Approved for public release, 21-143

2 0 2 0

Semiannual Report

to Congress

Office of Inspector General

April 1 - 30 September 2020
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CONTENTS

Overview 1

Resources and Organization 1

Counsel to the Inspector General 3

Audit 3

Inspections 3

Investigations 4

Summaries of Audits 5

Completed 5

(U) Ongoing 6

Summaries of Inspections 9

Completed 9

Ongoing 9

Summaries of Investigations 11

Judicial Actions and Prosecutions 11

Cases Involving Senior Government Officials

(Substantiated) 11

Cases Involving Senior Government Officials 

(Unsubstantiated) 11

Whistleblower Retaliation 11

Time and Attendance Fraud 12

Contractor Labor Mischarging 12

Other Noteworthy Investigations 13

Criminal Investigations 13
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Fraud Analytics Support Team 14

Completed 14

Ongoing 16

New 17

Appendix A. Status of Audit and Inspection

Recommendations 18

Table A-1. Open and Closed OIG

Recommendations as of 31 March 2020 18

Table A-2. OIG Recommendations for 

Corrective Action, Current Reporting Period

1 April 2020 to 30 September 2020 23

Table A-3. Recommendations for Corrective

Action Not Yet Completed, Reporting Periods

Before 1 April 2020 24

Table A-4. Financial Results from Reports 

Issued During Reporting Period, 1 April 2020-

30 September 2020 39

Table A-5. Status of Recommendations 

That Questioned Costs 40

Table A-6. Status of Recommendations That 

Funds Be Put to Better Use 41

Table A-7. Management Decisions Regarding 

OIG Recommendations in Reports Issued Before 

1 April 2020 41

Statutory Reporting 42

Information or Assistance Refused by NGA 42

Significant Revised Management Decisions 42

OIG Disagreement with Significant 

Management Decision 42

Compliance with Federal Financial 

Management Improvement Act of 1996 42
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Attempts to Interfere with the 

IG’s Independence 43

Public Disclosure (Closed But Undisclosed

Audits, Inspections, Investigations) 43

Peer Reviews 43

Appendix B. Investigative Metrics 44

Table B-1. Number of Cases Referred for 

Criminal or Civil Prosecution, During Reporting 

Period 44

Table B-2. Judicial Actions, During Reporting

Period 44

Table B-3. Criminal Prosecutions and Referrals,

During Reporting Period 44

Table B-4. Investigations of Unauthorized 

Public Disclosures of Classified Information 45

Appendix C. Index of Reporting Requirements 46

Appendix D. Abbreviations 47
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OVERVIEW

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a 

Department of Defense combat-support agency and a 

member of the Intelligence Community (IC). The Agency 

receives guidance and oversight from DoD, Office of the 

Director of National Intelligence, and Congress. NGA 

provides geospatial intelligence—GEOINT—that supports 

US national security and defense, as well as humanitarian 

assistance and disaster relief, and informs national policy 

decisions.

The mission of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is to conduct independent and objective 

audits, inspections, and investigations to strengthen the effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity of 

NGA programs and operations. 

We undertake and perform our assessments of NGA’s worldwide programs and operations in 

accordance with the Inspector General Act (IG) of 1978, as amended, and in compliance with the 

standards of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency. 

The OIG also serves as the principal NGA agent responsible for investigating potential violations 

of law, rule, or regulation, as well as incidents of gross mismanagement, gross misconduct, abuse 

of authority, and denial of due process. In addition, the OIG performs the NGA external liaison 

function for federal, state, and local Inspectors General and Congressional oversight of

IG-related matters. The OIG is NGA’s liaison to external law enforcement agencies, such as the 

FBI.

RESOURCES AND ORGANIZATION

The OIG is authorized 60 billets, and as of 30 September 2020, 57 employees were on board.

The OIG staff is allocated among three core divisions—Audit, Inspections, and Investigations—

and a support function—the Plans and Programs Division. A Counsel and Senior Advisor report 

directly to the IG.

The Deputy IG is the head of the IG Career Service (IGCS). The IGCS was established to protect 

IG personnel from undue outside influence in recruiting, hiring, development, and promotion. 

The IGCS provides career development, training, and assignments management for the IG 

professionals. The IGCS has a dedicated Career Service Manager (Human Resource 

Professional) who reports directly to the Deputy IG.
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The IGCS focused on creating career progression roadmaps and developing deep IG expertise

and career broadening through rotational assignments across the IG community. The goal of the 

IGCS is to strengthen core IG competencies, broaden career opportunities, and safeguard 

independence.

The IGCS emphasized partnering across the IG community with a focus on sharing lessons 

learned. Engagements highlighted the IG best practices across collaboration partnerships. The 

IGCS created a career progression roadmap that assists IG professionals in identifying career 

planning goals to enhance their career development. The guide sets a framework for individual 

or supervisory conversations about experience, exposure, and education needs for future growth 

in the seven occupational work roles in the IGCS. The IGCS Career Resource Guide was broadly 

shared across the IG Community and highlighted by the CIGIE and the IC IG communities as a 

best practice across their respective communities. The IGCS also took a leading role in 

expanding mentoring opportunities across the IG community during this period. IGCS members 

led in the CIGIE mentoring sub-group and spearheaded a recruiting event for mentors during the 

CIGIE annual conference.

Figure 1. OIG Organization Chart

Inspector General

Deputy 

Inspector General 

(IG Career Service Head)

Assistant

Inspector General

for Audit

Assistant

Inspector General 

for Inspections

Assistant 

Inspector General

for Investigations

Fraud Analytics 

Support Team

Assistant Inspector 

General for

Plans and Programs

(Chief of Staff)

IG Career Service 

Manager Counsel

OIG Senior Advisor
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COUNSEL TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

The Counsel to the Inspector General is an in-house legal asset. Counsel provides legal advice 

directly to the IG and provides legal assistance to all OIG elements. Counsel also represents the 

OIG in litigation arising out of or affecting OIG operations, manages the OIG legislative and 

regulatory review, and reviews all plans, investigations, and final reports for legal sufficiency. 

On behalf of the IG and OIG, the Counsel liaises with, among others, DoD and IC IG counsels, 

DoD IG, federal and state prosecutors, NGA’s Office of General Counsel (OGC), and other 

NGA components.

SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

The Senior Advisor serves as Executive Advisor to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector 

General. The Senior Advisor focuses on OIG operational activities and mission accomplishment 

including providing advice and leadership on substantive and technical issues, optimizing 

partnerships (internal and external), and improving effectiveness and efficiency. In addition, the 

Senior Advisor champions the design and implementation of long-range strategies for 

reimagining and transforming OIG to meet the organization’s vision, mission, and goals.

AUDIT

The Audit Division provides independent and 

objective audits and promotes the effectiveness, 

efficiency, and accountability of NGA programs and 

operations. Audits are conducted in accordance with 

generally accepted government auditing standards and 

the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended. Audit 

findings and recommendations seek to reduce costs; 

improve overall performance; and eliminate fraud, 

waste, and abuse. The recommendations resulting 

from the projects offer insight for management, help improve internal controls, and ensure 

compliance with laws, regulation, and policy. 

INSPECTIONS

The Inspections Division has responsibility for the evaluation, review, and analysis of NGA’s 

programs and activities, including authorities, policies, procedures, and controls. The division

provides independent assessment of the reliability of information, compliance with regulations 

and policies, management of resources, and achievement of program results. Inspections are 

conducted in accordance with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
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(CIGIE) Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation and the IG Act of 1978, as amended, 

and provide information that is timely, credible, and useful for agency managers, policy makers,

and others. The recommendations resulting from the projects offer insight for management and

help improve effectiveness and efficiency of agency operations and programs.

INVESTIGATIONS

The Investigations Division conducts independent administrative and criminal investigations of 

complaints and other information of possible violations of criminal and civil law. The division is 

the principal NGA agent for investigating potential violations of rule or regulation, as well as 

incidents of gross mismanagement, gross misconduct, abuse of authority, and denial of due 

process. The Investigations Division closed 18 cases this period, substantiating 6 (33 percent) of 

its cases involving time and attendance fraud, computer misuse, security, and travel, and 

recovered $27,980.

The division also incorporates the Fraud Analytics Support Team (FAST), which conducts an 

agency-wide fraud detection program using data mining and forensic analyses tools. FAST also 

identifies policy violations and weaknesses in internal and management controls. Systemic 

findings are referred to the Inspections Division or Audit Division for further analysis and 

review. The funds recovered involve time and attendance fraud, contractor labor mischarging, 

and contractor self-disclosure cases.

