Report Contents
What OIG Audited
In FY 2019, improper Federal payments Government-wide totaled approximately $175 billion. The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA) requires Inspectors General to annually determine whether agencies complied with improper payment requirements and established additional requirements for agencies that were deemed noncompliant with improper payments requirements. The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is an independent Federal agency that supervises all U.S. Government-supported civilian international broadcasting. USAGM Federal broadcasting organizations include the Voice of America (VOA), the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), and four grantees—Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and the Open Technology Fund. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this audit to determine whether USAGM complied with IPERA requirements.
What OIG Recommends
Because USAGM complied with improper payments requirements for FY 2019, OIG is not offering recommendations as a result of this audit. USAGM’s response to a draft of this report is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.
What OIG Found
For the FY 2019 reporting period, OIG found that USAGM complied with improper payments requirements, as presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Compliance with Improper Payment Criteria
Published Performance and Accountability Report: Yes
Conducted Risk Assessment: Yes
Published Improper Payment Estimate:* N/A
Published Corrective Action Plans:* N/A
Published and Met Reduction Targets:* N/A
Reported an Improper Payment Rate Less Than 10 Percent:* N/A
*Criteria did not apply because no program was identified in FY 2019 as being at risk for significant improper payments.
Source: OIG created using criteria from Office of Management and Budget Circular A-123, Appendix C.
OIG found that USAGM published on its website the FY 2019 Performance and Accountability Report, which included all applicable payment integrity disclosures, as required by Office of Management and Budget Circular A136, “Financial Reporting Requirements.” In addition, USAGM complied with the requirement to perform program-specific risk assessments. Specifically, USAGM performed quantitative risk assessment testing for two programs (VOA and OCB) as part of its rotational testing approach.