Federal Manager's Daily Report

GAO has said that in the time ahead it will “focus our work on several pressing national issues” including the state of federal agency IT security and personnel challenges.

“The cyberattacks suffered by the Office of Personnel Management, Equifax, and others in recent years highlight the criticality of effective cybersecurity. Our work will include (1) the security of federal information systems and cyber critical infrastructure; (2) key agency capabilities for preventing and addressing security incidents; (3) the cybersecurity of specific sectors, such as the electricity grid; and (4) efforts to strengthen the nation’s consumer privacy framework to reflect the increasing market for personal information,” GAO said in its performance and accountability report.

Other priorities will include assessments of complex acquisitions government-wide; DoD’s efforts in areas including cybersecurity, human capital management challenges, business operations and modernization; and health care issues involving programs on its high-risk list including Medicare, Medicaid and veterans health care.

On internal matters, GAO reported that it “remained an employer of choice” in fiscal 2018, ranking second among mid-sized agencies on the Partnership for Public Service’s best places to work list and first in that category for diversity efforts. It said that while it fell slightly short of its hiring goals, it exceeded its goals for retention. It factors such as continued career development of employees and participation of “nearly all” employees in “some form of telework.”