This indicator ensures that the Department of Commerce is accountable to the American people, and that no repeat Significant Deficiencies, formerly known as “Reportable Conditions,” (i.e., deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls) and material weaknesses remain unaddressed.

This indicator describes a major service that ES provides to its customer base via the IT Tower -- that being full installation, maintenance (including print supplies), and repair services for a growing base of high performance printing resources located at the Department’s headquarters. The sources for these data are the Cartridges Technologies Incorporated (CTI) Systems, and the ES Tableau Data Environment.

This indicator reflects the result of the Financial Statement Audit. The goal is to receive an “unmodified” audit opinion. There are several types of audit opinions: (1) unmodified, in which the Auditor concludes that the Financial Statements give a true and fair view in accordance with the financial reporting framework used for the preparation and presentation of the Financial Statements [SCORE = 1]; (2) modified, in which the Auditor encounters a situation that does not comply with generally accepted accounting principles, however, the rest of the financial statements are fairly presented [SCORE = -1]; and (3) disclaimer, which is issued when the Auditor cannot form, and refuses to present, an opinion on the financial statements [SCORE = 0].

Sound acquisition practices help guard against inefficiency and waste and improve the ability to obtain quality supplies and services that are on time and within budget. There are many ways to achieve savings through more effective acquisition practices, including: ending contracts that do not meet program needs; negotiating more favorably priced contracts; developing more strategic acquisition approaches; and reengineering ineffective business processes. This element will measure the Department’s progress in reducing spending through more effective acquisition practices.

This indicator describes a major service that ES provides to its customer base via the HR Tower -- that being the timely processing of Personnel Action Requests (PARs) which are used to accommodate all categories of pay and non-pay related personnel changes for in-scope bureau employees. Examples include (but are not limited to) interim appointments, return-toduty, change-in-duty station, cash awards, relocation incentive, locality pay, and many others. The sources for these data are: Treasury HR system (HRConnect); NFC Payment system (PAYE and subsystems); ES ServiceNow system; and the ES Tableau Data.

This performance indicator measures the number of EDA grants to communities and regions to help build the capacity to support the manufacturing-related activities and needs of businesses.

The indicator measures the extent to which OIG investigations result in credible information for prosecutors or Department management to consider remedies related to the investigations. It is computed by dividing the number of investigative cases completed in the fiscal year that were referred for criminal, civil, or administrative action, or where allegations were unfounded by the total number of investigative cases that were completed. Investigative cases are case files opened to investigate an alleged violation of a federal criminal or civil statute or regulation/policy. Referred for criminal, civil, or administrative action means that the investigation developed enough evidence of a violation and was taken to a criminal or civil prosecutor (typically an Assistant United States Attorney) for prosecutorial consideration or referred to Department management for consideration of administrative action. This data is maintained in OIG's Case Management System.