Lawmakers doubled down on requirements that IGs review agency conference spending and the use of purchase and travel cards following the 2012 conference scandal at the General Services Administration. Many IGs don’t think the mandated audits are a smart use of their time, according to the survey.
“The effort required to address these issues in the manner prescribed by law was disproportionate to the actual risk,” many IGs said in the report.
They also said they spent too much time auditing improper payments, considering the risk was relatively low.
Instead, IGs said they want more flexibility to go after problems particular to their respective agencies.
The survey authors suggest Congress review all of the requirements it imposes on federal inspectors general.
Evidently we have reached the point where we are spending is so astronomical that catching violations — like those we saw over the past several years with outrageous conference spending — isn’t worth the time and resources of the IG if it’s not a multimillion-dollar scandal.
