Office of Inspector General

DATA Act Audit, 2021

A22-01

 

November 2021 

 

 FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION
Federal Maritime Commission

Office of Inspector General (OIG)

Report Highlights The FMC Has Improved the Quality of Its 

Procurement Information Reported in Accordance 

with the DATA Act but Opportunities for Further 

Progress Remain

(Audit A22-01, November 2021)

Why We Did This Audit 

The Digital Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) 

was enacted May 9, 2014. In part, the 

DATA Act requires the Inspector 

General (IG) of each Federal agency to 

review a statistically valid sample of 

the spending data submitted by its 

Federal agency and to submit to 

Congress a publicly available report

assessing the completeness, 

timeliness, quality, and accuracy of 

the data sampled and the 

implementation and use of the 

Government-wide financial data 

standards by the Federal agency. 

 

Background 

USAspending.gov was launched in 

December 2007 to implement the 

Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act (FFATA) of 2006 by 

providing the public with free 

centralized access to information on 

Federal spending. 

The DATA Act expanded the reporting 

requirements pursuant to the FFATA. 

The DATA Act, in part, requires 

Federal agencies to report financial 

and award data in accordance with 

the established Government-wide 

financial data standards. In 2015, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) and the Department of the 

Treasury published 57 data definition 

standards and required Federal 

agencies to report financial data in 

accordance with these standards for 

DATA Act reporting, beginning May 

2017. In April 2020, OMB published 

two additional data elements bringing 

the total to 59.

What We Found

The Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC) DATA Act

reporting process involves multiple parties: the Department 

of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, 

Administrative Resource Center (BFS ARC); the FMC’s 

Senior Accountable Official (SAO) (Chief Financial Officer & 

Director, Enterprise Services); the FMC’s Office of Budget 

and Finance (OBF); and the FMC’s Office of Management 

Services (OMS). The FMC uses two systems for its spending 

data: Oracle Financials as its source system for financial 

data, and the Procurement Request Information System 

Management (PRISM) as its contract writing system. The 

FMC also uses the Federal Procurement Data System-Next 

Generation (FPDS-NG) for collecting and reporting data on 

agency procurements. 

The OIG audited 35 unique procurement transactions to be 

reported on USAspending.gov for the fourth quarter of fiscal 

year 2020. These transactions were tested for completeness, 

accuracy, and timeliness. The OIG’s audit determined that 

the FMC’s error rate for completeness was 0%; the error rate 

for accuracy was 2.49%; and the error rate for timeliness 

was 9.66%. The FMC’s error rates for all three attributes 

improved from the 2019 DATA Act audit. 

The OIG reviewed the FMC’s implementation of the three 

recommendations from the 2019 DATA Act audit. The OIG 

determined that the FMC implemented corrective action for 

one of the three recommendations and considers it closed. 

The OIG determined that the FMC did not fully implement 

two of the three recommendations and considers these open. 

See Appendix C of the report for more information on the 

status of prior recommendations. 

Appendix A of the report contains management’s response 

to the audit report. 
Table of Contents 

BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................ 1

FMC DATA ACT REPORTING ................................................................................................... 2

OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY........................................................................ 3

RESULTS ....................................................................................................................................... 5

Assessment of Internal Control over Source Systems ............................................................. 5

Assessment of Internal Controls over DATA Act Submission ............................................... 6

Results of Work Performed Related to Federal Shared Service Providers ............................. 7

Non-Statistical Testing Results................................................................................................... 7

Completeness of Agency Submission ..................................................................................... 7

Timeliness of Agency Submission.......................................................................................... 7

Completeness of Summary-Level Data for Files A and B ..................................................... 8

Results of Linkages from File C to Files B & D1................................................................... 8

Statistical Results........................................................................................................................ 8

Completeness – Actual Error Rate.......................................................................................... 8

Accuracy – Actual Error Rate................................................................................................. 8

Timeliness – Actual Error Rate............................................................................................... 8

Overall Determination of Quality ............................................................................................... 8

Testing Limitations................................................................................................................. 8

Implementation and Use of the Data Standards ...................................................................... 9

Appendix A – Agency Response .................................................................................................. 10

Appendix B – CIGIE Date Anomaly Letter ................................................................................. 11

Appendix C – Status of Prior Audit Recommendations ............................................................... 13

Appendix D – FMC’s Results for the Data Elements ................................................................... 16

Appendix E – Comparative Results Table .................................................................................... 18

Appendix F – Analysis of the Accuracy of Dollar Value-Related Data Elements ....................... 20

Appendix G – Analysis of Errors in Data Elements ..................................................................... 21

Appendix H – Analysis of Errors in Data Elements Not Attributable to the FMC ...................... 22

Appendix I – Comparative Analysis of Errors in Data Elements ................................................. 23
1 

DATA ACT AUDIT, 2021

BACKGROUND

USAspending.gov was launched in December 2007 to implement the Federal Funding 

Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) of 2006 by providing the public with free 

centralized access to information on Federal spending. To ensure USAspending.gov is providing 

current and accurate information, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Federal 

agencies must take steps to ensure data reliability and quality. Reliable data allows the public to 

trust the information the government provides, and for Federal and elected officials to use that 

information to make informed decisions about government programs and projects. Reliable data 

also allows Federal managers to analyze and better structure government programs to prevent 

waste, fraud, and abuse. Further, reliable data provides those with an oversight function with the 

assurance that agencies and programs are accountable for the Federal funds spent.

