We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act program. Our audit objective was to determine what challenges grantees faced in using program funds for activities that prepare for, prevent, or respond to the coronavirus and its impact.  We used a survey questionnaire to gather feedback and insight directly from 1,047 program…

We completed a corrective action verification (CAV) of recommendations from prior Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit reports on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) government purchase cards and government travel cards, both issued January 31, 2020. During our CAV, we followed up on all 10 recommendations from OIG audit report 2020-KC-0001 and all 13 recommendations from OIG audit report 2020-KC-0002. Our CAV…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Emergency Solutions Grants Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (ESG-CV) program. Our audit objective was to determine what challenges ESG-CV grant recipients faced in implementing the program and using grant funds. We used a survey questionnaire to gather feedback and insight directly from the 362 recipients of ESG-CV grants. At the time we…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) grant closeout processes and compliance with the Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act.  The GONE Act required that we conduct a risk assessment to determine whether an audit of HUD’s grant closeout process was warranted.  We initiated this review based on the results of our risk assessment conducted in fiscal year 2018, which found that an audit was…

The Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) directs Inspectors General to conduct an annual evaluation of the agency information security program.  FISMA, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) establish information technology (IT) security guidance and standards for Federal agencies. We conducted this evaluation to assess…

The Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) requires all federal agencies to conduct independent security technical verification testing on a sampling of information systems annually.  In conjunction with our fiscal year 2021 FISMA evaluation (2021-OE-0001), we conducted a targeted security testing assessment of sample systems that resulted in a Topic Brief.  The objective of this application vulnerability…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) transitioning of offices from mandatory to maximum telework during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, based on a request from Representative Gerald Connolly, to review whether HUD was employing best practices and existing guidance when deciding whether or when to require Federal employees to return to their offices.  Transitioning an office to maximum…

We audited the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program.  The audit was initiated because of the homelessness crisis in the City of Los Angeles, which has the highest number of unsheltered people in the United States.  In addition, the Los Angeles city controller issued a report in 2019, criticizing the Authority for falling short of City of Los Angeles homeless outreach goals.  (See Background and…

We contracted with the independent public accounting firm of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA) to audit the financial statements of HUD as of and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020,1 and to provide reports on HUD’s 1) internal control over financial reporting; and 2) compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements and other matters, including whether financial management systems complied substantially with the…

We contracted with the independent public accounting firm of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA) to audit the financial statements of FHA as of and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, and to provide reports on FHA’s 1) internal control over financial reporting; and 2) compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements in its financial reporting.  Our contract with CLA required that the audit be performed in…

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) ability to effectively complete information technology (IT) acquisitions.  HUD’s IT systems and its modernization plans depend heavily on contractors, yet HUD has historically faced significant challenges with implementing effective acquisition processes. Therefore, HUD’s acquisition capacity represents a key potential risk within HUD’s IT environment. We found that a…

In February 2021, the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) identified funding risks with the development contract under which HUD contracted for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Catalyst’s development.  In response, HUD officials took steps to slow FHA Catalyst spending on the contract while awaiting approval for additional contract funds.  Despite efforts to slow project spending, it was not enough to prevent funding…

In accordance with the statutory requirements of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) and standards established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, we audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Chief Financial Officer’s (OCFO) compliance with the DATA Act for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020.  The audit was statutorily…

We conducted this engagement in coordination with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to gain an understanding of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fraud risk management practices and develop an inventory of fraud risks that HUD had not already identified for the funds appropriated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and…

The brief provides an update to the original 2018 topic brief, and highlights key challenges faced by HUD in managing and improving its IT program.  The brief is not based on new work, but is a summary of 83 reports and 788 recommendations from past HUD OIG and GAO reports. It discusses the present IT environment at HUD, previously identified and new IT-related challenges, and HUD’s efforts and progress in addressing these challenges.…

While some of HUD’s efforts to improve its hiring and human capital functions and reduce its average time-to-hire have been successful, HUD’s hiring process overall was not efficient.  HUD’s Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), which is responsible for developing and implementing policies and procedures associated with human capital management, set a goal to reduce the average time-to-hire but did not meet this goal. …

We conducted a limited review of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of the Chief Procurement Officer’s (OCPO) administration of five procurement activities under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).  The CARES Act and related Office of Management and Budget memorandums gave HUD flexibility in modifying existing contracts and required rapid delivery of CARES Act funds.  Our…

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) information technology (IT) modernization roadmap.  A significant number of HUD’s mission-essential applications have not been modernized, which presents multiple sources of risk.  These applications are hosted on legacy information systems and mainframe platforms, which are operationally inefficient, increasingly difficult to secure, and costly to maintain.…

We prepared this memorandum to provide the Office of Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) information regarding the opportunity to promote a homeless waitlist preference at Multifamily Housing rental assistance properties.  HUD has an opportunity to revisit the promotion and marketing of its homeless waitlist preference and the importance of partnering with a homeless service provider.  Additionally,…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fiscal year 2020 compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) and other Office of Management and Budget guidance.  PIIA was enacted to prevent and reduce improper payments and requires each agency’s inspector general to perform an annual review of the agency’s compliance with PIIA.  Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD complied…