The division is included in the GAO Whistleblower in the IC review, which includes a review of 

the DIA, NRO, CIA, IC IG, NSA, and NGA processes and procedures in handling whistleblower 

complaints. The GAO review is complete and NGA has responded to the GAO report.
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SUMMARIES OF AUDITS

COMPLETED

Audit of NGA’s Supply Chain Risk Management, Report No. OIGA 20-06, issued 18 June 

2020

Overview. The objective of this audit was to determine whether the NGA Supply Chain Risk 

Management program is effectively managed in accordance with federal, DoD, Intelligence 

Community, and other applicable policy and guidance. 

Findings. NGA did not effectively manage the Supply Chain Risk Management program in 

accordance with established requirements. Specifically, NGA did not implement requirements in 

the SECURE Technology Act, Intelligence Community Directive 731, Committee on National 

Security Systems Directive 505, and DoD Instruction 5200.44. 

Results. The report contains six recommendations to strengthen NGA’s supply chain risk 

management program and internal controls. The recommendations focus on establishing an 

office of primary responsibility, assessing program resources, establishing policies and 

procedures that implement program requirements, and establishing appropriate training 

programs.

Audit of NGA’s Management of the Implementation of the Agile Software Development 

Methodology, Memorandum U-136-20/OIG, issued 29 July 2020

Overview. The objective of this audit was to determine whether NGA is effectively managing the 

implementation of Agile software development methodology. 

Findings. We made observations based on interviews and review of contract and program 

documentation during the audit planning phase. In May 2020, NGA issued its Technology 

Strategy and, if effectively implemented, the strategy will address several of our observations.

Results. After careful evaluation, we determined it impractical to continue the interviews or 

access the required classified documents necessary to complete this audit under the current 

COVID-19 operating environment. Therefore, we terminated the audit and issued a 

memorandum to NGA management to communicate our observations and suggestions.
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ONGOING

Audit of NGA’s Permanent Duty Travel Program, Project No. 19-A03

Overview. The objective of this audit is to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of NGA’s 

permanent duty travel program. Specifically, the audit will determine whether NGA complied 

with applicable laws and regulations governing reimbursement for permanent duty travel.

Status. The project, announced in March 2019, is 95 percent complete. OIGA plans to issue a 

report in October 2020.

Audit of Contractor Personnel Qualifications, Project No. 19-A06

Overview. The objective of this audit is to determine whether NGA ensures its contractors 

provide qualified personnel commensurate with labor category requirements and rates 

established in their contracts. 

Status. The project, announced in April 2019, is 95 percent complete. OIGA plans to issue a 

report in October 2020.

FY2020 Federal Information Security Modernization Act Evaluation of the NGA 

Information Security Program, Project No. 20-A02

Overview. OIG contracted KPMG LLP, an independent public accounting firm, to perform the 

FY2020 evaluation required by FISMA. The overall objectives of the evaluation are to assess 

NGA’s information security program in accordance with the IG FISMA reporting metrics issued 

by the Department of Homeland Security and determine whether NGA implemented 

recommendations from the prior year’s evaluation. The evaluation will include testing a sample 

of information systems to support the IG metrics.

Status. The project, announced in January 2020, is 75 percent complete. OIGA plans to issue the 

final external metrics report to the Intelligence Community Inspector General in October 2020,

and the detailed internal report to NGA management in January 2021.

Audit of NGA’s Award Fee Contracts, Project No. 20-A03

Overview. The objective of this audit is to assess NGA’s management of award fee contracts. 

Specifically, we will evaluate the adequacy and appropriateness of the (1) process used to assess 

contractor performance, (2) justification for fees awarded, and (3) obligation of award fees. 

Status. The project, announced in February 2020, is 50 percent complete. OIGA plans to issue a 

report in March 2021.
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Evaluation of NGA’s Information Security Continuous Monitoring Program, Project No. 

20-A04

Overview. OIG contracted KPMG LLP to conduct an evaluation of NGA’s information security 

continuous monitoring (ISCM) program. Specifically, KPMG will determine why NGA has not 

consistently implemented an ISCM program.

Status. The project, announced in March 2020, is 65 percent complete. KPMG’s report is 

expected to be issued in January 2021.

Audit of NGA’s Classified Laptop Inventory, Project No. 20-A05

Overview. The objective of this audit is to determine whether NGA’s classified laptop inventory 

is managed in accordance with federal, DoD, and NGA requirements.

Status. The project, announced in February 2020, is 40 percent complete. OIGA plans to issue a 

report in April 2021.

Audit of the NGA Financial Statements for FY2020, Project No. 20-A06

Overview. OIGA contracted KPMG LLP, an independent public accounting firm, to audit 

NGA’s FY2020 financial statements. The audit objective is to determine whether NGA’s 

financial statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with US 

generally accepted accounting principles. To meet requirements for federal financial statement 

audits, KPMG is also assessing internal control over financial reporting and performing tests to 

determine whether NGA complied with applicable provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and 

grant agreements.

KPMG is following up on the status of management’s corrective actions to address the findings 

and recommendations communicated in the Independent Auditors’ Report on the NGA Financial 

Statements for FYs 2019 and 2018 (Report No. OIGA 20-03), and the Independent Auditors’ 

Management Letter for the FY2019 Financial Statement Audit (Report No. OIGA 20-04).

Status. The project, announced in February 2020, is 70 percent complete. KPMG’s report will be 

issued no later than 16 November 2020. If necessary, a management letter will be issued by 

31 December 2020.
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Audit of NGA’s Purchase Card Program, Project No. 20-A07

Overview. The objectives of this audit are to determine whether: (1) NGA’s internal controls over 

the purchase card program are properly designed and implemented, and operating effectively to 

prevent abuse or misuse, and (2) NGA government purchase card transactions are valid, properly 

authorized and supported.

Status. The project, announced in March 2020, is 25 percent complete. OIGA plans to issue a 

report in April 2021.

External Peer Review of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Office of Inspector General, 

Audit Organization, Project No. 20-A08

Overview. The objectives of the review are to determine whether the Defense Intelligence Agency, 

OIG, Audit Organization’s quality control system is suitably designed, and whether the audit 

organization is complying with its quality control system in order to provide itself with reasonable 

assurance of conformance with applicable professional standards and legal and regulatory 

requirements. The review will also determine whether controls over monitoring of contracted 

engagements performed by independent public accounting firms, where the independent public 

accounting firm serves as the auditor, are suitably designed and complied with. Audit 

organizations that perform audits in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 

standards are required to undergo an external peer review at least once every three years. 

Status. The project, announced in June 2020, is 50 percent complete. OIGA plans to issue a 

report in December 2020.
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SUMMARIES OF INSPECTIONS

COMPLETED

Due to delays resulting from the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and division 

resources challenges, we did not issue any inspection reports during this reporting period.

ONGOING

Inspection of GEOINT Standards, Project No. II-19-01

Overview. The NGA Director, as Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) Functional Manager (GFM), 

established the National System of Geospatial-Intelligence (NSG) GFM Standards Assessment 

program, which defines and implements NSG methods and processes to assess and assert 

information technology (IT) and National Security Systems (NSS) conformance with GEOINT 

data and service standards within the DoD and the IC. During our 2019 annual planning process, 

we learned of potential negative effects resulting from NGA Career Service manpower initiatives 

and constrained contract funding for the GEOINT Standards program. Management raised 

concerns that the Career Service initiatives created a critical shortfall in qualified cadre. 

Additionally, we learned of concerns regarding possible reductions to the GEOINT standardsrelated contract funding. The overall objective of the inspection is to assess whether the GEOINT 

Standards program is currently organized, staffed, and resourced to effectively fulfill its GFM 

responsibilities.

Status. The final report was delayed due to unplanned attrition in the Inspections Division staff 

and a reduced manning profile for a temporary period. Additional delays occurred due to the 

COVID-19 pandemic. The report is planned for publication in December 2020.

Inspection of NGA’s Contract Writing System, Project No. QL-19-02

Overview. NGA contract data must be completed and tracked in a system that is searchable.

Currently, NGA contract data is housed in a system called PRISM. We received complaints that 

contract data is incomplete and kept on manual spreadsheets. In addition, the ability for NGA’s 

Office of Contract Services (OCS) and program offices to readily track, obtain metrics, and 

evaluate contracts during the lifecycle cannot be effectively performed without a standardized 

contract writing system. The overall objective of this inspection is to determine whether NGA’s 

contract writing system delivers the capability to provide adequate contract data for principal 

users. Specifically, we will determine whether the current NGA contract writing system 
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sufficiently allows for storage, discoverability, and retrieval of required contract documentation 

and whether the planned system will adequately store, manage, and make accessible all required 

contract information, as required by Federal Acquisition Regulation §4.8, “Government Contract 

Files.”