The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) was enacted May 

9, 2014, to expand the reporting requirements pursuant to the FFATA. The DATA Act, in part, 

requires Federal agencies to report financial and award data in accordance with the established 

Government-wide financial data standards. In 2015, OMB and Department of the Treasury 

(Treasury) published 57 data definition standards and required Federal agencies to report financial 

data in accordance with these standards for DATA Act reporting, beginning May 2017. In April 

2020, OMB issued M-20-21, Implementation Guidance for Supplemental Funding Provided in

Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which made changes to DATA Act 

reporting based on whether agencies received COVID-19 supplemental funding. Additionally, 

OMB published two additional data elements bringing the total to 59 applicable data elements. 

Starting in fiscal year (FY) 2019, Appendix A to OMB Circular No. A-123, Management 

of Reporting and Data Integrity Risk, OMB Memorandum M-18-16, established that agencies 

must develop a Data Quality Plan (DQP) to achieve the objectives of the DATA Act and identify 

a control structure tailored to address identified risks. 

The DATA Act also requires the Inspector General (IG) of each Federal agency to review 

a statistically valid sample of the spending data submitted by its Federal agency and to submit to 

Congress a publicly available report assessing the completeness, timeliness, accuracy, and quality

of the data sampled and the implementation and use of the Government-wide financial data 

standards by the Federal agency. 
2 

The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) identified a 

timing anomaly with the oversight requirements contained in the DATA Act. That is, the first 

Inspector General reports were due to Congress on November 2016; however, Federal agencies 

were not required to report spending data until May 2017. To address this reporting date anomaly, 

the IGs provided Congress with their first required reports by November 8, 2017, 1-year after the 

statutory due date, with two subsequent reports to be submitted following on a 2-year cycle. On 

December 22, 2015, CIGIE’s chair issued a letter detailing the strategy for dealing with the IG 

reporting date anomaly and communicated the strategy to the Senate Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform. See CIGIE Anomaly Letter in Appendix B. This is the third and final audit required by 

the DATA Act; the first two audit reports were issued by FMC OIG in November 2017 and 

November 2019, respectively.

FMC DATA ACT REPORTING

The Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC) DATA Act reporting process involves 

multiple parties: Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Administrative Resource Center (BFS 

ARC); the FMC’s Senior Accountable Official (SAO) (Director of Enterprise Services1); the 

FMC’s Office of Budget and Finance (OBF); and the FMC’s Office of Management Services

(OMS). The FMC uses two systems for its spending data: Oracle Financials as its source system 

for financial data, and the Procurement Request Information System Management (PRISM) as 

its contract writing system. The FMC maintains an agreement with BFS ARC to provide financial 

system services and relies on BFS ARC to help meet DATA Act reporting requirements. 

A data broker is designed to standardize data formatting and help Federal agencies validate 

data submissions. The Treasury DATA Act Broker uses Federal spending data from agency award 

and financial systems, validates it, and standardizes it against the common DATA Act model that 

includes the following broker files: 

• File A: Appropriations Account 

• File B: Object Class and Program Activity

• File C: Award Financial 

• File D1: Award (Procurement)

• File D2: Award (Financial Assistance)

1 At the time of the FMC’s FY 2020 Quarter 4 DATA Act submission, the FMC’s Senior Accountable Official was 

the FMC’s Managing Director. However, the DATA Act SAO role changed in 2021 when the FMC reorganized 

roles and responsibilities and renamed the Deputy Managing Director position to the Chief Financial Officer & 

Director, Enterprise Services. 
3 

• File E: Additional Awardee Attributes 

• File F: Sub-Award Attributes 

Files A and B contain summary-level financial data. File C contains reportable recordlevel data. Files D1 and E contain detailed information for record-level transactions reported in 

File C. The FMC does not have files D2 or F because the agency does not have financial assistance 

awards, such as grants or loans. The FMC OIG did not assess the completeness, accuracy, 

timeliness, and quality of the data extracted from the System for Award Management (SAM) via 

the DATA Act Broker, as described in the Testing Limitations section of this report. 

OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY

To meet the needs of the IG community, the CIGIE Federal Audit Executive Council 

(FAEC) established the DATA Act Working Group (Working Group). The Working Group’s 

mission is to assist the IG community in understanding and meeting its DATA Act oversight 

requirements by (1) serving as a working level liaison with Treasury, (2) consulting with the 

Government Accountability Office (GAO), (3) developing a common approach and methodology, 

and (4) coordinating key communications with other stakeholders. 

In consultation with GAO, as required by the DATA Act, the Working Group developed 

the CIGIE FAEC Inspectors General Guide to Compliance under the DATA Act, December 4, 

2020. The guide presents a baseline framework for the required reviews performed by the IG 

community and to foster a common methodology for performing these mandates. Under the 

DATA Act, each IG is required to issue three reports on its agency’s data submission and 

compliance with the DATA Act. 

