This semiannual report informs Congress of the Peace Corps Office of Inspector General's work for October 1, 2017 through March 31, 2018.

We found that the post’s financial and administrative operations ran well, but some areas required improvement to comply with agency policies and applicable federal laws and regulations. Our report contains 11 recommendations directed to the post and headquarters. We recommend that the post strengthen its controls in the management of imprest funds and purchases. In addition, we recommend that the post retrain its Peace Corps medical officers on authorization of dental care processes and on how to properly dispose of medical supplies. Management concurred with all 11 recommendations.

The objective of this limited scope follow up review was to determine if the agreed upon corrective actions taken in response to the safety and security findings from the 2012 OIG Program Evaluation of Peace Corps/Uganda were fully implemented and had the intended effects. This review included seven recommendations, all with which the post concurred.

This limited scope review is a follow up to our 2012 country program evaluation of Peace Corps/Peru. This report focused on five findings from the 2012 evaluation related to programming, training, and safety and security. We found that the post had appropriately responded to each of our 2012 recommendations, and the actions taken had a positive effect on the issues identified in 2012. There are no recommendations in this follow up.

This evaluation focused on the appropriateness of programming, training, and evaluation; the adequacy of Volunteer support; and the effectiveness of post leadership and management. While there are many areas of strength for this post, there are 22 recommendations. The majority are directed at the areas of programming, site development, and training.

This semiannual report informs Congress of the Peace Corps Office of Inspector General's work for April 1, 2017 through September 30, 2017.

The overall objective of this evaluation was to determine how effectively and efficiently Peace Corps/Costa Rica met the first two goals of the Peace Corps mission. The evaluation revealed many examples of effective post management in the areas of programming, training, and Volunteer support. This evaluation also included 13 recommendations, all with which post concurred, and 6 of which were closed before the issuance of the final report.

Inspector General Kathy A. Buller's statement before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform concerning Recommendations and Reforms from the Inspectors General.

These challenges illustrate the most significant areas the Office of Inspector General (OIG) believes need improvement for the Peace Corps to effectively manage its resources and minimize the potential for fraud, waste, and abuse occurring in its operations. Addressing the issues related to these challenge areas will enable the agency to increase operational efficiencies and improve mission effectiveness.

The objectives of this performance audit were to assess the completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of Fiscal Year 2017, Second Quarter financial and award data submitted for publication on USAspending.gov in accordance with the DATA Act and to assess the Peace Corps’ implementation and use of the Government-wide financial data standards established by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of the Treasury. While the Peace Corps took steps to implement and use the Government-wide data standards, problems with completeness and accuracy hinder the Peace Corps’ ability to provide reliable data, achieve full transparency to the public, and comply with Federal accountability requirements.

The objective of this review was to perform an independent assessment of the Peace Corps’ information security program, including testing the effectiveness of security controls for a subset of systems as required, for FY 2017. Our results demonstrate that the Peace Corps lacks an effective information security program because of problems related to people, processes, technology, and culture. The Peace Corps needs to embrace a risk-based culture and place greater emphasis on the importance of a robust information security program by involving senior leadership, ensuring agency policies are comprehensive, and prioritizing the time and resources necessary to become fully compliant with Federal laws and eliminate weaknesses.

We issued 12 audit recommendations in the 2013 audit report of Peace Corps/Zambia, all of which the post and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer implemented and we closed. However, during the follow-up audit we noted that the internal controls over the post’s financial and administrative operations required significant improvement to comply with agency policies and applicable Federal laws and regulations. Our report contains 21 recommendations directed to both the post and headquarters. At the post, our recommendations include implementing controls over fuel purchase and use, imprest funds, staff health insurance, disbursements, and security clearance for staff. We also recommend putting in place a contract with the auctioneer and enhancing controls over Volunteer allowances. We recommend that headquarters issue guidance on implementing internal controls over fuel purchase and use.

The Office of Inspector General's annual plan outlines the work planned for the year ahead, including agency wide audits or evaluations, mandated reviews, and which posts may receive audits or evaluations.