Inadequate management oversight hampers the Navy’s ability to
effectively manage its telecommunications program, the Government
Accountability Office has said in a new report – GAO-04-671 –
stemming from concerns that problems similar to those that exist
with the Department of Defense’s purchase card program exist
with DoD vendor payments.
It said the Navy does not know how much it spent on
telecommunications and lacks detailed cost and inventory data
needed to evaluate spending patterns and leverage buying patterns.
“Obtaining knowledge of current requirements and usage, as well
as developing forecasts for future telecommunication needs could
assist Navy’s acquisition planning to ensure future needs are met
in a more cost-effective manner,” said GAO.
It said telecom purchases at four case study sites it audited
paid for unnecessary services by failing to review and revalidate
purchase requirements biannually.
The Navy also lacks policies to meet cell phone requirements in
the most cost-effective manner, said GAO, which found that mobile
usage at the four sites was not monitored to determine if plans
coincided with user’s needs or whether the phones were used
exclusively for official business, also a problem with calling cards.
The Navy paid over $17,000 for a three-month period on an
unmonitored card that was only suspended once the vendor’s fraud
unit questioned $11,000 of charges in the first six days of July
2003, said GAO.