We conducted this performance audit in accordance with Government Auditing Standards, 

2018 Revision, Technical Update April 2021. Those standards require that we plan and perform 

the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings 

and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a 

reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions, based on our audit objectives. 

The objectives of this engagement are to assess the FMC’s: (1) completeness, accuracy, 

timeliness, and quality of fiscal year 2020, fourth quarter financial and award data submitted for 

publication on USAspending.gov; and (2) implementation and use of the Government-wide 

financial data standards established by OMB and Treasury. The OIG also followed-up on the 

FMC’s implementation of the 2019 DATA Act audit recommendations. The scope of this 

engagement was fiscal year 2020, fourth quarter financial and award data the FMC submitted for 
4 

publication on USAspending.gov, and any applicable procedures, certifications, documentation, 

and controls to achieve this process. To accomplish the objectives of this audit, the OIG performed 

the following steps: 

• obtained an understanding of the criteria related to the FMC’s responsibilities to report 

financial and award data under the DATA Act; 

• assessed the agency’s systems, processes, and internal controls in place over data 

management under the DATA Act; 

• assessed the general and application controls pertaining to the procurement system from 

which the data elements were derived and linked; 

• assessed the agency’s internal controls in place over the financial and award data reported 

to USAspending.gov per OMB Circular A-1232

; 

• review and assessed the completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and quality of the financial 

and award data submitted for fiscal year 2020, fourth quarter by the agency for publication 

on USAspending.gov; and 

• assessed the agency’s implementation and use of the 59 data definition standards 

established by OMB and Treasury. 

The DATA Act requires the IG of each Federal agency to review a statistically valid sample 

of the spending data submitted by its Federal agency and to submit to Congress a publicly available 

report assessing the completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of the data sampled and the 

implementation and use of the Government-wide financial data standards by the Federal agency. 

The FAEC DATA Act Working Group guidance states the engagement team should select a 

statistically valid sample of certified spending data from the reportable award-level transactions 

(procurement awards) included in the agency’s certified data submission for File C, or Files D1 

and D2, if File C is unavailable. The FMC had no grant activity, and therefore the data broker did 

not generate File D2. The FMC OIG decided to test 100% of the transactions because the total 

number of unique transactions in File D1 with a corresponding Procurement Instrument Identifier 

(PIID) in File C was 35. The testing included coverage of both Files C and D1. 

For each record selected for testing, we compared the information in FMC’s File C and 

File D1 to the source document (such as contract, modification, or other obligating document) to 

determine whether the records submitted for publication in USAspending.gov were complete, 

2 Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Appendix A to OMB Circular No. A-123, Management of Reporting 

and Data Integrity Risk, OMB Memorandum M-18-16 (June 6, 2018).
5 

accurate, and timely, as defined below. 

• Completeness is defined as: for each of the required data elements that should have 

been reported, the data element was reported in the appropriate Files A through D1. 

• Timeliness is defined as: for each of the required data elements that should have been 

reported, the data elements were reported in accordance with the reporting schedules 

defined by the financial, procurement, and financial assistance requirements. 

Timeliness can be assessed in two ways: (1) Award financial data elements within File 

C should be reported within the quarter in which it occurred; and (2) Procurement 

award data elements within File D1 should be reported in FPDS-NG3 within 3 

business days after contract award in accordance with the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) Part 4.604. 

• Accuracy is defined as: amounts and other data relating to recorded transactions have 

been recorded in accordance with the DAIMS4

, Reporting Submission Specification 

(RSS), Interface Definition Document (IDD), and the online data dictionary; and agree 

with the original award documentation/contract file. 

RESULTS

Assessment of Internal Control over Source Systems

 

The FMC has an interagency agreement with BFS ARC to provide the FMC with 

accounting and procurement systems and support. The FMC uses Oracle Financials as its source 

system for all financial data, and PRISM as its contract writing system. We performed procedures 

to determine whether internal controls over PRISM, as they relate to the FMC’s FY 2020, quarter 

four DATA Act submission, are properly designed, implemented, and operating effectively. Those 

procedures consisted of:

• Gaining an understanding of the source system used for recording procurement 

transactions; 

3 Government agencies are responsible for collecting and reporting data on most federal procurements through the 

Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG).

4 The DATA Act Information Model Schema (DAIMS) gives an overall view of the hundreds of distinct data 

elements used to tell the story of how Federal dollars are spent. It includes artifacts that provide technical guidance 

for Federal agencies about what data to report to Treasury including the authoritative sources of the data elements 

and the submission format.
6 

• Reviewing BFS ARC’s Statement of Standards for Attestation Engagements Number 

18 (SSAE 18), Service Organization Controls (SOC) Type 1 report and determining 

whether there were any issues noted by the auditors that could have an impact on the 

FMC’s DATA Act submission; and

• Obtaining an understanding of the FMC’s complementary customer agency controls as 

required by the BFS ARC SOC 1 report. 

