GAO identified that the loss, theft, and waste can be attributed to IHS’s weak internal control environment, and called on HIS management to establish a tone at the top. It said property management problems have been allowed to fester for over a decade with little or no improvement or accountability.
According to GAO, the agency disposed over $700,000 worth of IT equipment because it was "infested with bat dung."
GAO called on the HIS director to update and enforcing the agency’s policies and procedures for property management.
The director also needs to direct HIS property officials to investigate the circumstances surrounding missing or stolen property instead of writing off losses without holding anyone accountable. The HHS inspector general is also looking into the matter.
Additional recommendations include annual inventories, enforcing polity to use receiving agents to document the receipt of property and its distribution to an intended user, bar-coding, maintaining information on equipment users, for example, what offices they work in, and physically securing property.
