Inspector General's Vision Statement

"We are agents of positive change striving for continuous improvements in our agencies' management and program operation and in our own offices."

Mission and Authority

The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, creates independent audit and investigative units, called Offices of Inspector General (OIGs), at 61 Federal agencies. The mission of the OIGs, as spelled out in the Act, is to:

• Conduct and supervise independent and objective audits and investigations relating to agency programs and operations.
• Promote economy, effectiveness and efficiency within the agency.
• Prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse in agency programs and operations.
• Review and make recommendations regarding existing and proposed legislation and regulations relating to agency programs and operations.
• Keep the agency head and the Congress fully and currently informed of problems in agency programs and operations.

To ensure objectivity, the IG Act empowers IGs with:

• Independence to determine what reviews to perform.
• Access to all information necessary for the reviews.
• Authority to publish findings and recommendations based on the reviews.

Statement of Reinvention Principles

We Will:

• Work with the agency head and the Congress to improve program management.
• Maximize the positive impact and ensure the independence and objectivity of our audits, investigations and other reviews.
• Use our investigations and other reviews to increase Government integrity and recommend improved systems to prevent, fraud waste and abuse.
• Be innovative and question existing procedures and suggest improvements.
• Build relationships with program ,managers based on a shared commitment to improving program operations and effectiveness.
• Strive to continually improve the quality and usefulness of our products.
• Work together to address Government-wide issues.