Assessment of Internal Controls over DATA Act Submission

We obtained an understanding of internal controls designed and implemented by FMC, as 

it related to its FY 2020, fourth quarter DATA Act submission. We interviewed FMC and BFS 

ARC personnel to obtain an understanding of FMC’s reconciliation, validation, and certification 

of FY 2020, fourth quarter spending data submitted for publication in USAspending.gov. We 

reviewed the FMC’s Data Quality Plan (DQP) for control activities over the DATA Act reporting 

process. According to the FMC’s DQP, BFS provides FMC with quarterly warning reports 

generated by the Data Broker, these warnings are researched by BFS ARC and addressed by the 

FMC to the extent possible, at the agency’s discretion. 

We reviewed the Senior Accountable Official’s (SAO) certification for FY 2020, fourth 

quarter spending data, and noted a qualification to the FMC’s File D1 submission for a single 

procurement action. During the OIG’s statistical testing of this procurement action, the OIG 

determined there were inaccurate and untimely data elements in File D1 for the respective action. 

We found that overall, controls over the FY 2020, fourth quarter DATA Act submission 

were effective, however we noted two areas of improvement that could be made to the FMC’s 

DQP. 

1. The DQP should be updated to include a requirement for the Director of OMS to strive to 

review the FPDS reports within three business days of the executed date on the 

procurement action, except for extenuating circumstances. The Contract Specialist should 

provide the FPDS reports to the Director the same day the Contract Specialist completes 

the procurement action. See Appendix C - Status of Prior Audit Recommendations for 

more information. 

2. The FMC should consider developing a contingency plan in the DQP to address the FMC’s 

DATA Act reporting responsibilities if key positions are vacated with little or no notice. 

Failing to have a contingency plan in the DQP to address the FMC's DATA Act reporting 

responsibilities could result in compromises to internal controls. 
7 

Results of Work Performed Related to Federal Shared Service Providers

Federal shared service providers are an arrangement under which one agency (the provider) 

provides information technology, human resources, financial, or other services to other 

departments, agencies, and bureaus (the customers). This arrangement allows customer agencies 

to focus resources on their primary mission. The FMC has an interagency agreement with BFS 

ARC to provide the FMC with accounting and procurement systems and support. 

We reviewed BFS ARC’s Statement of Standards for Attestation Engagements Number 18 

(SSAE 18), Service Organization Controls (SOC) Type 1 report to determine whether there were 

any issues noted that could have an impact on the FMC’s DATA Act submission. The purpose of 

the SOC report is to provide information for customer agencies and their auditors on BFS ARC’s

design and operating effectiveness of internal controls. The SOC report did not contain any 

findings that affect FMC’s ability to submit complete, accurate, and timely data for publication on 

USAspending.gov. We also obtained an understanding of complementary user entity controls 

required by the SOC report and implemented by FMC and did not note any gaps that might impact 

the completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of the Data Act submission. 

 

Non-Statistical Testing Results

We performed various non-statistical procedures to determine the timeliness and 

completeness of the FY 2020, fourth quarter data submitted for publication on USAspending.gov. 

The results of our non-statistical testing are described below. 

Completeness of Agency Submission

 

We evaluated FMC’s DATA Act submission to Treasury’s DATA Act Broker and 

determined that the submission was complete. To be considered a complete submission, we 

evaluated Files A, B, and C to determine that all transactions and events that should have been 

recorded were recorded in the proper period. 

Timeliness of Agency Submission 

 

We evaluated FMC’s fiscal year 2020 fourth quarter DATA Act submission to Treasury’s 

DATA Act Broker and determined that the submission was timely. To be considered timely, it had 

to be submitted and certified by FMC within 45 days of quarter end. 
8 

Completeness of Summary-Level Data for Files A and B

We performed summary-level data reconciliations and linkages for Files A and B and did 

not identify any variances. The test results verified: (1) summary-level data from File A matched 

the Agency's Governmentwide Treasury Account Symbol Adjusted Trial Balance System (GTAS)

SF-133, Report on Budget Execution and Budgetary Resources; (2) the totals and Treasury 

Account Symbol (TAS) identified in File A matched File B; and (3) all object class codes from 

File B match codes defined in Section 83 of OMB Circular No. A-11, Preparation and Submission 

of Budget Estimates. 

Results of Linkages from File C to Files B & D1

We tested the linkages between File C to File B by TAS, object class, and program activity, 

and the linkages between File C to File D1 by PIID. All the TAS, object class, and program activity 

data elements from File C existed in File B, and all the PIIDs from File C existed in File D1 without 

exception. 

Statistical Results

Completeness – Actual Error Rate

The actual error rate for the completeness of the data elements is 0%. A data element was 

considered complete if the required data element that should have been reported was reported. 

Accuracy – Actual Error Rate

The actual error rate for the accuracy of the data elements is 2.49%. A data element was 

considered accurate when amounts and other data relating to recorded transactions were recorded 

in accordance with the DAIMS and agree with the originating award documentation/contract file. 

Timeliness – Actual Error Rate

The actual error rate for the timeliness of the data elements is 9.66%. The timeliness of 

data elements was based on the reporting schedules defined by the procurement requirements. 

