Reports

10.06.2015

Top Management Challenges Facing the Department of Commerce in FY 2016

Attached is our final report on the Department of Commerce's top management challenges for fiscal year (FY) 2016.

Report Number OIG-16-002

Office of the Secretary

Top Management Challenges

10.02.2015

Significant Firm-Fixed-Price Contract Actions in FYs 2011-2013 Cannot Be Verified from Documentation in NIST Contract Files

The Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General is initiating an audit of the effectiveness of NIST's oversight and monitoring of contracts and contractors.

Report Number OIG-16-001-A

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Audits / Evaluations

09.30.2015

Semiannual Report to Congress, September 2015

I am pleased to present the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General's Semiannual Report to Congress for the 6 months ending September 30, 2015.

Audits / Evaluations, Investigations, Semiannual Reports to Congress

09.30.2015

2020 Census–The 2014 Census Test Misses an Opportunity to Validate Cost Estimates and Establish Benchmarks for Progress

As part of our ongoing oversight of the U.S. Census Bureau's preparations for the 2020 Decennial Census, we are initiating an audit to assess whether the bureau is incorporating iterative testing strategies and including originally established research questions into the 2014 site test in order to fully inform design decisions.

Report Number OIG-15-044-A

U.S. Census Bureau (Census)

Audits / Evaluations

09.14.2015

OIG Review of Alleged Time and Attendance Fraud by Employees in Census CHEC Office

Public corruption involves providing something of value to a government official in an effort to influence the actions or performance of their official position.

Report Number 14-0790

U.S. Census Bureau (Census)

Investigations

09.10.2015

Nonfederal Audit Results for the 6-Month Period Ending June 30, 2015

This memorandum provides an analysis of nonfederal audit reports, including a summary of findings that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed during the 6-month period ending June 30, 2015, for entities receiving federal awards subject to audit requirements.

Report Number OIG-15-042-M

Correspondence

09.04.2015

Audit of USPTO's Management of Unliquidated Obligation Balances

We are initiating an audit of USPTO's unliquidated obligations as a follow-up to our audit report number OIG-13-026, issued in June 2013.

Report Number OIG-15-041-A

09.01.2015

OIG Investigation into Environmental Stewardship on a NOAA Research Vessel

On May 5, 2014, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General (OIG) opened an investigation based on a complaint by a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employee (complainant).

Report Number 14-0505

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Investigations

08.27.2015

Review of Alleged Misconduct and Waste of Government Resources by a Senior Official

On December 2, 2013, a complainant contacted the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the United States Department of Commerce (Department) alleging a senior Department official (Senior Official) engaged in a number of acts constituting waste of government resources and/or fraud.

Report Number 14-0153

Investigations

08.19.2015

Control Deficiencies Related to the Overtime Approval Process at a Census Bureau Regional Office

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you about some overtime approval irregularities we identified during a recent regional office site visit. Although this memorandum pertains to one regional office, we believe our findings and recommendations have broader, bureau-wide application.

U.S. Census Bureau (Census)

Correspondence

08.19.2015

OIG Investigation into Alleged Time and Attendance Abuse by a Patent Examiner

In August 2014, two supervisory patent examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) walked into their offices and found copies of the same anonymous letter.

Report Number 15-0076