The Office of Management and Budget’s ExpectMore.gov
website has posted the 2005 assessment of the Office
of Personnel Management’s merit system compliance
assessment program that would have achieved a 100
percent performance rating were it not for two
management areas where it fell short, resulting in a
rating of “adequate.”
The program, funded at $17 million annually, reviews
agency employment practices to ensure employment is
based on merit and that employees and applicants
receive fair and equitable treatment.
Based on the program assessment and ratings tool, the
program was rated at 100 percent for program design
and purpose, strategic planning, and program results-
accountability, but received a rating of 72 percent
for program management.
The program met half of its annual performance goals
in 2005, including a reduction in veteran’s preference
hiring violations, which showed up only 18 percent of
the time in agency reviews last year compared to 40
percent of reviews in 2004, according to the assessment.
However, it said OPM’s financial management system has
not been updated to reflect the current organizational
structure following the reorganization of 2003, and that
the current account structure in the financial system
does not include a separate line item for the compliance
program or its three activities — agency human resources
management audits, delegated examining unit audits and
appellate processes.
Because there is no evidence that the program can
accurately capture the total costs of its activities,
it’s impossible to determine if there is a less expensive
way to operate the program, said OMB.
It said there is no evidence that the compliance program
benchmarks its activities against similar efforts such as
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Further, it said OPM auditors have identified a weakness
stemming from longstanding differences between OPM fund
balances and comparable balances maintained by the
Department of Treasury, most of which occurred in prior
fiscal years.