Overall Determination of Quality 

Based on the results of our statistical and non-statistical testing for FMC’s DATA Act audit 

for FY 20, fourth quarter, FMC scored 97.80 points, which is a quality rating of Excellent. 

Testing Limitations

File E of the DATA Act Information Model Schema (DAIMS) contains additional awardee 

attribute information the Treasury DATA Act Broker software extracts from the System for Award 
9 

Management (SAM). File E data remains the responsibility of the awardee in accordance with 

terms and conditions of Federal agreements, and the quality of the data remains the legal 

responsibility of the recipient. Therefore, agency senior accountable officials are not responsible 

for certifying the quality of File E data reported by awardees. As such, we did not assess the 

completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and quality of the data extracted from SAM via the Treasury 

broker software system. 

Implementation and Use of the Data Standards 

We have evaluated FMC’s implementation of the government-wide financial data 

standards for award and spending information and determined the FMC is using the standards as 

defined by OMB and Treasury. For the Treasury’s DATA Act Broker files tested, we generally 

found that the required elements were present in the file and that the record values were presented 

in accordance with the standards.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION 

Memorandum

Appendix A – Agency Response

TO : Inspector General DATE: November 3, 2021

FROM : Managing Director

SUBJECT : Audit of the FMC’s Compliance with the DATA Act, Fiscal Year 2021

I have reviewed the findings contained in the subject evaluation. Management values the 

Office of the Inspector General’s efforts in reviewing the Commission’s compliance with the 

DATA Act. We note that, although there were no recommendations issued in this audit, you did 

make suggestions for improvement in this important effort. Additionally, during this audit, you 

reviewed work done in the prior DATA Act audit and closed one of the three open 

recommendations.

Prior Year Recommendations

Recommendation #1: Until such time as the BFS ARC resolves the issue of PRISM only 

interfacing the ‘draft’ version of a processed, finalized award to FPDSNG, the Senior 

Accountable Official (SAO) should develop policies and procedures that ensure the timely 

reporting of procurement information to FPDS-NG. 

Comment: Management agrees with this recommendation. The DQP has been updated to

include the recommended language. 

Recommendation #2: The Senior Accountable Official (SAO) should develop policies and 

procedures to enter and report procurement information accurately in the DATA Act reporting 

process.  

Comment: Management agrees with this recommendation. The DQP has been updated to 

include the recommended language. 

Lucille L. Marvin

cc: Office of the Chairman

10 
11 

Appendix B – CIGIE Date Anomaly Letter

CIGIE’s DATA Act Anomaly Letter Submitted to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security 

and Government Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
12 

Appendix B 

CIGIE’s DATA Act Anomaly Letter Submitted to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security 

and Government Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
13 

Appendix C – Status of Prior Audit Recommendations

# Recommendation Management Response from 

FY 2019, Quarter One Audit 

Report

Report 

1 Until such time as the BFS ARC 

resolves the issue of PRISM only 

interfacing the ‘draft’ version of a 

processed, finalized award to FPDSNG, the Senior Accountable Official 

(SAO) should develop policies and 

procedures that ensure the timely 

reporting of procurement information 

to FPDS-NG.  

Management agrees with this 

recommendation. When this 

issue was discovered during the 

audit process, the Office of 

Management Services consulted 

the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, 

Administrative Resource Center 

(BFS ARC) for assistance in

determining the cause and 

resolution of the PRISM issue. 

Thereafter, a procedure was 

developed and implemented by 

OMS to ensure that PRISM 

procurement documents are 

properly finalized, and that 

procurement information is 

timely reported to FPDS-NG. 

This procedure will be included 

in the DQP.

A20-01

Explanation for Status of Recommendation:

The DQP includes a procedure for the timely reporting of procurement information 

to FPDS-NG.  Specifically, the procedure states that the FMC Contract Specialist 

shall verify in PRISM that the final FPDS-NG report is approved, and “Approval 

Date” is posted within three days after the award is executed, and that the Director 

of OMS shall review and initial the final FPDS-NG report. 

During the OIG’s testing of the FMC’s DATA Act fiscal year 2020, fourth quarter 

submission, the OIG reviewed to determine whether the above procedure is 

working effectively. Specifically, the OIG reviewed the FPDS-NG report in the 

FMC’s contract file for the procurement to determine whether the Director of OMS 

reviewed and initialed the final FPDS-NG report for each procurement action. Of 

the 35 unique procurement awards, only six (6) of the FPDS-NG reports were 

signed off by the Director of OMS within three business days of the executed date 

on the procurement action. One of the procurement awards was not required to be 

reported to FPDS-NG because it was below the micro-purchase threshold. Two 

were not signed by the Director of OMS at all, and 26 were signed by the Director 

of OMS between June 3-11, 2021, several months after the executed date on the 

procurement actions. 

For the period tested, the Director of OMS informed the OIG that the Contract 

Specialist did not provide the reports for review by the Director of OMS. The 

Director of OMS stated that there was an understanding within OMS that the 

Contract Specialist would provide the FPDS-NG report to the Director of OMS, 

Status: 

Open
14 

and this failed to happen. However, the DQP does not currently state that the 

Contract Specialist should provide the Director of OMS the FPDS-NG report to 

facilitate the review. 

