The lack of a systematic workload analysis or identified workforce needs for budget justification purposes is among EPA’s most significant management challenges, the IG there has said, calling such analysis “critically important to mission accomplishment.”
“The EPA currently plans to apply workload analysis tools to task-driven agency functions, such as grants and contracts. While we understand the difficulty in applying such tools to the EPA’s highly variable and non-linear activities, the EPA still needs to more broadly quantify what its full workload entails, so that it can more effectively prioritize and allocate limited resources to accomplish agency work,” it said.
Since 2005, EPA offices have studied workload issues at least six times, spending nearly $3 million for contractors. However, for the most part, it has not used the findings resulting from these studies, the report said.
Auditors added: “We identified agency inaction among some supervisors regarding time and attendance controls, segregation of duties for key financial transactions, real property management, and employee travel. The agency’s size necessitates effective communication, oversight and management. While the EPA has taken many corrective actions to address prior audits, improvements are still needed. Issues recently identified demonstrate continued deficiencies in the commitment by personnel to management policies and internal control.”
Other challenges include the need to enhance IT to face cyber threats and oversight of state environmental programs, it said.