Status. The final report was delayed due to unplanned attrition in the Inspections Division staff 

and a reduced manning profile for a temporary period. Additional delays occurred due to the 

COVID-19 pandemic. The report is planned for publication in November 2020.

Inspection of the NGA Promotion Process, Project No. II-20-01

Overview. Beginning in 2016, NGA began transitioning to a new promotion process, which 

differs significantly from the system that had been in place. The new promotion process was 

fully implemented in 2019. The overall objective of this inspection is to determine whether the 

current promotion process is effective and efficient and to evaluate HD’s oversight of the 

promotion process. Specific subobjectives are to assess the process and ascertain any needed 

improvements, cost effectiveness in terms of money and manpower, and whether the Human 

Development Directorate’s measures of success map to the NGA Strategic Goals.

Status. The final report was planned for publication in July 2020; however, the inspection was 

delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and significant personnel changes. Publication is 

planned for January 2021.

Inspection of NGA’s Telework Policy, Project No. LS-20-01

Overview. OIG will conduct several phased inspections evaluating NGA’s planning, 

preparedness, response, and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. These inspections will 

inform leadership and provide opportunities to improve on NGA’s future pandemic or 

emergency response. The first of five reviews focuses on the agency’s telework policy and 

posture. The objectives of this inspection are to determine and evaluate NGA’s Telework Policy 

posture prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to determine and assess NGA’s application of US 

Government Telework Policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Status. The project was announced in September 2020 and is in the planning phase. Publication 

is planned for January 2021.
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SUMMARIES OF INVESTIGATIONS

As of 30 September, the Investigations Division (OIGI) has closed 18 cases, 

six (or 33 percent) of which were substantiated, opened 15 new cases, and 

has 65 ongoing investigations.1

JUDICIAL ACTIONS AND PROSECUTIONS

OIGI has nothing to report during this period.

CASES INVOLVING SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS 

(SUBSTANTIATED)

OIGI has 14 pending investigations on senior officials. During this period, OIGI did not 

complete any investigations that substantiated allegations against senior government officials.

OIGI provided the DoD OIG the required notification of these allegations and cases.

CASES INVOLVING SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS 

(UNSUBSTANTIATED)

The DoD OIG was provided appropriate notification of the following allegations and cases.

OIG Case No. 19-008, closed September 2020

A senior government official, who was the Source Selection Authority for a competitive 

contract, was alleged to have had an improper relationship with a bidder; not substantiated.

OIG Case No. 19-055, closed April 2020

A senior government official, alleged that NGA employed discriminatory practices by using 

annual performance scores as a discriminator to make final promotion decisions. Additionally, 

the senior government official alleged reprisal after questioning senior leadership regarding the 

official’s concerns. The allegations were not substantiated.

 

1 As of 31 March 2020, OIGI had 70 open cases. During this reporting period, 17 of those cases have been closed; 

15 new cases have been opened, and one of those new cases have been closed for a total of 18 closed cases. An 

additional two cases are in closed-pending status andare not included in the 65 ongoing cases.
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WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIATION

OIGI closed three whistleblower reprisal cases, which are summarized below.

OIG Case No. 19-055, closed April 2020

A senior government official alleged that NGA employed discriminatory practices by using 

annual performance scores as a discriminator to make final promotion decisions. Additionally, 

the senior government official alleged reprisal after questioning senior leadership regarding the 

official’s concerns. The allegations were not substantiated. 

OIG Case No. 19-126, closed June 2020

OIGI investigated an allegation of retaliation against a Pay Band 3 analyst by a supervisor for 

reporting a hostile work environment and bullying to the NGA Office of Diversity and EEO and 

the NGA Ombudsman. The analyst reported that the performance appraisal was negatively 

impacted and that the analyst had to relocate to a different state to avoid the alleged hostile 

environment. The OIGI investigation concluded that reprisal did not occur. These findings were 

reported to the analyst. 

OIG Case No. 20-067, closed August 2020

OIGI opened a case to address an allegation that a Pay Band 3 employee received a lower 

performance appraisal score from their second-line supervisor for grieving a letter of reprimand. 

The OIGI investigation concluded that reprisal did not occur. The finding was reported to the 

employee.

TIME AND ATTENDANCE FRAUD

OIGI continued to address matters of significant time and attendance 

fraud through investigations. An example of one such case follows 

below. Many lesser time and attendance issues are handled directly 

with management, who ensures that recovery of funds and other 

remedies are accomplished.

OIG Case No. 19-014, closed September 2020

OIGI received an allegation that a Pay Band 3 data management specialist slept at their desk and 

used government resources to manage a personal business. OIG investigators found evidence to 

support the allegation. The value of this shortage was $14,108.83. The employee received a 

14-day suspension without pay and actions were initiated to recover these funds.
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CONTRACTOR LABOR MISCHARGING

OIGI continued to address issues of contractor labor mischarging through outreach efforts with 

industry and a fraud survey that was provided to the NGA workforce. One labor mischarging 

case, summarized below, resulted in the recovery of funds.

OIG Case No. 20-081, closed August 2020

OIGI opened a case after receiving a report from an NGA contractor that one of its employees 

assigned to NGA mischarged 25.4 hours of labor, valued at $1,313.64. The contractor terminated 

the employee, and OIGI ensured that the NGA Office of Contract Services was notified of the 

disclosure and that the money was credited back to NGA. 

OTHER NOTEWORTHY INVESTIGATIONS

OIG Case No. 18-047, closed September 2020

OIGI investigated allegations that an NGA employee falsified hiring panel documents, which 

resulted in the government paying travel expenses to conduct in-person interviews for applicants 

who were not qualified. The investigation disclosed evidence of this activity, and the employee 

resigned before any disciplinary action was taken.

OIG Case No. 19-016, closed September 2020

The OIGI investigated allegations that an NGA imagery analyst and an NGA contractor 

employee engaged in inappropriate and unprofessional activity in the workplace and fraudulently 

reported hours worked on time sheets. Evidence showed that they did engage in an inappropriate 

relationship and inappropriate activity at NGA. The contractor was found to have reported 58 

hours on time sheets that were not worked. The contractor’s employer reimbursed the 

government $4,343.48 for the 58 hours not worked. Both parties inappropriately misused NGA 

communication systems and equipment. The imagery analyst received a 14-day suspension 

without pay.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

During this period, OIGI worked on investigations with the Defense Criminal Investigative 

Service, other criminal investigative agencies, and Department of Justice attorneys. The issues 

included false claims, cost mischarging, and conflicts of interest.
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FRAUD ANALYTICS SUPPORT TEAM 

FAST is leveraging data science to (1) detect and deter fraud, waste, and abuse through data 

science and (2) provide forensic analysis support to the Investigations Division. FAST provides 

the basis for restitution and recovery of dollars lost due to fraud, waste, and abuse so that 

corrective actions can be taken to address employee misconduct. 

COMPLETED

Proactive Time and Attendance/Labor Mischarges, Project No. F20-001

The Proactive Time and Attendance and Labor Mischarge (P-TA/LM) project’s primary 

objective is to detect false claims, and its secondary objective is to deter future false claims 

against the government. The P-TA/LM model identified 23 possible timecard abusers. After 

preliminary analysis, seven cases were opened, four have been closed as unsubstantiated, and 

three were found to be substantiated.

OIG Annual Plan Support - Analysis of FY 2019 Employee Complaints, Project No. 

F20-002

In support of the FY 2021 OIG Annual Plan, FAST initiated a text analysis project of the OIG’s 

Hotline complaints received in FY2020 to date. Hotline complaints usually regard individual 

misconduct, but an analysis of all complaints received in FY2020 revealed several systemic 

issues that were considered for the Annual Plan.

System of Award Management (SAM) Exclusion List, Project No. F20-004

SAM is the registration system vendors must use to do business with the Federal Government. 

FAST initiated a project to check NGA vendors against the SAM exclusion list. FAST developed 

a script to cross reference over 150,000 companies and individuals disbarred from doing business 

with the Federal Government with tens-of-thousands of contractors and companies contracted by 

NGA. This effort ensured that no disbarred companies or individuals were doing business with 

NGA, thereby, significantly lowering the agency’s risk of fraudulent activity and ensuring 

internal controls are functioning as intended.