During the testing phase of the audit the OIG did not determine there was an issue 

with PRISM only interfacing the ‘draft’ version of a processed, finalized award to 

FPDS-NG. However, there were four (4) procurement actions out of 35 that were 

untimely to FPDS-NG. Review of the FPDS reports by the Director of OMS within 

three business days will help ensure the timely reporting of procurement 

information to FPDS-NG. 

The FMC has not implemented recommendation #1 from the 2019 DATA Act 

audit because the procedure that the FMC has designed in response to the 

recommendation was not operating effectively or clearly stated in the Data Quality 

Plan. Specifically, the DQP should be updated to include a requirement for the 

Director of OMS to strive to review the FPDS reports within three business days 

of the executed date on the procurement action, except for extenuating 

circumstances. The Contract Specialist should provide the FPDS reports to the 

Director the same day the Contract Specialist completes the procurement action.

FMC Comment:

Management agrees with this recommendation. The DQP has been updated to include the 

recommended language. 

OIG Response:

Management’s comments are responsive to the OIG’s recommendation. The OIG looks forward 

to reviewing the implementation of the recommendation in the near future. 

2 The Senior Accountable Official 

(SAO) should develop policies and 

procedures to enter and report 

procurement information accurately in 

the DATA Act reporting process.  

Management agrees that 

procurement information should 

be complete, accurate, and 

timely. During this audit process, 

a procedure was developed and 

implemented by OMS to ensure 

completeness, accuracy, and 

timeliness of information, and 

will be added to the DQP. 

A20-01

Explanation for Status of Recommendation:

The DQP includes a procedure that the Director of OMS shall review and initial 

the final FPDS-NG report for actions completed by Contracting Specialists or 

Contracting Officers to ensure completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of 

information. In addition, it says that the Contract Specialist shall verify in PRISM 

that the final FPDS-NG report is approved, and “Approval Date” is posted within 

three days after the award is executed. 

During testing of Files C and D1 the OIG did determine there were 39 inaccurate 

data elements within 18 different procurement actions. Of the 39, 29 were 

determined to be attributable to the FMC, and 10 were determined to be attributable 

to third parties. The DQP procedure that FMC developed was to address

recommendation #1 and #2. 

Status: 

Open
15 

In addition, the OIG determined that there are two areas that the FMC could 

improve in its DQP. 

1. The DQP should be updated to include a requirement for the Director of OMS 

to strive to review the FPDS reports within three business days of the executed 

date on the procurement action, except for extenuating circumstances, to ensure 

that procurement actions that must be reported to FPDS externally are accurate 

and timely. 

2. The FMC should consider developing a contingency plan in the DQP to address 

the FMC’s DATA Act reporting responsibilities if key positions are vacated with 

little or no notice. 

Like recommendation #1, the FMC has not implemented recommendation #2 from 

the 2019 DATA Act audit because the procedure that the FMC has designed in 

response to the recommendation was not operating effectively or clearly stated in 

the Data Quality Plan. 

FMC Comment:

Management agrees with this recommendation. The DQP has been updated to include the 

recommended language.

OIG Response:

Management’s comments are responsive to the OIG’s recommendation. The OIG looks forward 

to reviewing the implementation of the recommendation in the near future.

3 The Senior Accountable Official 

(SAO) should work with the Bureau of 

the Fiscal Service Administrative 

Resource Center to develop policies 

and procedures to enter and report 

procurement information accurately in 

the DATA Act reporting process for 

instances when a vendor changes their 

DUNS number. 

Management agrees with this 

recommendation, and received 

BFS ARC guidance on August 

12, 2019, on accurate reporting of 

procurement information when a 

vendor changes its DUNS 

number. The guidance was 

implemented by OMS and will be 

included in the DQP.

A20-01

Explanation for Status of Recommendation: 

The OIG did not determine during the testing phase of the audit that there any 

issues with the DATA Act reporting process for instances when a vendor changed 

their DUNS number. The OIG reviewed a narrative provided by BFS ARC on the 

process in PRISM for when a vendor novation occurs and determined it to be 

reasonable. The FMC has implemented corrective action for recommendation #3.

Status: 

Closed
16 

Appendix D – FMC’s Results for the Data Elements

The table below summarizes the results of our data element testing. Results are sorted in 

descending order by accuracy error rate (the data element with the highest accuracy error rate is 

listed first). This table is based on the results of our testing of the 35 unique procurement records 

submitted in FMC's FY 2020, Quarter 4, DATA Act submission. 

FMC's results listed in descending order by accuracy error rate.

Completeness (C), Accuracy (A), Timeliness (T)

Data 

Element 

No. 

