UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

OFFICE OF

INSPECTOR GENERAL

July 8, 2022

Wendy Laguarda

Inspector General

Farm Credit Administration

Office of Inspector General

1501 Farm Credit Drive 

McLean, VA 22102

Dear Ms. Laguarda, 

Attached is the external peer review report from our peer review of the Farm Credit

Administration Office of Inspector General inspection and evaluation organization, conducted 

in accordance with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE)

Guide for Conducting External Peer Reviews of Inspection and Evaluation Organizations of 

Federal Offices of Inspector General. We assessed the extent to which the Farm Credit 

Administration’s Office of Inspector General complied with CIGIE Quality Standards for 

Inspection and Evaluation standards, December 2020 (Blue Book). On July 6, 2022, we 

provided you with a draft of the report for your review and comment. We included your July 7,

2022, response as Enclosure 2 in the attached external peer review report. 

We appreciate the cooperation and courtesies extended to us during the review. If you have 

any questions, please contact me or Kelli Brown-Barnes, Acting Deputy Inspector General for

Audits, Evaluations, and Special Projects.

Respectfully,

Rebecca L. Sharek

Acting Inspector General 

Enclosures

cc: Sonya Cerne, Assistant Inspector General for Audits, Inspections, and Evaluations, 

Office of Inspector General, Farm Credit Administration

Katherine Reilly, Counsel to the Inspector General, Office of Inspector General, 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Kelli Brown-Barnes, Acting Deputy Inspector General for Audits, Evaluations, and

Special Projects, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Securities and Exchange

Commission
 

 UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 OFFICE OF

INSPECTOR GENERAL

External Peer Review Report 

July 8, 2022

To: Wendy R. Laguarda, Inspector General 

Farm Credit Administration

This required external peer review was conducted in accordance with the Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Inspection and Evaluation Committee guidance as 

contained in the CIGIE Guide for Conducting External Peer Reviews of Inspection and Evaluation 

Organizations of Federal Offices of Inspector General (December 2021). The peer review was 

conducted from April 25 through July 8, 2022.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Inspector General Review Team (Review 

Team) assessed the extent to which the Farm Credit Administration Office of Inspector General (FCA 

OIG) complied with the CIGIE Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation, December 2020 (Blue 

Book). This assessment included a review of FCA OIG’s internal policies and procedures (FCA OIG 

Directive 3200, Audit, Inspection, and Evaluation Manual, July 16, 2021) implementing the Blue Book 

standards. It also included a review of selected inspection and evaluation reports issued between 

September 2019 and March 2022 to determine whether the reports complied with the Blue Book 

standards and FCA OIG’s internal policies and procedures. See Enclosure 1 for an overview of the 

Review Team’s scope and methodology for conducting the peer review.

Overall Conclusion

The Review Team determined that FCA OIG’s policies and procedures generally were consistent with

the Blue Book standards addressed in the external peer review. The two reports reviewed generally 

complied with the Blue Book standards and FCA OIG’s policies and procedures. 

We did not prepare a Letter of Comment because we did not identify any instances of noncompliance 

with Blue Book standards and, therefore, did not make recommendations to FCA OIG. We included 

your response to the draft of our external peer review report as Enclosure 2. 

Respectfully,

Rebecca L. Sharek

Acting Inspector General 

Enclosures (As stated)
Ms. Laguarda

July 8, 2022

Page 2 

Enclosure 1. Scope and Methodology

The peer review period was September 2019 to March 2022. FCA OIG published six inspection and 

evaluation reports during the period. The Review Team selected the following two reports for review: 

1. Farm Credit Administration’s Compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 

for Fiscal Year 2021, Report No. I-22-02 (March 23, 2022); and

2. The Farm Credit Administration’s Property Management Program, Report No. I-21-03 

(December 7, 2021).

The Review Team selected these two reports because the inspections were issued under the 

revised December 2020 Blue Book standards and FCA OIG’s policies and procedures, revised in 

July 2021. The Review Team concluded that these two reports would be representative of FCA 

OIG’s current inspection and evaluation activities. 

The Review Team conducted all aspects of the peer review remotely because of the U.S. Securities 

and Exchange Commission’s operating posture related to the Coronavirus Disease of 2019. The

Review Team interviewed FCA OIG officials, observed supporting workpapers and project files 

through video conferences, and obtained relevant supporting documents via e-mail. The Review 

Team had no constraints on its ability to exercise professional judgment and no limitations on or 

impairments to independence.
Ms. Laguarda

July 8, 2022

Page 3 

Enclosure 2. FCA OIG Comments to Draft External Peer Review Report