Access to information remains a top concern in the IG community, a survey shows in a continuation of complaints that auditors have been making with increasing frequency and urgency in recent times.
Actions by agency management to limit information implicates the independence of IGs, said the report, which noted that those offices took the unusual step last year of raising their concerns directly to the main government oversight committees of Congress, triggering recent hearings.
“This issue, more than any other, has accelerated change and mobilized the community to communicate the importance of unfettered access to all information as a foundation for effective independent oversight consistent with the intent of the IG Act,” said the report from the Association of Government Accountants, based on a survey and individual interviews.
Other main concerns involved mandates in laws such as the DATA Act to conduct certain audits that limit ability to focus on areas that the IGs consider of higher priorities, in particular information security. Still others included some not unique to the IG community: inability to pay attractive salaries under the government’s standard pay scales, budgetary uncertainty, and the cumbersome federal hiring process.