File Data Element Name

Error Rate

C A T 

4 File D1 Ultimate Parent Legal Entity Name 0.00% 21.88% 6.25%

1 File D1 Awardee/Recipient Legal Entity Name 0.00% 11.43% 11.43%

2 File D1 Awardee/Recipient Unique Identifier 0.00% 11.43% 11.43%

5 File D1 Legal Entity Address 0.00% 11.43% 11.43%

22 File D1 Award Description 0.00% 8.57% 11.43%

26 File D1 Period of Performance Start Date 0.00% 8.57% 11.43%

14 File D1 Current Total Value of Award 0.00% 5.88% 11.76%

15 File D1 Potential Total Value of Award 0.00% 5.71% 11.43%

25 File D1 Action Date 0.00% 5.71% 11.43%

24 File C Parent Award ID Number 0.00% 5.00% 0.00%

24 File D1 Parent Award ID Number 0.00% 4.76% 9.52%

3 File D1 Ultimate Parent Unique Identifier 0.00% 3.13% 6.25%

11 File D1 Federal Action Obligation 0.00% 2.94% 11.76%

27 File D1 Period of Performance Current End Date 0.00% 2.94% 11.76%

28 File D1 Period of Performance Potential End Date 0.00% 2.94% 11.76%

30 File D1 Primary Place of Performance Address 0.00% 2.94% 11.76%

6 File D1 Legal Entity Congressional District 0.00% 2.86% 11.43%

7 File D1 Legal Entity Country Code 0.00% 2.86% 11.43%

8 File D1 Legal Entity Country Name 0.00% 2.86% 11.43%

16 File D1 Award Type 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

17 File D1 NAICS Code 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

18 File D1 NAICS Description 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

23 File D1 Award Modification/ Amendment Number 0.00% 0.00% 14.81%

29 File D1 Ordering Period End Date 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

31 File D1

Primary place of Performance Congressional 

District 0.00% 0.00% 11.76%

32 File D1 Primary Place of Performance Country Code 0.00% 0.00% 11.76%

33 File D1

Primary Place of Performance Country 

Name 0.00% 0.00% 11.76%

34 File D1 Award ID Number (PIID/FAIN) 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

34 File C Award ID Number (PIID/FAIN) 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

36 File D1 Action Type 0.00% 0.00% 12.00%

38 File D1 Funding Agency Name 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

39 File D1 Funding Agency Code 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

40 File D1 Funding Sub Tier Agency Name 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

41 File D1 Funding Sub Tier Agency Code 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

42 File D1 Funding Office Name 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%
17 

Data 

Element 

No. 

File Data Element Name 

Error Rate

C A T 

43 File D1 Funding Office Code 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

44 File D1 Awarding Agency Name 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

45 File D1 Awarding Agency Code 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

46 File D1 Awarding Sub Tier Agency Name 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

47 File D1 Awarding Sub Tier Agency Code 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

48 File D1 Awarding Office Name 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

49 File D1 Awarding Office Code 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

50 File C Object Class 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

51 File C Appropriations Account 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

53 File C Obligation 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

56 File C Program Activity 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

163 File D1 National Interest Action 0.00% 0.00% 11.43%

430 File C Disaster Emergency Fund Code 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

12 File D2* Non-Federal Funding Amount N/A N/A N/A

13 File D2* Amount of Award N/A N/A N/A

19 File D2*

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number N/A N/A N/A

20 File D2*

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Title N/A N/A N/A

35 File D2* Record Type N/A N/A N/A

37 File D2* Business Types N/A N/A N/A

57 N/A Outlay N/A N/A N/A

*Only applicable to Federal Assistance Awards, therefore not applicable to FMC. 
18 

Appendix E – Comparative Results Table

The table below identifies the error rate by data element from the fiscal year 2020, fourth quarter 

and fiscal year 2019, first quarter audit results. The information is being provided for illustrative 

purposes only. 

FMC's Comparative Results for Data Elements

Based on Accuracy Error Rate in Descending Order

Data 

Element 

No. 