FY2020 Analysis of NGA Employee Complaints for Systemic Issues, Project No. F20 005

OIG Hotline complaints typically involve allegations of employee misconduct; however, FAST 

has initiated an annual review of OIG Hotline complaints for potential systemic issues as part of 

its support to the OIG Annual Audit and Inspections Plan process. FAST cross-referenced 
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keywords derived from the FY2021 proposed Audit and Inspection Plan with FY19 and FY20 

intakes and preformed unsupervised topic modeling on OIGI complaints to identify any systemic 

issues present and inform the annual planning process. FAST developed a dashboard to present 

results in an interactive manner and facilitate decision making by assistant inspectors general, the 

deputy IG and the IG.

Inspections Support – Employee Engagement Survey Text Analytics, Project No. F20 007

FAST conducted an analysis of NGA Employee Engagement Survey responses to identify 

potential systemic issues related to NGA Career Services and employee promotions. This 

collaborative effort resulted in the identification of several topics that may be indicative of 

systemic issues for inspection in the future.

FY2019 Proactive Government Purchase Card Analytics, Project No. F20-008

FAST conducted an annual review of Government Purchase Card (GPC) transactions made in 

FY2019 for indicators of fraud, waste, or misuse. FAST identified 104 high-risk transactions for 

further review. FAST requested supporting documentation and justification for all questionable 

purchases from GPC program managers. After further review, FAST concluded that the Office 

of Contract Services has effective procedures in place to monitor GPC purchases.

FY2020 NGA OIG Open Recommendations Dashboard, Project No. F20-009

This dashboard provides NGA management a status of all OIG open recommendations. The 

dashboard also shows the number of open recommendations by responsible NGA organization 

and by age of recommendations. 

Figure 2. Analysis of Open Recommendations from March 2020 to September 2020
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Figure 3. Open Recommendations Dashboard as of September 2020

Detection of Toxic Employee Chats, Project No. F20-011

FAST developed a model that classifies employee chats on IC-wide platforms as instances of 

harassment, employee misconduct, or Hatch Act violations with an 87-percent accuracy. This 

model eliminates the need for investigators to manually review thousands of comments for 

computer misuse or employee misconduct cases and reduces the effort from approximately 40 

hours to two hours per case.

Predictive Model: Case Substantiation, Project No. F20-012

FAST developed and deployed a predictive model that utilizes natural language processing to 

retrieve relevant information from complaint intakes to predict complaint substantiation with an 

80-percent accuracy. The model aims to augment the decision making process at initial case 

selection to improve investigative targeting, increase the number of medium-/high-impact cases, 

and improve investigative resource allocation. The model will increase substantiation rate by 

29 percent and result in an average annual savings of $611,000 in investigative resources.

9/30/2020
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ONGOING

Proactive Contract Fraud Detection Model, Project No. F20-003

Contracts pose one of the highest risks for fraud at NGA. In response, FAST initiated an annual 

review of NGA contracts. The objective of this project was to identify high-risk contracts based 

on risk rankings derived from available data and outlier detection methods. The goal is to find 

the outliers in the data and identify contracts with potential fraud, waste, and abuse. This project 

is expected to be completed by September 2021. 

FY2019 Proactive Government Travel Charge Card Analytics, Project No. F20-006

The OIG FAST will perform an annual review of Government Travel Charge Card (GTCC) 

transactions made in FY2019 and FY2020 for indicators of misuse. FAST will refer misuse cases 

to management for action and to NGA’s GTCC Team for remedial action. This project is 

expected to be completed by September 2021.

Paycheck Protection Program Loan Fraud Proactive Project, Project No. F20-010

FAST is currently collaborating with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service to develop a 

model to proactively detect Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud by NGA contracting 

companies. This project is expected to be completed by September 2021.

NEW

FY2021 NGA OIG Strategic Implementation Plan Dashboard, Project No. F21-001

FAST will develop an interactive dashboard to track the progress of OIG strategic goals. This 

dashboard aims to capture key performance indicators associated with each goal, will help ensure 

the on-time delivery of strategic objectives, and enable executive decision making. This project 

is expected to be completed by September 2021.
18

APPENDIX A. STATUS OF AUDIT AND INSPECTION 

RECOMMENDATIONS

This appendix includes seven tables that present the status of recommendations according to 

various parameters.

Table A-1. Open and Closed OIG Recommendations as of 30 September 2020

This table provides the number of NGA OIG and DoD OIG audit and inspection 

recommendations issued to NGA management that were closed or remained open at the end of 

the reporting period. This table does not include recommendations from the Financial Statement 

Audit (41 open) and FISMA evaluation (42 open). Recommendations that closed prior to 1 April 

2020 are not included.

Recommendations

Report Title, Number, Date No. Closed No. Open

Audit of Foreign Travel, Report No. OIGA 16-13, September 2016 0 1

Objective: To determine whether management of foreign temporary duty (TDY) travel was effective and 

efficient. Specifically, the OIG determined whether NGA travelers and approving officials complied with 

applicable laws and regulations governing reimbursement for foreign TDY travel.

Audit of NGA’s Disposal of Electronic Waste, Report No.

OIGA 17-06, March 2017 0 3

Objective: To determine whether NGA sanitized and disposed of e-waste in accordance with IC, DoD, and 

NGA policies and procedures.

Audit of NGA’s Information Assurance Certification Program, 

Report No. OIGA17-09, June 2017 1 0

Objective: To determine whether the NGA workforce performing information assurance functions have met 

appropriate certification requirements in accordance with DoD and NGA policies and procedures.
19

Recommendations

Report Title, Number, Date No. Closed No. Open

Audit of NGA’s Security Financial Disclosure Program, Report No. 

OIGA18-06, July 2018 1 4

Objective: To determine whether the NGA Security Financial Disclosure Program is effectively managed in 

accordance with applicable Federal, DoD, and NGA policy and guidance.

Audit of NGA’s Management of the Defense Acquisition Workforce 

Improvement Act (DAWIA) Program, Report No. OIGA19-05, 

March 2019

1 1

Objective: To determine whether NGA effectively and efficiently managed the DAWIA Program.

Audit of NGA’s Support to US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) 

Mission Requirements, Report No. OIGA19-06, June 2019 2 5

Objective: To determine whether NGA effectively and efficiently satisfied STRATCOM requirements.

Audit of NGA’s Funds Reprogramming Activity, Report No. 

OIGA19-07, September 2019 0 4

Objective: To (1) assess NGA funds reprogramming activity for gaps in compliance with applicable laws, 

regulations, policies, and procedures and (2) provide information on the root cause of reprogramming 

activities.

Audit of NGA’s Analysis Event Response for National Security and 

Natural Disasters, Report No. OIGA 20-05, March 2020 0 7

Objective: To determine whether Analysis component-related crisis and event response plans were in place, 

executed, and managed effectively. Specifically, we determined whether the execution and management of 

those plans facilitated coordination among stakeholders, standardization of procedures where practical, 

reduction in duplication of efforts, and efficient allocation of available resources.

Audit of NGA’s Supply Chain Risk Management, Report No. OIGA 

20-06, June 2020 1 5

Objective: To determine whether the NGA Supply Chain Risk Management program was effectively 

managed in accordance with federal law, DoD, Intelligence Community, and other applicable policy and 

guidance.
20

Recommendations

Report Title, Number, Date No. Closed No. Open

Inspection of NGA’s Acquisition Function, Phase II: Human 

Capital, Report No. OIGE 16-03, November 2015 0 1

Objectives: To review NGA’s acquisition human capital policies and practices to evaluate whether NGA 

has developed and maintained a fully proficient acquisition workforce that is flexible and highly skilled 

across a range of management, technical, and business disciplines as outlined in OMB’s assessment guide. 

The subobjectives were to determine (1) whether NGA is conducting effective strategic human capital 

planning and (2) whether NGA is effectively and efficiently acquiring, developing, and retaining 

acquisition talent. 

Inspection of the CURATOR Program, Report No. OIGE 16-04, 

February 2016 0 3

Objectives: To determine compliance with its statement of capabilities. 

Review of the NGA Insider Threat Program, Report No. 

OIGE 16-05, February 2016 1 0

Objectives: To determine whether NGA’s Insider Threat Program complies with executive branch, DoD, 

and IC requirements. The subobjectives were aligned with the following six minimum standards established 

by the National Insider Threat Policy: (1) designation of senior official(s) and associated responsibilities; 

(2) information integration, analysis, and response; (3) insider-threat program personnel; (4) access the 

information; (5) monitoring user activity on networks; and (6) employee training and awareness. 

