Major programs are analyzed for costs, benefits, effectiveness, and to provide an overall picture of the efficiency of operations. Financial-related audits include reviews of entities external to the Department that are awarded contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and loan guarantees. The Office of Inspections and Program Evaluations performs a range of inspections and evaluations of departmental organizations, activities, and programs. The inspections program was initially created to expand the coverage of the OIG in the Department of Commerce. Inspections have made valuable and innovative contributions to the OIG mission to bring about change, in the form of greater efficiency and improved management and program effectiveness in the Department.
Program evaluations are reviews of specific management issues, policies, or programs.
The Office of Systems Evaluations provides oversight of the Department s information technology focusing exclusively on systems, issues, policies and programs. The office was established to expand OIG s coverage of the Department s acquisition, development and use of information technology to improve mission performance and reduce costs. Systems evaluations are reviews of information technology-related acquisition and development programs involving computer hardware and software, communications systems, computer security, environmental satellites, and other technology areas and issues. This office is charged with conducting investigations of alleged or suspected wrongdoing by Commerce employees, contractors, and financial assistance recipients, which may constitute violations of criminal laws, civil statutes, Department regulations, or employee standards of conduct, or may involve fraud, mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority or a substantial and specific danger to the public health or safety. To encourage the reporting of possible violations, the Office of Investigations maintains the OIG Hotline , which accepts complaints regarding any of the above suspected activities by phone, facsimile transmittal, electronic or U.S. mail.