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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	20-P-0026
£ M-M ro	incna/.tnr^An»»i	November 8,2019
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	 \ Office of Inspector General
® I
At a Glance
Why We Did This Project
The Digital Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2014
(DATA Act) requires the
Inspector General to review a
statistically valid sample of the
spending data submitted under
the act by the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and to assess
the completeness, accuracy,
timeliness and quality of the
data sampled and the
implementation and use of the
data standards.
We performed this audit to
assess the completeness,
accuracy, timeliness and
quality of fiscal year (FY) 2019
first quarter financial and award
data submitted to
USAspending.gov by the EPA's
Office of the Chief Financial
Officer, and to assess the
EPA's implementation and use
of the governmentwide financial
data standards established by
the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and U.S.
Department of the Treasury
(Treasury).
This report addresses the
following:
•	Compliance with the law.
•	Operating efficiently and
effectively.
Address inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391 or
OIG WEBCOMMENTS@epa.gov.
EPA's Fiscal Year 2019 First Quarter
Compiiance with the Digital Accountability
and Transparency Act of 2014
What We Found
We found that the EPA's 2019 first quarter financial
and award data was of "higher" quality as defined by
the DATA Act audit guide issued by the Council of
the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
The DATA Act requires
the EPA to report
accurate financial and
award data on
USAspending.gov.
The DATA Act audit guide defines data as being of
higher, moderate or lower quality based on the highest error rate found in testing
the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of data submitted.
We found inconsistencies in processing data that created reporting errors in
completeness, accuracy and timeliness for DATA Act reporting purposes. We
also found that the EPA did not have documented standard operating policies
and procedures for DATA Act reporting. While we found reporting errors and
some issues with documentation of policies and procedures, overall, the EPA
has complied with the requirements of the DATA Act, submitted financial and
award data to the Treasury Broker on time, and had implemented data standards
as defined by the OMB and Treasury.
Recommendations and Planned Agency Corrective Actions
We recommend that the Chief Financial Officer and the Assistant Administrator
for Mission Support:
1.	Develop and document standard operating policies and procedures
specific to the completeness, accuracy, timeliness and quality of the
EPA's DATA Act reporting (consistent with DATA Act requirements).
These procedures should also define roles and responsibilities for
performing validation procedures.
2.	Continue to coordinate with Treasury to eliminate inconsistent use of
OMB and Treasury-established data standards.
The agency agreed with both recommendations and provided acceptable
planned corrective actions. We consider the recommendations resolved with
corrective actions pending.
List of OIG reports.

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