inaccurate
because the Agency had mistakenly included the recommendations and corrective
actions pertaining to a different OIG report, while omitting the relevant six
agreed-to corrective actions. Thus, the MATS record was incomplete or
inaccurate for 16 of the 29 agreed-to corrective actions reviewed.
Prior to issuance of this report, OAR updated MATS to correct the errors and
omissions noted during our review and obtained certification memorandums for
the two inactive reports.
What We Recommend
We recommend that OAR comply with EPA Manual 2750 by (1) biannually
reviewing audit management information for accuracy and completeness;
(2)	completing the certification process for closing out reports; and
(3)	maintaining a list of specific corrective actions taken. We also recommend
that OAR ensure that newly appointed Audit Followup Coordinators receive audit
management training before taking over the position's roles and responsibilities.
EPA concurred with our recommendations and submitted a corrective action plan
with milestones that addressed our concerns.

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