U.S. Department of State

This summary presents the highlights of OIG's FY 2003 Performance Report.

Vision

To support the Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors in achieving their missions as effectively, efficiently, and economically as possible.

Mission

The mission of the Office of Inspector General is to serve as an independent, objective reviewer and evaluator of the operations and activities of the Department and the BBG[1]. We analyze those operations and activities with a view toward promoting effectiveness, efficiency, and economy. We seek out instances of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, and we work to prevent them. We report to the Secretary of State, the BBG, and the Congress, keeping them fully and currently informed of significant developments and serious concerns.

Strategic Goals

OIG's four strategic goals directly support the programs, operations, and activities of the Department and BBG, and are expressed in terms of their effect upon the agencies' ability to achieve their respective missions and strategic objectives. OIG's strategic goals are to support and assist the Department and BBG to:

1. Effectively, efficiently, and economically advance the foreign policy interests of the United States.
2. Adequately protect the people, information, and facilities under their control in the United States and abroad.
3. Have the necessary financial management and support systems and controls to meet legal and operational requirements.
4. Ensure accountability and prevent or eliminate fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in programs
   and operations.

Resources

Staff Supporting Each Strategic Goal Strategic Goal Number Percentage Strategic Goal 1  67  30% Strategic Goal 2  64  28% Strategic Goal 3  49  22% Strategic Goal 4  45  20% Total 225 100%

Budget Dollars Expended in Support of Each Strategic Goal Strategic Goal Dollars Percentage Strategic Goal 1 $11 Million  38% Strategic Goal 2 $7.5 Million  26% Strategic Goal 3 $5.6 Million  19% Strategic Goal 4 $5 Million  17% Total $29.1 Million 100%

Highlights of OIG's Most Significant Results and Outcomes

During FY 2003, OIG reviews, findings, and recommendations resulted in benefits and outcomes, including improvements to Department security, programs, and operations. The most significant of these results and challenges are presented below.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE OIG'S MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS AND CONTINUING CHALLENGES

Foreign Policy
Results	Challenges
The Department developed a phased plan to increase the number of end-use checks of munitions exports and will specify to posts when a site visit is required as part of an end-use check. The Department is revising passport regulations and application forms to require children under 14 to appear personally when passport applications are executed on their behalf, thereby closing a loophole that facilitated the smuggling of children. The Department has begun an extensive analysis of consular workload worldwide to assess consular resource needs in the post-9/11 era.	OIG does not presently have the resources necessary to carry out the five-year inspection schedule requested by senior management to ensure effective oversight of post and bureau operations. OIG must effectively balance the scope, frequency, and size of post management inspections to ensure adequate oversight of missions and bureaus. OIG must Identify and attract personnel with specialty skills (e.g., political, economic, public diplomacy, executive management) needed to ensure effective oversight of the full range of post and bureau operations.
Security
Results	Challenges
The Department implemented procedures to better control secure compartmentalized information documents and ensure that vulnerabilities identified by technical surveillance countermeasure evaluations are corrected promptly, and strengthened internal procedures for adjudicating security violations and referring valid violations for possible disciplinary action. The Department clarified guidance on actions needed to protect Top Secret documents stored on electronic media, as well as for labeling and storing certain classified electronic media. The Department is altering the design and construction of Compound Access Control facilities to eliminate an OIG-identified vulnerability. The Department has developed oversight guidance and training, briefed senior office managers, trained more than 700 officers, and designed program implementation tools to assist the Department's Unit Security Officers in implementing the Department's security program.	Due to continual changes in worldwide threat conditions, security vulnerabilities persist even when recommended security enhancements are promptly implemented. Need to focus limited resources on security inspections of critical and high threat posts, despite the potential for increasing vulnerability of posts with lower threat levels.
Financial Management & Administrative Support
Results	Challenges
The Department developed written policies and procedures for bureau travel card program coordinators and cardholders and has made them centrally available on an intranet site. The Department also developed guidelines for addressing individually billed travel card accounts that are in the 60-day past due category and developed guidance on when and how to transfer cardholders' accounts from one bureau to another or to an overseas mission. The Department is significantly improving the accuracy, reliability, and availability of its financial information and focusing efforts to address several significant internal control and non-compliance issues, including information systems security.	Continued growth in legislative mandates and other unanticipated requests seriously limits OIG's ability to conduct planned, non-mandated work.
Accountability
Results	Challenges
$5.3 million in questioned costs and $0.5 million in funds put to better use were identified in the course of OIG audits. Investigative recoveries totaled $7.3 million. The president of a company that misrepresented the qualifications of explosive ordnance detection dogs and handlers provided to the Department was sentenced to 78 months' imprisonment and 36 months' supervised probation and was also fined $2,700 and ordered to make restitution of more than $708,000. A Nigerian national was convicted of passport fraud, sentenced to a year and a day in prison, and deported from the United States.	New mandates for OIG to audit more than $700 million in 632(a) transfer grants could seriously limit OIG's ability to conduct other non-mandated contract and grant audits.

