Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE

Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE)

Federal Audit Executive Council (FAEC)

Meeting Minutes

September 12, 2023

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Attendees:

Abdil Salah, Andrew Berke, Andrew Smith, Brent Aronte, Bruce Miller, Bryon Gordon,

Carolyn Hantz, Chuck Ward, Clayton Fox, Daniel Buchtel, Daniel Eckert, Dan Battitori, Deann

Baiza, David Staley, Debbie Harker, Devin Polster, Earl Omer, Elizabeth Casciaro, Eric Rivera,

Erica Boyden, Gabriel Tonsil, Gregory Frazier, Hruta Virkar, James Morrison, Jeffrey Brown,

Jane Bannon, Jill Trynosky, Joan Mockeridge, John Seger, Katherine Trimble, Karen Scott,

Kelly McFadden, Laura Davis, Laura Nicolosi, Leigh Searight, Lori Lau Dillard, Lorin Venable,

Maureen Duddy, Melissa Brown, Michael Esser, Michael Mitchell, Michelle Andersen,

Monique Colter, Norman Brown, Parker Skaats, Rebecca Sharek, Roderick Fillinger, Rosario

Torres, Sarah Dreyer, Shellie Purnell-Brown, Shenika Cox, Sonya Cerne, Stacy Miller, Steven

Burke, Susan Barron, and Tawanda Holmes.

Meeting Minutes:

• Debbie Harker, Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General (OIG) and FAEC

Chair, gave opening remarks.

• A motion was made and seconded to approve the July 11, 2023 minutes. Minutes were

approved.

• Debbie Harker reported that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), 2023

section 5274 Working Group guide has been finalized and is on CIGIE’s website. CIGIE

has received a waiver of individual notification requirements from the Financial

Accounting Standards Board (FASB). When Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) reference

FASB standards in non-investigative reports, notification is no longer required. This waiver

covers all CIGIE OIGs. The FAEC is currently working to obtain a similar waiver from the

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The letter is currently with

the AICPA now and is not available yet. We hope to receive the letter within the next

month.

• The FISCAM is out for comment. Comments are due to Andrew Berke by October 4

. If

you prefer, you can send your comments directly to GAO.

• Laura Rainey from NSF OIG sent out a notification that the Grant Reform Working Group

is resuming meetings. The notification was sent to known single audit coordinators at

OIGs. If someone did not receive the notification and would like to be included, please

reach out to Debbie Harker or Andrew Berke and we will contact Laura to get you added

to the distribution.

• Bruce Miller, Army Audit, reported that they are seeking volunteers to work on the FAEC

IGNet Website. The webpage is outdated and it needs a bit of work. Debbie suggested

that all committee chairs for the standing committees should take the lead from their

committee. Devin Polster updated the website using the CIGIE helpdesk. Please email

Bruce Miller, Debbie Harker, or Andrew Berke if you would like to volunteer.

• Devin Polster provided an update from the Quality Management Committee. The Quality

Assurance Working Group was established in 2015 to enhance the efficiency and

effectiveness of quality management throughout the Federal OIG community. In 2019

CIGIE recognized the group as a working group under the FAEC. In 2023 the Working

Group became a standing committee of FAEC and was renamed the Quality Management

Committee. The committee has over 200 members from over 60 Inspectors General. The

committee has people of various levels involved including several Inspectors General,

SES, and developing members. It’s multidisciplinary including investigations, audits, and

inspections. The committee has created tangible products for the community. The

committee previously published 5 white papers to guide the quality management process.

The committee also has opportunities for professional development and continuing

education. Topics have included GAO’s quality management framework, navigating

difficult conversations, and applying risk management principles, among others. The

committee typically meets quarterly, and if you are interested in joining, please contact

Devin Polster.

• Drew Smith provided an update on the training committee. The committee finished a

training needs assessment survey a few months ago and is currently working on a

training curriculum document that includes suggested competencies and training courses

at different GS levels. The committee gathered curriculum information from 23 different

OIGs, including 16 with very detailed responses. The committee focused on 3 plans to

build a draft curriculum for the overall community. The committee is hoping to have a

draft curriculum out by the end of the calendar year. Drew Smith is going to be

transitioning off the training committee and on to the CIGIE Training Institute full-time.

The committee is seeking volunteers to chair the group once Drew Smith transitions off.

• Shenika Cox, Justice OIG, and Eric Atkinson, Interior OIG, provided an update for the

Contracting Committee. The procurement conference will be held November 8

and 9

. It

will be both a video and live presentation. There will be 6-8 CPE credits offered for the

two days.

• Debbie Harker relayed some announcements from Judith Olivera of the Improper

Payments Working Group and Kelly McFadden of the Financial Statements Working

Group. The improper payment audits are due May 2024. There are no significant changes

expected for this year since OMB has not made any updates to appendix C of circular

A123. Reminder of the November 15

deadline for financial statements. The next FAEC

meeting was moved to December 5

due to this deadline.

• Eric Rivera, EXIM OIG, provided an update for the Cross-Cutting committee. The

committee is picking up steam and focusing efforts on the cloud computing space with an

end goal of providing a report on best practices relating to cloud security. The committee

currently meets biweekly.

• John Seger, PBGC OIG, brought up audit documentation software as a topic. Mr. Seger

stated that PBGC OIG just switched over to a new version of TeamMate, but the

consensus is that they will be using a different product next time. PBGC OIG is currently

doing some high level market research on audit software other than TeamMate. They are

interested in what other OIGs have used and what challenges they have faced. Education

OIG, Election Assistance Commission OIG, Nuclear Regulatory Commission OIG, Veterans

Affairs and FHFA OIG use E-case.

• Recruiting and employee retention has become a common theme as an issue affecting

many OIGs. Issues with OPM classifications for performance and financial auditors, and

the 0511 and 0343 job series, are topics. AmeriCorps OIG, EPA OIG, TIGTA, Architect of

the Capitol OIG, and DHS OIG have expressed interest in an ad hoc meeting to discuss

issues.

• Gabriel Tonsil, USAID OIG, brought up the recent letter from Senator Ernst requesting

OIGs to look at agencies’ and departments’ use of telework and the remote status of

federal employees. CIGIE is bringing this up at the next IG level meeting. Ms. Tonsil is

looking for different ways to address some of the questions such as common

methodologies on the data, collecting data, and how to evaluate the data. Ms. Tonsil is

potentially looking for a group effort to address these questions. Treasury OIG, DOL OIG,

VA OIG, SSA OIG, and GSA OIG are in the wait and see mode to see how CIGIE will

handle this. The Department of Education is implementing a return to work policy, but is

waiting until the policy is in place before performing any work.

• The next Audit Committee meeting will be September 26th at 2pm.

• The Annual FAEC Contracting Conference will be held November 8th and 9th.

• The next FAEC meeting will be December 5th at 11am.

• The meeting was adjourned.