The Government Accountability Office has recommended that U.S. government agencies adopt measures to improve the quality of their reports to the Federal Procurement Data System that the General Services Administration administers to track federal awards.
A GAO report released Thursday said 34 of the 70 agencies that filed procurement reports to FPDS in fiscal year 2023 did not complete a data quality report or failed to submit copies to the office. It also noted that the agencies with incomplete contract reports, while representing less than 1 percent of reported contract obligations, their procurements accounted for nearly $2 billion in spending in FY 2023.
In addition, the federal watchdog’s review found that the procurement data 24 agencies reported did not comply with OMB’s reporting requirements, such as FPDS deadline compliance.
Recommendations on Report Accuracy
Following its findings, GAO issued separate recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget, General Services Administration, Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The 12 recommendations included a call for the OMB director to ensure that the Office of Federal Procurement Policy coordinates with GSA in the collection and tracking of agencies’ procurement data quality reports.
GAO also recommended that the secretary of energy require their Office of Acquisition Management to develop a sampling process to help in ensuring the statistical validity of DOE’s procurement data and their compliance with OMB guidelines.
GAO’s recommendation to the DOD focused on the Navy taking corrective measures on the service branch’s verification and validation process to address data discrepancies as pinpointed under the department’s Procurement Data Improvement & Compliance Plan.
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