Review of NGA Safety of Navigation, Notice to Mariners, Report 

No. OIGE 16-06, May 2016 0 1

Objective: To assess the magnitude, primary causes, and impact of the backlog within NGA’s Safety of 

Navigation, Notice to Mariners Program.

Inspection of Structured Observation Management (SOM), Report 

No. OIGE 18-01, November 2017 0 3

Objective: To assess SOM implementation against oversight requirements, agency plans and goals, 

milestones, and customer requirements. Subobjectives of the inspection were: (1) determine the extent to 

which SOM has been implemented against the agency’s established plan; (b) determine if SOM is meeting 

customer needs; and (c) assess the implementation of the program with respect to established standards.
21

Recommendations

Report Title, Number, Date No. Closed No. Open

Inspection of NGA’s Office of Counterintelligence, Report 

No. OIGE 18-02, November 2017 0 1

Objective: To determine whether NGA’s counterintelligence program complies with DoD and IC policies 

and standards. The inspection also assessed the effectiveness, efficiency, and execution of 

counterintelligence processes and activities. Subobjectives of the inspection were to: (1) determine whether 

the Office of Counterintelligence programs and activities comply with DoD and IC policies and standards; 

(b) assess the Office of Counterintelligence program and organizational structure; and (c) assess the Office 

of Counterintelligence for effectiveness and efficiency.

Inspection of NGA’s Medical Services, Report No. OIGE 18-05, 

August 2018 0 10

Objective: To assess the effectiveness, efficiency, and compliance with oversight requirements of NGA’s 

medical services, including the deployer program, during the period of 2014 to 2017.

Inspection of NGA’s Insider Threat Program Case Management, 

Report No. OIGE 19-01, February 2019 0 10

Objective: To assess the NGA Insider Threat Program’s processes and procedures used for managing cases 

and complying with applicable laws, DoD, and IC policies.

Inspection of NGA’s GEOINT Services Initiative, Report No. OIGE 

19-02, February 2019 0 5

Objective: To assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of GEOINT Services against IC 

requirements; agency objectives, plans, and milestones; and assigned responsibilities. Specific 

subobjectives of the inspection were to determine the extent to which GEOINT Services has: (1) been 

effectively and efficiently implemented, and (2) effectively and efficiently fulfilled NGA's designated 

responsibilities of Geospatial Platform as a Service (GPaaS).

Quick Look Inspection Report of NGA Outposts Report No. OIGE19-05, September 2019 4 1

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of the NGA Outposts with respect to return on investment.
22

Recommendations

Report Title, Number, Date No. Closed No. Open

Inspection of NGA’s Acquisition Function, Phase III: Policies and 

Processes, Report No. OIGE 20-01, November 2019

0 5

Objectives: To assess NGA’s acquisition policies and processes to determine the effectiveness and 

efficiency of the Agency’s acquisition program management and compliance with oversight requirements. 

Specifically, we discovered the Agency’s acquisition policies and processes, assessed how well the policies 

and processes supported the Agency’s program managers in performing their duties, and assessed how the 

policies and processes supported the Agency’s ability to assess and monitor its own acquisition 

performance.

TOTAL 10 71
23

Table A-2. OIG Recommendations for Corrective Action, Current Reporting Period (1 April 

2020 – 30 September 2020)

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

Audit of NGA’s Supply Chain Risk 

Management, Report No. OIGA 

20-06, issued 18 June 2020

2. Develop a (Redacted) and implementation plan 

for instituting a SCRM program that complies 

with federal, DoD, and Intelligence Community 

laws and policy.

4. Ensure NGA policies and procedures are 

established that (Redacted) implement SCRM 

program requirements. Policies and procedures 

should include the requirements detailed in the 

SECURE Technology Act, Intelligence 

Community Directive 731, DoD Instruction 

5200.44, and DoD Chief Information Officer 

Memorandum, Guidance for the Procurement 

and Integration of Information and 

Communications Technology Components into 

Critical Information Systems and Networks, 24 

March 2016. Coverage should include 

responsibilities for criticality assessments, 

vulnerability assessments, threat assessments, 

impact analyses, and overall risk decisions.

A recommendation for corrective action is issued in response to a finding 

that a Federal standard is not being met; it is intended to bring the agency 

into compliance with the standard.
24

Table A-3. Recommendations for Corrective Action Not Yet Completed, Reporting Periods

Before 1 April 2020.

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

FY2019 Evaluation of the NGA 

Pursuant to the Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act, Report No. 

OIGA 20-02 (Internal Report), 

issued 5 November 2019

1.01 Develop and approve a process for the 

enforcement of HTTPS and HSTS for all 

current and future public facing websites. 

1.02 Implement the enforcement of HTTPS and 

HSTS on all public facing websites as required 

by policy.

2.01 Develop and implement an agency-wide 

continuous monitoring strategy in accordance 

with ODNI, CNSS, and NIST guidance.

2.02 Develop and implement a continuous 

monitoring policy and procedures in accordance 

with ODNI, CNSS, and NIST guidance.

2.03 Develop and implement ISCM plans in 

accordance with ODNI, CNSS, and NIST 

guidance.

2.04 Perform continuous monitoring over NGA IT 

security and performance metrics, and common 

and information system security controls in 

accordance with ODNI, CNSS, and NIST 

guidance.

3.01 Develop policies and procedures for security 

awareness and role-based training to identify 

the required trainings for persons with 

specialized responsibilities in accordance with 

ODNI, CNSS, and NIST guidance.

3.02 Provide and track role-based training for 

information security personnel in accordance 

with ODNI, CNSS, and NIST guidance. 
25

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

FY2019 Evaluation of the NGA 

Pursuant to the Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act, Report No. 

OIGA 20-02 (Internal Report), 

issued 5 November 2019 

(continued)

3.03 Develop policies and procedures for the 

execution of the cybersecurity workforce 

assessment.

3.04 Perform a cybersecurity workforce assessment 

to include all position assignments for the entire 

agency.

4.01 Finalize and approve the NGA Privacy Program 

Instruction and related Standard Operating 

Procedures (SOP) to define the monitoring and 

reporting of potential PII incidents and privacy 

role-based training requirements.

4.02 "Enforce the Privacy Program Directive and 

related Instruction to ensure: 

 a. Individuals with privacy responsibilities 

take required role-based privacy training. 

 b. PTAs and PIAs are completed and 

approved within the risk management 

information system’s body of evidence for 

monitoring the risk to the environment. 

 c. All potential privacy incidents are 

consistently monitored and reported to 

appropriate individuals and parties. 

4.03 Track all programs, information systems, and 

applications that collect and maintain PII.
26

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

FY2019 Evaluation of the NGA 

Pursuant to the Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act, Report No. 

OIGA 20-02 (Internal Report), 

issued 5 November 2019 

(continued)

5.01 "Consistently implement the internal control 

environment of external service providers, 

which may include:

• Complete the (Redacted) as required by the 

NGA Risk Management Framework process.

• Document applicable (Redacted) as noted 

within the ATO

• (Redacted) security impact levels for 

(Redacted)."

6.01 Establish notification, investigation, and 

reporting timelines for all defined incident 

categories and analyst groups.

6.02 Establish a training program for incident 

handlers to be trained within 30 working days 

of assuming an incident response role, when 

required by system changes or responsibility 

and annually thereafter.

6.03 Finalize the implementation of cyber tools for 

all traffic routed into the agency, to include the 

cloud.

6.04 Finalize cloud incident response procedures.

7.01 Establish a configuration controls process to 

ensure the SBUNet remote session timeout 

settings cannot be updated without proper 

approval and access, in accordance with NIST 

guidance and NGA requirements.

8.01 Establish and implement a (Redacted).

9.01 Ensure all systems in production have ISCPs 

approved by all required parties.
27

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

FY2019 Evaluation of the NGA 

Pursuant to the Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act, Report No. 

OIGA 20-02 (Internal Report), 

issued 5 November 2019 

(continued)

9.02 Ensure information system personnel with 

contingency planning responsibilities 

participate in ISCP exercises and document 

AARs and lessons learned per SPID.

9.03 (Redacted) are performed in accordance with 

CNSS, NIST, NGA, and system guidance.

9.04 Identify, track, and oversee the implementation 

of system alternate processing sites in 

accordance with CNSSI, NIST, and NGA 

guidance. Perform evaluations to determine 

whether management should implement 

alternate processes to enable the system to meet 

recovery objectives in the event of a disaster at 

the primary processing site, prior to the 

establishment of an alternate processing site.