File Data Element Name 

Error Rate

FY 

2020 

Q4

FY 2019 

Q1

Change 

in %

4 File D1 Ultimate Parent Legal Entity Name 21.88% 6.67% 15.21%

1 File D1 Awardee/Recipient Legal Entity Name 11.43% 6.67% 4.76%

2 File D1 Awardee/Recipient Unique Identifier 11.43% 6.67% 4.76%

5 File D1 Legal Entity Address 11.43% 6.67% 4.76%

22 File D1 Award Description 8.57% 6.67% 1.90%

26 File D1 Period of Performance Start Date 8.57% 13.33% -4.76%

14 File D1 Current Total Value of Award 5.88% 13.33% -7.45%

15 File D1 Potential Total Value of Award 5.71% 13.33% -7.62%

25 File D1 Action Date 5.71% 13.33% -7.62%

24 File C Parent Award ID Number 5.00% 0.00% 5.00%

24 File D1 Parent Award ID Number 4.76% 14.29% -9.52%

3 File D1 Ultimate Parent Unique Identifier 3.13% 6.67% -3.54%

11 File D1 Federal Action Obligation 2.94% 6.67% -3.73%

27 File D1 Period of Performance Current End Date 2.94% 6.67% -3.73%

28 File D1 Period of Performance Potential End Date 2.94% 13.33% -10.39%

30 File D1 Primary Place of Performance Address 2.94% 6.67% -3.73%

6 File D1 Legal Entity Congressional District 2.86% 6.67% -3.81%

7 File D1 Legal Entity Country Code 2.86% 6.67% -3.81%

8 File D1 Legal Entity Country Name 2.86% 6.67% -3.81%

16 File D1 Award Type 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

17 File D1 NAICS Code 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

18 File D1 NAICS Description 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

23 File D1 Award Modification/ Amendment Number 0.00% 16.67% -16.67%

29 File D1 Ordering Period End Date 0.00% 100.00%

-

100.00%

31 File D1

Primary place of Performance Congressional 

District 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

32 File D1 Primary Place of Performance Country Code 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

33 File D1

Primary Place of Performance Country 

Name 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

34 File D1 Award ID Number (PIID/FAIN) 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

34 File C Award ID Number (PIID/FAIN) 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

36 File D1 Action Type 0.00% 9.09% -9.09%

38 File D1 Funding Agency Name 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

39 File D1 Funding Agency Code 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%
19 

Data 

Element 

No.

File Data Element Name

Error Rate

FY 

2020 

Q4

FY 2019 

Q1

Change 

in %

40 File D1 Funding Sub Tier Agency Name 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

41 File D1 Funding Sub Tier Agency Code 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

42 File D1 Funding Office Name 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

43 File D1 Funding Office Code 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

44 File D1 Awarding Agency Name 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

45 File D1 Awarding Agency Code 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

46 File D1 Awarding Sub Tier Agency Name 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

47 File D1 Awarding Sub Tier Agency Code 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

48 File D1 Awarding Office Name 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

49 File D1 Awarding Office Code 0.00% 6.67% -6.67%

50 File C Object Class 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

51 File C Appropriations Account 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

53 File C Obligation 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

56 File C Program Activity 0.00% N/A N/A

163 File D1 National Interest Action 0.00% N/A N/A

430 File C Disaster Emergency Fund Code 0.00% N/A N/A

12

File 

D2* Non-Federal Funding Amount N/A N/A N/A

13

File 

D2* Amount of Award N/A N/A N/A

19

File 

D2*

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number N/A N/A N/A

20

File 

D2*

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Title N/A N/A N/A

35

File 

D2* Record Type N/A N/A N/A

37

File 

D2* Business Types N/A N/A N/A

57 N/A Outlay N/A N/A N/A

*Only applicable to Federal Assistance Awards, therefore not applicable to FMC. 
20 

Appendix F – Analysis of the Accuracy of Dollar Value-Related Data 

Elements

Our testing included tests of certain dollar value-related data elements, such as Federal action 

obligation, current total value of award, potential total value of award, and transaction obligation 

amount. The table below shows the results of the accuracy of the data elements related to dollar 

value. 

Accuracy of Dollar-Value Related Data Elements 

Data Element Number and 

Name

Accurate Not 

Accurate

N/A Total 

Tested

Error 

Rate

Absolute Value 

of Errors

11 Federal Action Obligation 33 1 1 35 2.94% $13,534.85

14

Current Total Value of 

Award 32 2 1 35 5.88% $24,744.24

15

Potential Total Value of 

Award 35 2 0 35 5.41% $46,094.23

53

Transaction Obligation 

Amount 34 0 1 35 0.00% $0
21 

Appendix G – Analysis of Errors in Data Elements 

The below table shows the breakdown of errors that are attributable and not attributable to the 

agency. The OIG tested a total of 1,579 data elements. 

Incomplete Inaccurate Untimely

Total Errors Total # of 

Errors

0 39 153

Error 

Rate

0.00% 2.49% 9.66%

Errors 

Attributable 

to the FMC 

Total # of 

Errors

0 29 153

Error 

Rate

0.00% 1.84% 9.66%

Errors Not 

Attributable 

to the FMC 

Total # of 

Errors

0 10 0

Error 

Rate

0.00% 0.63% 0.00%
22 

Appendix H – Analysis of Errors in Data Elements Not Attributable 

to the FMC 

The below table displays the results for the errors in data elements that are not attributable to the 

FMC and an explanation, if known. 

Errors in Data Elements Not Attributable to the FMC

File

Data Element Number and Name Explanation 

D1 1 Awardee or Recipient Legal Entity Name

According to the FMC, the 

agency responsible for the 

parent contract would need to 

update the parent contract in 

FPDS to reflect the awardee's 

new legal entity name. 

D1 3 Ultimate Parent Unique Identifier

Inaccurate awardee 

information in SAM.gov

D1 4 Ultimate Parent Legal Entity Name

Inaccurate awardee 

information in SAM.gov

C & D1 24 Parent Award ID

According to the FMC, the 

agency does not have control 

over the Parent Award ID field 

as this is a Government-Wide 

Acquisition Contract 

(GWAC). 
23 

Appendix I – Comparative Analysis of Errors in Data Elements

The below table shows the comparative breakdown of errors from fiscal year 2020, fourth quarter 

and fiscal year 2019, first quarter audit results. The information is being provided for illustrative 

purposes only. 

Incomplete Inaccurate Untimely

FY 2020 Q4 Total 

Error Rate

Error 

Rate

0.00% 2.49% 9.66%

FY 2019 Q1 Total 

Error Rate

Error 

Rate

6.33% 7.12% 24.21%

Change in % Error 

Rate

-6.33% -4.63% -14.55%