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Highlights
Volume 1, September 2003

Outreach/Prevention Activities

Partnering with International Agencies

Workshop on International Audit Issues. Our office is continuing its work to ensure the appropriate use of NSF funds spent overseas. We initiated and coordinated the workshop Accountability in Science Research Funding to enable compliance and auditing officials from multiple countries to meet, learn about differing requirements, and discuss best practices. Participants presented and discussed models of award monitoring and auditing for science and engineering projects and shared best practices. Projects involving international collaborations were also discussed at the meeting. Countries represented at the workshop included Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, European Community, and the United States.

Korean National Science Organizations. OIG audit staff met with representatives from various Korean science and technology organizations, including the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Korean Science and Engineering Foundation, to discuss the role of the OIG in the federal government and issues such as the federal audit resolution process and our relationships with other audit organizations such as the GAO.

Working with the Federal Community

Misconduct in Research Working Group Activities. NSF OIG continues in its leadership role with the President's/Executive Councils of Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE/ECIE) Misconduct in Research Working Group (MIRWG). We presented an update on the status of agency implementation of the federal policy on research misconduct at a PCIE/ECIE meeting. A representative from the working group also provided a report on the status of MIRWG activities to a group from the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Later this fall, we are planning to brief the roundtable of the PCIE/ECIE Inspections and Evaluations Committee on the guidelines the MIRWG has developed to assist other agencies and IGs in conducting investigations of research misconduct allegations. We expect the MIRWG to reconvene late in the year.

Erroneous Payments Working Group. The OIG is participating in a joint working group of members of the PCIE and Chief Financial Officer Council (CFOC) to address improper and erroneous payments. The working group is developing benchmark methods to reduce improper payments and assisting OMB in establishing appropriate guidance. The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (Public Law No: 107-300) expanded the Administration's efforts to identify and reduce erroneous payments in the government's programs and activities. All CFO Act agencies must submit their plans for implementation of P.L. 107-300 to OMB by November 30, 2003. Consequently, agencies are carefully examining the risk of erroneous payments in all programs and activities they administer, including grant programs. The Erroneous Payments Working Group will continue to explore this issue and develop guidance and best practices to assist the agencies in their efforts.

Financial Statement Audit Network. One of our senior auditors currently serves as the Chairman of the Financial Statement Audit Network (FSAN), a subcommittee of the Federal Audit Executive Council (FAEC). The FSAN is comprised of auditors from federal agencies, the General Accounting Office, the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, and the Office of Management and Budget. The purpose of the FSAN is to highlight financial statement related issues for discussion during the monthly FAEC meeting. The same OIG auditor is also the co-Chairman of the Members in Government Committee of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA).

Inspector General Academy. OIG investigative staff continued to contribute to the Inspector General Academy's "Editing Investigative Products Training Program," teaching a module on English grammar and style under the supervision of Executive Director Terry Freedy.

  • Presentations (see Semiannual for Details)

  • Publications (see Semiannual for Details)




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 Jul 08, '04