Semiannual Report: Oct-Mar 2017

This semiannual report is issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s), Office of Inspector General (OIG) pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended. It summarizes our activities and accomplishments for the period October 1, 2016 through March 31, 2017.

During this period, our office issued three final audit/evaluation reports, and two reviews.  Our office received 360 hotline inquiries: of which 129 were charge processing; 124 were complaints related to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; and 107 were other investigative allegations.

Our completed, newly initiated, ongoing, and preliminary survey projects include the following:

Completed

• Harper, Rains, Knight & Company, P.A. (HRK), audited the financial statements of the EEOC for FY 2016 and issued an unmodified opinion;
• HRK issued the Management Letter Report for FY 2016 Financial Statement Audit. The Management Letter Report, prepared by HRK, provides additional information regarding a significant deficiency contained in the Financial Statement Audit;
• Brown & Company CPAs and Management Consultants, PLLC (Brown & Company) conducted an independent evaluation of EEOC’s information security program for FY 2016. Based on this evaluation, the EEOC continued to make positive strides in addressing information security weaknesses. However, the Agency still faces challenges to fully implement information security requirements as stipulated in various federal guidelines and mandates;
• Our annual report to the Chair validated the Agency’s compliance with the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA).  We concluded that the Agency’s management control evaluation was conducted in accordance with FMFIA and applicable OMB regulations; and
• Our Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) Readiness Review concluded that the EEOC was on schedule to comply with DATA Act reporting requirements.

Ongoing, Newly Initiated and Proposed Projects

• We have contracted with the public accounting firm of Harper, Rains, Knight & Co. (HRK), P.A., to perform the FY 2017, EEOC Financial Statement Audit. Work is currently ongoing.
• We are conducting our periodic risk assessment of the EEOC purchase card program, including convenience checks and travel cards, to determine the frequency and scope of future audits.
• Evaluation of EEOC’s Use of Data Analytics.
• Evaluation of EEOC’s Interagency Agreements.
• FY 2017 Independent Evaluation of EEOC’s Compliance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014.
• Our office has ongoing investigations in several field offices involving such matters as: ethics violations, conflicts of interest, misuse of position, mismanagement, false statements, and falsification of government records.