The NRO OIG derives authority from and is assigned obligations by a variety of statutes, regulations and Executive orders, including the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, Executive Order 12333 and NRO Directives.

The Government Auditing Standards, also referred to as the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), are the standards to be followed by government auditors in the performance of their official duties. They are designed to ensure that government auditors maintain competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence in planning, conducting and reporting their work. The GAGAS addresses the auditor's professional qualifications, quality of their work, and reporting requirements.

Quality Standards for Federal Offices of Inspector General (Silver book) is the document containing the quality standards for management, operation, and conduct of the Federal Offices of Inspector General (OIG). Executive Order 12805 provides the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) and the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency (ECIE) with the responsibility for developing professional standards for OIGs.

Procurement Fraud Initiative

The OIG is currently engaged in proactive measures to detect and prevent contract fraud via our Procurement Fraud Initiative

• Our Procurement Fraud Initiative is designed to enhance the integrity of the NRO’s procurement process by preventing, deterring, and detecting procurement fraud.

• It is a cross-functional effort involving Auditors, Inspectors and Investigators.

• We adopted a multifaceted methodology that is aligned to possible vulnerabilities, or threats, to the NRO’s acquisition environment.