Establishing a chief operating officer could help the
Department of Homeland Security focus long-term attention
on management challenges and transformational needs, the
General Accounting Office has said in a letter to a House
select committee on homeland security.
GAO said the COO concept provides a single organizational
focus for key management functions such as human capital,
financial management, and information technology.
There needs to be a single point within agencies with the
perspective, responsibility and authority to ensure the
successful implementation of functional management and
transformation efforts, said GAO.
It said that competing demands on deputy secretaries in
executive branch departments across the government make it
impractical to expect they will consistently be able to
undertake integration responsibilities. Further, deputy
secretaries do not always have a management background.
GAO noted in previous work that successful transformation
efforts in large private and public sector organizations
often take at least five to seven years — but periodic
turnover of political leadership in the federal government
makes it difficult to sustain attention to make needed
changes, a problem GAO believes the creation of a COO could
help solve by institutionalizing long-term accountability.
Report GAO-04-876R, can be accessed at gao.gov