Report Contents
What OIG Inspected
OIG inspected the Office of Foreign Missions’ executive leadership, staffing and organizational structure, strategic planning, and information technology operations.
What OIG Recommends
OIG made 13 recommendations to improve the office’s operations, including 9 to address deficiencies in the development and deployment of information technology systems and information systems security. In its comments on the draft report, the Department concurred with all 13 recommendations. OIG considers the recommendations resolved. The Department’s response to each recommendation, and OIG’s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The Department’s formal written responses are reprinted in their entirety in Appendix B.
What OIG Found
- Department of State and other Federal agency officials praised the Office of Foreign Missions’ acting Director for his expertise and institutional knowledge that enabled him to successfully use reciprocity to ensure U.S. mission staff serving overseas receive equivalent treatment as their foreign counterparts based in the United States. However, lengthy gaps in key leadership positions, including the Director and Deputy Director, overburdened the acting Director and contributed to deficiencies in internal management and communications.
- Development of The Office of Foreign Missions Information System (TOMIS) had been underway for two decades, at an approximate cost of $48 million to date. Significant issues with TOMIS development, including an invalid authorization to operate, an inability to verify data accuracy, and inadequate user access controls, warrant urgent management attention.
- The Office of Foreign Missions had neither a strategic planning process nor a Functional Bureau Strategy.
- The office’s organizational structure was not well aligned, resulting in an uneven workload and unclear lines of supervision.
- The contract administration for TOMIS did not comply with Department requirements.
- Standard operating procedures for fee collections did not meet Department procedures.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
The Office of Foreign Missions, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Management, should appoint a temporary Principal Deputy Director, until such time as a permanent Director is in place.
The Office of Foreign Missions should prepare a Functional Bureau Strategy, in accordance with Department standards.
The Bureau of Human Resources, in coordination with the Office of Foreign Missions, should conduct an organizational assessment of the Office of Foreign Missions and implement any recommendations resulting from the assessment.
The Office of Foreign Missions should implement the Managing State Projects methodology for The Office of Foreign Missions Information System development, in accordance with Department standards.
The Office of Foreign Missions, in coordination with the Bureau of Information Resource Management, should obtain an authorization to operate for The Office of Foreign Missions Information System, in accordance with Department standards.
The Office of Foreign Missions should implement a system for tracking and ensuring resolution of reported issues with The Office of Foreign Missions Information System.
The Office of Foreign Missions should implement a process to regularly verify and validate the accuracy of the records in The Office of Foreign Missions Information System in accordance with Department standards.
The Office of Foreign Missions should manage user access controls for The Office of Foreign Missions Information System in accordance with Department standards.
The Office of Foreign Missions should require the contracting officer’s representative to monitor and document contractor performance in accordance with Department standards.
The Office of Foreign Missions should update its Information Systems Security Officer designation letter.
The Office of Foreign Missions should require the designated primary and alternate Information Systems Security Officers complete training in accordance with Department standards.
The Office of Foreign Missions should require that the Information Systems Security Officer perform information systems security duties in accordance with Department standards.
The Office of Foreign Missions, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, should bring its standard operating procedures for fee collections into compliance with Department requirements.