9.05 Complete an agency-level BIA in accordance 

with FCD requirements.

10.01 Review the compliance baseline scans to ensure 

that the results (Redacted) are complete and 

accurate in accordance with ODNI, CNSS, and 

NIST guidance.

10.02 Remediate (Redacted) in accordance with 

ODNI, CNSS, and NIST guidance.

10.03 Continue to implement milestones needed to 

remediate the (Redacted).

11.01 Update agency policies and procedures to 

reflect the current operating environment, 

including (Redacted).

11.02 Ensure information system management 

implements agency CM policies and 

procedures, to include the (Redacted).
28

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

FY2019 Evaluation of the NGA 

Pursuant to the Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act, Report No. 

OIGA 20-02 (Internal Report), 

issued 5 November 2019 

(continued)

11.03 Develop and implement processes to 

(Redacted) to information systems in 

accordance with ODNI, CNSS, and NIST 

guidance.

12.01 Document (Redacted) to address weaknesses 

identified at a program level in accordance with 

NGA policy.

12.02 Develop and implement a process to ensure that 

(Redacted) address all requirements in 

accordance with policy and procedures.

13.01 Develop risk assessment policy and procedures 

over mission and business processes in 

accordance with ODNI, CNSS, and NIST 

guidance.

13.02 Ensure security control assessments are 

completed for information systems in 

accordance with NGA policy.

13.03 Perform risk assessments on NGA information 

systems in accordance with ODNI, CNSS, and 

NIST guidance.

13.04 Categorize and authorize all NGA information 

systems to operate in accordance with ODNI, 

CNSS, NIST, and NGA guidance.

13.05 Ensure its information systems’ security plans 

are updated and maintained to reflect the 

current environment, in accordance with ODNI, 

CNSS, and NIST guidance.

13.06 Ensure systems define the responsible entity for 

all required security controls and enhancements 

within security documentation.
29

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

FY2019 Evaluation of the NGA 

Pursuant to the Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act, Report No. 

OIGA 20-02 (Internal Report), 

issued 5 November 2019 

(continued)

14.1 Ensure information systems implement and 

document the (Redacted) in accordance with 

ODNI, CNSS, and NIST guidance.

14.2 Consistently implement an approved 

(Redacted).

14.3 Ensure strong (Redacted) is consistently 

implemented for NGA networks.

Independent Auditors’ Report on 

the NGA Financial Statements for 

FYs 2019 and 2018, Report No. 

OIGA 20‐03, issued 12 November 

2019

Recommendations to address material 

weaknesses:

1A. The Financial Management component (FM) 

and Office of Contract Services (OCS) should 

enhance their standard operating procedures 

related to the dormant obligations review, and 

continue to implement the dormant account 

review in accordance with NGA’s policy

1B. FM and OCS should prioritize and allocate 

sufficient resources to completely and timely 

perform the dormant obligation review control 

and de-obligate invalid obligations.

1C. As part of its dormant obligation review 

activities, FM should develop and implement a 

methodology for adjusting the year-end 

financial statements for dormant obligations 

that have been identified as invalid but have not 

been de-obligated.
30

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

Independent Auditors’ Report on 

the NGA Financial Statements for 

FYs 2019 and 2018, Report No. 

OIGA 20‐03, issued 12 November 

2019

1D. The CAE should define and assign accountable 

roles and responsibilities for key personnel 

involved in the execution of the agency’s 

acquisition strategy, and apply resources to 

validate dormant obligations, analyze past 

expenditures to project future needs, and adjust 

funding strategies as considered appropriate.

1E. FM should improve its documentation of 

policies and procedures over the control to 

analyze the completeness of TBOs reported to 

DFAS. The documentation should include the 

definitions of assumptions and thresholds for 

outliers, and procedures performed to conclude 

that data used in the control is reliable.

1F. FM and the Security and Installations 

component (SI) should continue to remediate 

capitalization issues identified in Material 

Weakness No. 2, while taking into 

consideration the effects on gross costs.

1G. FM and OCS should ensure finalized 

agreements are prepared in accordance with 

NGA Instruction 7260.1 to improve control 

performance documentation to consistently 

record invoice costs to the appropriate line of 

accounting, and review and apply these 

procedures to existing contracts. 

1H. FM should establish monitoring controls to 

determine if the capital asset versus expense 

allocation is appropriate and program costs are 

accurately presented on the statement of net 

cost.
31

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

Independent Auditors’ Report on 

the NGA Financial Statements for 

FYs 2019 and 2018, Report No. 

OIGA 20‐03, issued 12 November 

2019 (continued)

2A. FM, SI, and NGA’s Chief Information Officer 

and IT Services component (CIO-T) should 

continue their efforts to remediate personal 

property deficiencies, including a review of 

software-in-development and CIP. As part of 

the review, management should reclassify 

completed projects from the software-indevelopment account to software and from CIP 

to the relevant in-service personal property 

account. Going forward, FM, SI, and CIO-T 

should develop and implement a process that 

allows for completed assets to be placed inservice in the financial system in a timely 

manner.

2B. As part of the remediation efforts described in 

recommendation 2A, FM, SI, and CIO-T should 

develop and implement a process for 

summarizing software-in-development and 

personal property CIP by project to allow for 

better tracking and data analysis and more 

timely movement from in-development or inprocess to in-service.

2C. SI should work with CIO-T and FM to assess 

the feasibility of implementing system 

configuration changes to capture personnel 

costs incurred for software-in-development. As 

an alternative, SI should work with CIO-T and 

FM to develop and implement a standard 

methodology to allocate capitalizable 

Government personnel costs incurred during 

system development to software-indevelopment at the asset level.

2D. SI should continue to develop, document, and 

implement policies and procedures for 

accounting for personal property as part of its 

corrective action plan. Such policies and 

procedures should include a floor-to-book 

inventory of capital assets, including personal 

property.
32

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

Independent Auditors’ Report on 

the NGA Financial Statements for 

FYs 2019 and 2018, Report No. 

OIGA 20‐03, issued 12 November 

2019 (continued)

2E. SI, in coordination with FM, should continue to 

update, implement, and communicate its policy 

for identifying and monitoring completed 

personal property assets. The policy should 

include necessary approvals and requirements 

for completed assets to be recognized in the 

financial system in a timely manner

2F. SI, in coordination with FM, should develop, 

document, implement, and communicate a 

policy for identifying completed real property 

assets. The policy should include necessary 

approvals and requirements for completed 

assets to be recognized in the financial system 

in a timely manner.

2G. SI should enforce existing procedures in the 

Accountability Manual to timely review and 

dispose of assets that are no longer in-service 

and update the manual to account for property 

that is no longer in use but has not yet been 

through all of the necessary disposal 

procedures. 

2H. SI should approve and implement its updated 

PP&E impairment monitoring policy to include 

all required components of SFFAS No. 10 and 

No. 44 and document the impairment analyses 

performed.

2I. FM and SI should develop and implement 

corrective actions related to the identification of 

leased equipment and enhance its lease 

classification determination procedures to 

address unique assumptions made related to 

certain leases, and compliance with budgetary 

funding requirements.
33

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

Independent Auditors’ Report on 

the NGA Financial Statements for 

FYs 2019 and 2018, Report No. 

OIGA 20‐03, issued 12 November 

2019 (continued)

3A. To address the deficiencies noted above, we 

recommend that FM continue its remediation 

efforts to support the completeness and 

accuracy of material Funds Balance with 

Treasury amounts that NGA cannot reconcile 

directly to the GWA system, without relying on 

the DFAS CMR.

4A. Continue to use the Audit Committee as a tool 

for monitoring audit finding remediation with 

various stakeholders (i.e., leadership within FM 

and across other relevant components), 

enforcing accountability for corrective action 

plans and timelines, and periodically 

communicating audit progress and challenges to 

the Director or Deputy Director.

4B. Develop and implement posting logic in GEO-F 

to record transactions in accordance with the 

USSGL at the transaction level.

4C. Complete, document, and implement their 

internal controls over financial reporting and 

internal controls over financial systems 

guidelines to address the GAO’s Standards for 

Internal Control in the Federal Government and 

OMB Circular A-123 risk assessment 

requirements.

4D. Include in its policy documentation detailed 

situations when a valid business need exists for 

management to override internal controls and 

who has the authority to approve those 

circumstances.

