New Charge Card Policy Also to Take Effect

A new Office of Management and Budget policy, effective October 1, seeks to tighten control over the government’s charge card program. Numerous inspector general, Government Accountability Office and other reports have disclosed fraud and abuse of the cards, although in many cases the misuse was by uniformed military personnel, not civilian federal employees. The new guidance, issued as a new appendix B to OMB Circular 123 (which governs management’s responsibility for internal controls) outlines standard minimum requirements and best practices in areas such as planning, training, risk management, data collection, credit worthiness, and strategic sourcing.