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Brought to you by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
Federal Reports
Report Date
Agency Reviewed / Investigated
Report Title
Type
Location
Department of Health & Human Services
Office of Inspector General's Partnership With the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of the State Auditor: Office of Medicaid (MassHealth) — Review of Capitation Payments With Multiple Identification Numbers
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Financial Statements as of and for the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, and Independent Auditors' Report
According to GAO’s strategic plan, it will reduce costs of operations, in part, by leveraging cloud-based technologies. Transferring data into the cloud (data ingress) is often free to users; however, some providers charge data egress fees for accessing data or transferring it out of the cloud. Despite the minimal costs GAO has incurred for data egress, opportunities exist for GAO to improve its monitoring and cost estimating processes for cloud services.
The OIG found that, due to other priorities, GAO did not establish formal procedures implementing cloud cost management policies such as instituting and reviewing budget threshold alerts and cloud service usage reports. Due to the lack of procedures, GAO may not fully meet its strategic objective related to managing and reducing the cost of its cloud-based technologies in the future.
The OIG also found that GAO officials did not include data egress fees in a major system’s cost estimate and did not document the exclusion because they deemed data egress fees minimal. As a result, GAO may not be fully aware of the total costs for its cloud initiatives, which could impact its ability to implement new projects and the operation and maintenance of existing initiatives.
Why the OIG Did This Audit
The OIG conducted this audit to (1) describe GAO’s efforts to address data egress fees in procuring cloud services and (2) assess the extent to which the estimated costs of GAO’s cloud services programs quantify data egress fees.
Recommendations
GAO concurred with the OIG’s recommendations to (1) establish cost management procedures for its cloud systems, including addressing data egress fees and the implementation and review of alerts and reports, and (2) develop an oversight mechanism to ensure that all fees, including data egress fees, are quantified in the cost estimate, or the exclusion of any costs is documented.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) inspected two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offices to assess inventory and information security controls for excessing USDA’s computer equipment. OIG’s objectives were to determine whether USDA is effectively managing excess equipment in its inventory and whether controls exist to provide reasonable assurance that USDA has adequate security over its excessed equipment.