4E. Enforce requirements in the DoD Instruction 

1300.26 to complete DoD FM training 

requirements timely, and develop, document, 

and implement procedures for ensuring 

individual training requirement plans are in 

place and ensuring the accuracy of related 

monitoring reports.
34

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

Independent Auditors’ Report on 

the NGA Financial Statements for 

FYs 2019 and 2018, Report No. 

OIGA 20‐03, issued 12 November 

2019 (continued)

4F. Update and disseminate formal POA&Ms in 

compliance with NGA policy.

4G. Incorporate all internal POA&Ms and the 

remediation of vulnerabilities in its Enterprise 

Cybersecurity Analytics and Monitoring 

dashboard for monthly review.

4H. Update and implement policies and procedures 

to monitor and enforce training compliance for 

cybersecurity awareness and document followup actions taken when trainings are not 

completed timely.

4I. Update and implement policies for role-based 

training in accordance with applicable guidance 

in order to reflect current training courses and 

to identify required trainings for persons with 

specialized responsibilities.

Recommendations to address significant 

deficiency:

1A. "Regarding access controls:

 1. Develop, document, implement, and 

enforce consistent (Redacted) policies and 

procedures, including those related to 

(Redacted). Such procedures should include the 

retention of documentation to support approvals 

and evidence of periodic reviews

 2. Enforce (Redacted) supporting the 

financial systems in compliance with CNSSI 

and NGA policy, or document approved 

deviations from policy.
35

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

Independent Auditors’ Report on 

the NGA Financial Statements for 

FYs 2019 and 2018, Report No. 

OIGA 20‐03, issued 12 November 

2019 (continued)

1B. "Regarding segregation of duties controls:

 1. Develop, approve, and implement 

procedures to (Redacted), approved deviations 

from policy should be documented

 2. Enforce (Redacted), including retention of 

evidential matter showing reviews occurred."

1C. "Regarding (Redacted), develop, approve, and 

implement procedures that address the 

(Redacted).”

1D. To address the control deficiencies identified in 

the (Redacted), FM should monitor corrective 

actions and continue to assess the impact, if 

any, on NGA’s internal controls.

"Recommendations to address instances of 

noncompliance:

 1. We recommend that the Financial 

Management, Office of Strategic Operations, 

and Chief Information Officer – Information 

Technology Services components revise NGA’s 

FMFIA process to fully incorporate the ERM 

requirements of OMB Circular No. A-123.

 2. We recommend that NGA implement the 

recommendations provided in Exhibits I and II 

and improve its processes to achieve 

compliance with the requirements of FFMIA 

section 803(a)."
36

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

Audit of NGA’s Management of 

the Defense Acquisition 

Workforce Improvement Act 

Program, Report No. OIGA 19-

05, issued March 1, 2019

1

The NGA Component Acquisition Executive, 

in coordination with the Director of Human 

Development, and the component 

organizations with acquisition positions, 

develop additional procedures to monitor and 

enforce compliance with DAWIA 

requirements to ensure only qualified and 

credentialed personnel occupy AWF 

positions. The additional procedures should 

address, but not be limited to, the 

enforcement of:

 Inclusion of DAWIA requirements in AWF 

vacancy announcements.

 Coordination between the DAWIA 

Program Management Office and Career 

Services Heads to ensure that when updates 

or changes are made to Career Services 

standard operating procedures, the procedures 

align with the established DAWIA 

procedures.

 Inclusion of the DAWIA requirements in 

AWF annual performance plans.

 Accountability for not complying with the 

requirements of the DAWIA.

Audit of NGA’s Funds 

Reprogramming Activity, Report 

No. OIGA 19-07, issued 30 

September 2019

2 Financial Management implement additional 

GEOINT Financial system document types to 

record funding movements and restrict the 

use of the RPB document type to the 

recording of true Below Threshold 

Reprogramming transactions, as defined by 

congressional oversight and the Office of the 

Director of National Intelligence.

Inspection of NGA’s Acquisition 

Function, Phase III: Policies and 

Processes, Report No. OIGE-20-

01, November 2019

1 Revise NGAI 5000.1 so that it is consistent 

with DoD and IC acquisition requirements, as 

detailed on pages 4–20 of Finding 1.
37

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

Inspection of NGA’s Acquisition 

Function, Phase III: Policies and 

Processes, Report No. OIGE-20-

01, November 2019

2 In accordance with best practices and DoDI 

5000.02, realign the CAE responsibilities into 

a position that is directly accountable to the 

Director, NGA, and oversees all acquisition 

functions within the Agency in accordance 

with statute and policy. Additionally, we 

recommend that the D/NGA staff CAE’s 

office appropriately with subordinate staff 

reporting directly to the CAE. In addition, we 

recommend that the D/NGA realign and 

consolidate acquisition programs and 

activities (including contracting, research, 

pilots, prototypes, and acquisition of services) 

under the CAE.

3 Identify all NGA Key Leadership Position 

and Critical Acquisition Position billets, and 

ensure their inclusion on the APL. Ensure that 

individuals assigned to all KLPs and CAPs 

are qualified IAW DoDI 5000.66 (Defense 

Acquisition Workforce Education, Training, 

Experience, and Career Development 

Program) requirements

Inspection of NGA’s Insider 

Threat Case Management, Report 

No. OIGE-19-01, February 2019

1 Update and publish NGAI 5200.1 and NGAI 

5240.2 to ensure an authoritative basis for all 

SII activities.

9 In accordance with NIST 800.53A, establish 

and enforce procedures to review audit logs and 

report the disposition of those results to SII 

leadership.

Inspection of NGA’s GEOINT 

Services, Report No. OIGE-19-02, 

February 2019

2 Comply with DoDI 8410.01 by transitioning 

GEOINT Services’ unclassified environment to 

the .mil environment or by obtaining 

authorization/waiver from the NGA CIO.

5 Comply with the NGA Records Management 

program for the GEOINT Services Office (TD).
38

Report Title, Number, Date

Rec. 

Number Recommendation for Corrective Action

Inspection of NGA’s Medical 

Services, Report No. OIGE 18-05, 

August 2018

3 Consistent with the Economy Act, reassess 

whether inter-agency support is available for 

medical services that would be advantageous to 

the government. For all such support, (1) ensure 

documentation in an ISSA (DD Form 1144) and 

(2) ensure the support is explained in relevant 

internal SOPs.

5 Implement a secure electronic transfer of NGA 

pre- and post-deployment health activity 

requirements to Defense Medical Surveillance 

System.

6 Ensure Human Development Component’s 

respective Primary Information Officer (PIO) 

and Information Officer (IO) responsible for all 

medical program records perform Records and 

Information Lifecycle Management 

requirements including updating the office file 

plan with the proper file series.

Inspection of Structured 

Observation Management, Report 

No. OIGE 18-01, November 2017

5 Develop and issue, across the NSG, SOM 

tradecraft standards that address: accuracy 

requirements with rules for capturing objects, 

observations, and judgements; a quality control 

process; and sourcing and data disclaimers 

consistent with ICDs 203 & 206.

Inspection of the CURATOR 

Program, Report No. OIGE 16-04, 

February 2016

3 Identify and review data. 
39

Table A-4. Financial Results from Reports Issued During Reporting Period (1 April 2020 –

30 September 2020)

Report Title, Number, 

Date Issued

Questioned 

Costs

Unsupported 

Costs

Funds To Be Put 

to Better Use

Audit of NGA’s Supply Chain 

Risk Management, Report No. 

