GAO told the House homeland security management subcommittee recently that while DHS has taken positive steps to organize and assess its acquisition function, it continues to lack clear accountability for outcomes.
It also said the department has not fully ensured proper oversight of its contractors providing services closely supporting inherently government functions.
Five years after the department was formed and leading up to a change in administration, GAO offered qualified praise for other management areas as well.
For example, while DHS has designated a Chief Financial Officer and taken actions to prepare corrective action plans for its internal control weaknesses, it has been unable to obtain an unqualified audit opinion for fiscal 2007 and noted that the independent auditor identified significant deficiencies in DHS’s internal control over financial reporting.
DHS also still needs to implement a human capital system linked to its strategic plan, establish a market-based and more performance-oriented pay system, and seek more routine feedback from employees, GAO said.
It said that while DHS has taken actions to develop IT management controls — such as developing an IT human capital plan and developing policies to ensure the protection of sensitive information – the department has yet to fully implement a comprehensive information security program or a process to effectively manage IT investments.
DHS is also getting better providing access to information, something GAO said it has failed to do in the past.
The issue has been a sore spot for some in Congress as well. Subcommittee chair Christopher Carney, D-Pa., thanked DHS’s management undersecretary, Elaine Duke, for providing testimony on time, adding, "I hope that the department will make this a habit in the future."