FY 2003 Performance Results

OIG's Performance Plan contains four strategic and eight performance goals, along with nineteen indicators and targets used to evaluate its success in achieving these goals.

Summary of FY 2003 Performance Results

Performance Rating	Number of Results	Percentage of Results
Significantly Above Target	6	31%
Slightly Above Target	2	11%
On Target	3	16%
Slightly Below Target	2	11%
Significantly Below Target	6	31%
Totals	19	100%

As shown in the table above, 58 percent of OIG's performance results met or exceeded performance targets. This represents an improvement over FY 2002, when 47 percent of results met or exceeded performance targets. In addition, 56 percent of FY 2003 results exceeded those for FY 2002, and 44 percent were the best results for the past four fiscal years (2000 through 2003).

The table below shows the percentage of results attained for each strategic goal that were equal to or exceeded the "on target" rating. The Security strategic goal met 83 percent of performance targets.

Percentage of Reported Results With Ratings Equal to or Above "On Target"
By Strategic Goal

Strategic Goal	Percentage
Foreign Policy	40%
Security	83%
Financial Management and Administration	40%
Accountability	67%

OIG's most successful results included identifying $13 million in potential monetary benefits resulting from audits and investigations, versus a target of $7.8 million, and closing 92 percent of significant security recommendations within one year of issuance, versus a target of 50 percent. Results that fell significantly below target included closing 49 percent (versus a target of 72 percent) of financial and administrative support recommendations and 38 percent (versus a target of 50 percent) of the significant financial and administrative support recommendations within a year of issuance.

Reasons for Performance Shortfalls and Continuing Challenges

A significant reason why performance targets were not being met was resource shortages during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, which resulted in cutbacks to staffs responsible for addressing compliance with OIG recommendations; cancellation, curtailment, or postponement of more than a dozen audits and inspections; and a halt on travel for all but high-priority investigations. Efforts to meet targets for recommendations resolved and closed, and in particular for closure of our most significant recommendations, also were hampered by agency delays in responding to recommendations and by some recommendations taking longer to implement than anticipated. In addition, the departure of senior and mid-level OIG staff to the new Department of Homeland Security delayed completion of some projects.

OIG continues to face two major challenges to its ability to achieve its strategic and performance goals:

• Addressing resource constraints that make it difficult for OIG to meet its oversight responsibility for a diverse and demanding workload of post management, security, and information technology inspections; an ever-increasing number of mandated audits and reviews; Congressional and Department requests for OIG assistance; allegations and indications of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanaagement; and other self-initiated audits, inspections, investigations, and reviews of issues, programs and operations that OIG believes are necessary; and
• Identifying, attracting, and retaining Civil Service and Foreign Service personnel with the requisite skills, abilities, and experience.

OIG expects to reevaluate and revise its strategic and performance plans, goals, and indicators during FY 2004, as appropriate, once a new Inspector General is nominated and confirmed.

 

Note 1: References to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) in the vision, mission, and goals refer to OIG's statutory authority as the OIG for the BBG as well as the Department of State. However, these responsibilities are not relevant to or addressed as part of the Department's Performance and Accountability Report.