OIGA 20-06, issued 18 June 

2020 $0 0 $0 

Audit of NGA’s Management of 

the Implementation of the Agile 

Software Development 

Methodology, U-136-20/OIG, 

issued 29 July 2020 $0 $0 $0

Total $0 $0 $0
40

Table A-5. Status of Recommendations That Questioned Costs

Recommendation 

Status

Number of 

Reports

Number of 

Recommendations

Questioned 

Costs

A. No management 

decision made by start of 

the reporting period 0 0

B. Issued during reporting 

period 0 0 0

Total A + B 0 0 0

C. Management decision 

made during reporting 

period 0 0 0

(i) Dollar value of 

recommendations that 

were agreed to (disallowed 

costs) 0 0 0

(ii) Dollar value of 

recommendations that 

were not agreed to 

(allowed costs) 0 0 0

D. Total remaining for 

management decision at 

end of reporting period

[(A + B) – C] 0 0 0
41

Table A-6. Status of Recommendations That Funds Be Put to Better Use

Recommendation Status

Number of 

Reports

Number of 

Recommendations

Funds To Be Put 

to Better Use

A. No management decision 

made by start of the reporting 

period 0 0 $0

B. Issued during reporting 

period 0 0 0

Total A + B 0 0 0

C. Management decision 

made during reporting period 

(i) Dollar value of 

recommendations that were 

agreed to (disallowed costs) 0 0 0

(ii) Dollar value of 

recommendations that were 

not agreed to (allowed costs) 0 0 $0

D. Total remaining for 

management decision at end 

of reporting period

[(A + B) – C] 0 0 $0

Table A-7. Management Decisions Regarding OIG Recommendations in Reports Issued 

Before 1 April 2020

Unresolved 

as of 

30 September

2019

Reports with 

Unimplemented 

Recommendations

Number of 

Unimplemented 

Recommendations

Questioned 

Costs

Funds to

Be Put to 

Better 

Use 

Audits 10 108 $0 $0

Inspections 11 41 $0 $0

Total 21 149 $0 $0
42

STATUTORY REPORTING

Information or Assistance Refused by NGA

Section 5(a)(5) of the Inspector General (IG) Act of 1978 requires IGs to promptly report to the 

head of the establishment if information requested is unreasonably refused or not provided. 

Section 5(a)(5) of the IG Act of 1978, as amended, requires IGs to promptly report to 

the head of the establishment if information requested is unreasonably refused or not 

provided. As part of NGA’s financial statements audit, the NGA Designated Agency 

Ethics Official (DAEO)—acting NGA General Counsel— would not provide all the 

data requested concerning the NGA Ethics’ Program. It is the DAEO’s position that 

the information requested is beyond the scope of the audit. The DAEO has raised the 

issue to the DoD Office of General Counsel, the DoD Standards of Conduct Office, 

and the Office of Government Ethics. The Director, NGA (head of the establishment) 

has been notified. As of this reporting, the DAEO still has not provided the requested 

information.

Significant Revised Management Decisions

Section 5(a)(11) of the IG Act of 1978 requires IGs to describe and explain the reasons for any 

significant revised management decisions made during the reporting period. 

We are not aware of revisions to any significant management decisions during this 

reporting period.

OIG Disagreement with Significant Management Decisions

Section 5(a)(12) of the IG Act of 1978 requires IGs to provide information concerning any 

significant management decisions with which they disagree. 

During this reporting period, the IG had no instances of disagreement with significant 

management decisions.

Compliance with Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996

Section 5(a)(13) of the IG Act of 1978 requires IGs to provide information described under 

section 804(b) of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996. This information 

involves the instances and reasons when an agency has not met target dates within its 

remediation plan to bring financial management systems into compliance with the law.

NGA has developed and implemented remediation plans to address areas causing 

noncompliance for financial management systems. NGA has met the intermediated target 

dates in the plans.
43

Attempts to Interfere with the IG’s Independence

Section 5(a)(21) of the IG Act of 1978, as amended by the IG Empowerment Act, requires IGs to 

provide detailed descriptions of any attempts by their establishments to interfere with their 

independence. 

We did not experience any attempts to interfere with our office’s independence 

during this reporting period.

Public Disclosure (Closed But Undisclosed Audits, Inspections, Investigations)

Section 5(a)(22) of the IG Act of 1978, as amended by the IG Empowerment Act, requires IGs to 

provide detailed descriptions of inspections, evaluations, audits, and investigations involving 

senior government employees that were closed during the reporting period without being 

publicly disclosed. Summaries of all such work are included in the appropriate sections of this 

report.

 Audits closed during this reporting period are described beginning on page 5.

 Inspections closed during this reporting period are described beginning on page 9.

 Investigations closed during this reporting period are described beginning on page 11.

Peer Reviews

Section 5(a)(14-16) of the IG Act requires IGs to report information about peer reviews that their 

offices have conducted or been subject to.

No peer review of NGA OIG was conducted by another OIG during this reporting period.

 The most recent external peer review of the NGA OIG Audit Division was 

performed by the National Security Agency’s OIG. In its report of 23 February 

2018, we received a rating of “pass” for our system of quality control in effect for 

the three-year period ending 30 September 2017. NGA OIG has no outstanding 

recommendations from any peer reviews of the Audit Division.

 The most recent peer review of the NGA OIG Inspections Division was 

completed by Central Intelligence Agency’s OIG on 19 September 2017. There 

were no findings or recommendations identified in the 2017 peer review.

During the reporting period, the NGA OIG Audit Division conducted an External 

Peer Review of the Defense Intelligence Agency, OIG, Audit Organization, Project 

No. OIGA 20-08. The project was announced in June 2020. We plan to issue our 

report in December 2020.
44

APPENDIX B. INVESTIGATIVE METRICS

Table B-1. Number of Cases Referred for Criminal or Civil Prosecution, 

During Reporting Period

Number of Cases

Type of Case Referred Accepted Declined

Criminal 0 0 0

Civil 0 0 0

Table B-2. Judicial Actions, During Reporting Period

Action Number

Indictments 0

Convictions 0

Years of incarceration 0

Years of supervised release 0

Years of probation 0

Table B-3. Criminal Prosecutions and Referrals, During Reporting Period

Action Number

No. investigative reports issued 0

No. individuals referred to Department of Justice for criminal 

prosecution 0

No. individuals referred to state and local prosecuting 

authorities for criminal prosecution 0

No. indictments and criminal informations resulting from any 

prior referral to prosecuting authorities 0
45

Table B-4. Investigations of Unauthorized Public Disclosures of Classified Information

Action Number

The number of investigations opened by the covered official 

regarding an unauthorized public disclosure of classified 

information. 0

The number of investigations completed by the covered 

official regarding an unauthorized public disclosure of 

classified information. 0

Of the number of such completed investigations identified 

under subparagraph (B), the number referred to the Attorney 

General for criminal investigation 0
46

APPENDIX C. INDEX OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Semiannual Reporting Requirement Page

§5(a)(1) Significant problems, abuses, and deficiencies 5–17

§5(a)(2) Recommendations for corrective action 23

§5(a)(3) Significant outstanding recommendations 18-22

§5(a)(4) Matters referred to prosecutorial authorities 11

§5(a)(5) Information or assistance refused 42

§5(a)(6) List of completed audit, inspection, and evaluation reports 5–10

§5(a)(7) Summaries of significant reports 5–10

§5(a)(8) Statistical table showing questioned costs 40

§5(a)(9) Statistical table showing recommendations that funds be put to better use 41

§5(a)(10) Summary of reports for which no management decision was made 41

§5(a)(11) Significant revised management decisions 42

§5(a)(12) Management decision disagreements 42

§5(a)(13) Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 42

§5(a)(14-16) Peer reviews 43

§5(a)(17-18) Investigations statistics and metrics 44

§5(a)(19) Investigations involving substantiated allegations against senior officials 11

§5(a)(20) Descriptions of whistleblower retaliation 12

§5(a)(21) Attempts to interfere with IG independence 43

§5(a)(22) Public disclosure 43

§6718 of IAA2for 

FY2018, 2019, 2020)

Investigations of Unauthorized Public Disclosures of Classified 

Information 45

 

2

IAA is the Intelligence Authorization Act for FYs 2018, 2019, and 2020, Section 6718, which requires that “[n]ot 

less frequently than once every 6 months, each covered [Inspector General] shall submit to the congressional 

intelligence committees a report on investigations of unauthorized public disclosures of classified information.
47

APPENDIX D. ABBREVIATIONS

AWF Acquisition Workforce

CIO-T Chief Information Officer and IT Services component

CIP Construction-in-Progress

CNSS Committee on National Security Systems 

COVID-19 Corona Virus Disease 2019

DAWIA Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act

DFAS Defense Finance and Accounting Service 

FAST Fraud Analytics Support Team

FISMA Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014

FM Financial Management component

GEO-F GEOINT-Financials

GEOINT geospatial intelligence

GFM GEOINT Functional Manager

GPC Government Purchase Card

GTCC Government Travel Charge Card

HD Human Development component

IAA Intelligence Authorization Act

IC Intelligence Community

ICD Intelligence Community Directive

IO intelligence oversight

IT information technology

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology 

NRO National Reconnaissance Office

NSG National System for Geospatial Intelligence

OCS Office of Contract Services 

OGC Office of General Counsel

ODNI Office of the Director of National Intelligence

OIG Office of Inspector General

OMB Office of Management and Budget

PII Personally Identifiable Information

POA&M plan of action and milestones 

SI Security and Installations component

SOM Structured Observation Management

STRATCOM US Strategic Command
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