Status: Unable to judge. Performance improved from FY 2000. Improvement occurred because of increased Departmental emphasis on resolution and follow-up and on timing; some corrective actions take time to fully implement where legislative, regulatory, or system changes are required. Recommendations related to reports issued in prior fiscal years, and for which corrective action was initiated, may now just be at the completion stage.

Explanation: The percentage is calculated by adding up the total number of significant recommendations that have been resolved for the fiscal year and dividing that number into the total number of significant recommendations that had been accepted for the fiscal year. This indicator uses only recommendations from audit work. This information is only for jobs that are related to Objective 1.

A significant monetary recommendation is defined as recovering monetary amounts of questioned, unsupported, or other dollars of $300,000 or more. It also includes the associated recommendation to establish/implement control techniques to prevent recurrence of the condition that results in the monetary finding or better use of funds of $500,000 or more.

A significant nonmonetary recommendation is a recommendation to establish/implement procedures or control techniques to (1) improve the effective or efficient delivery of program services; (2) safeguard assets or prevent fraud, waste, or abuse; or (3) improve the integrity, accuracy, and completeness of management data involving a program, or a significant component of any program, funded at $500,000 or more annually.

Status: Decrease in FY 2000 directly related to increased hours spent on complex work reflected in Indicator 2.6.

Explanation: This number was calculated by taking the total number of staff hours that the office charged to jobs in the current Work Plan and dividing it by the hours that were spent on Objective 1.

The OIG Work Plan baseline is at the start of the fiscal year, October 1. The actual performance achieved will rarely reach 100 percent because the current Work Plan covers a two-year period, and new jobs are identified that take precedence for reasons such as risk or need for immediate completion.

Status: Percentage of new jobs initiated decreased due to an increased number of carryover jobs from the previous year. In addition, there was an increase in the number of jobs in the Work Plan from 86 to 104 creating a larger denominator.

Explanation:This indicator measures the degree to which OIG work done during the fiscal year related to Objective 1 (Improvement of programs and operations) is work identified in the annually updated OIG Work Plan. Annually, the OIG prepares a Work Plan that contains projects deemed to be the most important. The denominator of the percentage is the number of projects from a prior Work Plan plus any additions to the current Work Plan. The numerator is the number of projects started. This indicator includes those projects where the objectives were intended to improve programs or operations. This information reflects only jobs that are coded as Objective 1.

The current OIG Work Plan baseline is at the start of the fiscal year, October 1. The actual performance achieved will not reach 100 percent because the current Work Plan covers a two-year period, and new jobs are identified which take precedence for reasons such as risk or need for immediate completion.

Status: Unable to judge. The numbers remained constant while there was a decrease in the percentage.

Explanation: Case work can extend over several fiscal years resulting in variations in the number and or percentage reported. The OIG receives and reviews allegations of fraud, abuse, or misconduct in Department programs and operations by program participants, contractors, or department employees. Preliminary investigative activity determines which allegations have merit, and formal criminal, civil, and administrative investigations are initiated.

The percentage is calculated as the total number of cases accepted for an enforcement action divided by the number of cases presented to enforcement officials during the year.

Status: Unable to judge. Performance decreased from FY 2000.

Explanation: Given the nature of our investigative work, this indicator must be used judiciously and in conjunction with other indicators. Criminal prosecution is not undertaken primarily to recover money. We have deleted performance targets for monetary recoveries to avoid the appearance of a lack of objectivity.

Enforcement actions that result in convictions or civil settlements/judgments typically include court-ordered restitution and fines, and the payment of civil penalties. Additionally, OIG audits result in sustained questioned costs and sustained unsupported costs. These monetary figures are compiled into a total to determine a financial assessment of enforcement and corrective actions initiated by OIG work.

Status: Performance decreased from FY 2000 due to fluctuations described below.

Explanation: The percentage recoveries sustained may fluctuate from fiscal year to fiscal year. Dollars sustained do not always fall within the same fiscal year as when they were recommended.

This indicator measures OIG’s sustainment rate. The dollars recommended for recovery in audits that were resolved during the fiscal year are compared with the dollars that the Department agreed should be recovered. The dollars recommended for recovery includes questioned costs, unsupported costs, and other recommended recoveries. Dollars recommended for recovery do not include recommendations for better use of funds (BUF).