Under the Bush administration, OMB Circular A-123, formerly a "management controls" guidance for federal agencies, was revised, making it an "internal control" guidance. Significantly, the revised circular emphasized federal activities as insular and accountable to the President.
Circular A-123 once was an important tool for allowing the President, Congress and the public to have oversight of government programs, expenditures and compliance with federal laws. The Obama administration should return it to its original function and add new provisions. For example:
a) Make training in management controls available to, and required o, every federal employee with a role in the reporting process.
b) Introduce more uniformity in the questionnaires used by agencies for conducting assessments.
c) Require that agency assessments address the handling of whistleblower disclosures, a key risk reduction tool
d) Periodically have GAO check the accuracy of the reports and hold agency officials accountable for false reports
Comments (0)