In accordance with Section 3 of the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, a statement is provided by the Inspector General, which summarizes what she considers to be the most serious management challenges facing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. These issues were the focus of significant work conducted by the Office of Inspector General during FY 2004, and they require continuous effort by the agency. The management challenges also link directly to the President's Management Agenda initiatives.
The strategic management of human capital is EEOC's most critical management challenge. The Office of Human Resources is working towards making major progress in meeting the human capital initiatives of the President's Management Agenda (PMA) and the OPM's Human Capital Standards for Success. Steps needed to improve the strategic management of human capital initiative include: continue working with the OPM assigned human capital officer to refine and obtain OPM approval of the Agency developed human capital strategy; complete the development and implementation of an agency-wide integrated workforce planning and analysis capability; complete a skills gap assessment; and develop and execute Individual Development Plans for all employees. Further, the Agency's human capital strategy needs to be communicated to the workforce. As the Commission draws closer to making a decision on the future structure of the agency, the Office of Human Resources remains committed to ensuring that organizational structure is focused toward performing mission activities.
OPM's Division for Human Capital Strategy and Merit Systems Accountability completed a review of the EEOC's Office of Human Resources' operations in May 2004. OPM is currently preparing its draft report that will include their findings and recommendations.
The FY 2005 Performance Budget continued an
improved approach toward budget and performance integration that
began with the FY 2004 Performance Budget. The
FY 2005 Performance Budget integrated the budget
request with the Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years
2004-2009, issued on October 1, 2003. For example, the
FY 2005 Performance Budget aligned staffing and
funding requests with the two mission-related strategic objectives
in the Strategic Plan. In addition, the FY 2005 Performance
Budget included increased alignment of resources to major
programs. During
FY 2003, the Chief Financial Officer began providing consolidated
monthly financial reports by strategic goals, objectives and
programs to senior managers. These reports include field and
headquarters direct and indirect costs for compensation, benefits,
rent and program, and administration.
The agency is also making progress in allocating program costs. In the fourth quarter of FY 2004, the Agency gathered annual time allocation information from each employee. In FY 2005, the agency is adding an automated system that each employee will use to provide time allocation information every two weeks for the entire year. This system, while a strong step forward, does not provide much information necessary for effective management. For example, time for critical tasks within program activities is not captured. In addition, time taken for training is not identified.
In future years, the agency plans to allocate funding at more detailed levels to enhance the budget and performance integration effort. Specifically, plans include redesigning the internal budget formulation process and associated guidance, comparing agency performance with other civil rights enforcement agencies, assessing how long tasks take in order to accurately measure costs, and documenting alignment of cost centers in the financial accounting system to agency programs.
In accordance with the Accountability of Tax Dollars Act of 2002, EEOC's financial statements of FY 2003 were audited. The audit was conducted under contract with the Independent Public Accountants (IPA), Cotton & Co. LLP, who issued a qualified audit opinion on the agency's FY 2003 financial statements due to the agency's calculation of its future workers compensation liability. The CFO has taken steps to address this issue and continues to work to ensure that the agency receives an unqualified opinion on the FY 2004 financial statements.
The CFO is also faced with the challenge of obtaining funding in FY 2006 to update the agency's financial management software to one that is certified by the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP).
Competitive sourcing still remains a critical management challenge for the agency. The agency plans to consistently identify commercial and inherently governmental inventories throughout the Commission as the five-year competitive sourcing plan is developed. Due to conflicting information received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congress, there has been little progress in this area. There has been no clear guidance in regard to how positions are to be competitively sourced. The agency returned to the practice of direct conversion, replacing full-time employees with contractors, as positions are vacated. Planned competitions for information technology desktop support and applications training, human resources processing and Federal operations intake have been delayed awaiting directions from the Administration and Congress. The OIG plans to review this area in FY 2005.
Two of the major issues facing EEOC regarding E-Government are its ability to adequately secure its information systems, and its ability to expand the agency's use of the Internet and computer resources in order to deliver government services. Both of these areas are consistent with the reform principles outlined by President George W. Bush to provide individuals with a citizen-centered, results-oriented, and market-based government.
Based upon the results of several information security reviews conducted this year, it is our opinion that the agency has made significant headway regarding its ability to adequately secure its information resources. However, continued support by senior management with regard to providing the appropriate level of human capital and financial investment is necessary to ensure that all Agency systems remain secure.
Regarding the agency's ability to use the Internet and other computer resources to deliver government services, EEOC has made significant progress. During the year, the Office of Information Technology (OIT), in collaboration with the Office of Field Program's Revolving Fund, developed a web-based registration and sales system. This system provides the public, private businesses, and Federal and state government agencies the ability to register and pay for seminars, and obtain educational and training materials online, via the Internet. OIT worked with the Department of Interior's National Business Center to develop an interface that automatically integrates the web-based payment data with EEOC's core financial system, thereby improving data integrity and timeliness by replacing the previous manual process. Furthermore, EEOC is currently implementing a Charge Assist System to assist the public in filing discrimination complaints electronically. The system contains an "e-Assessment" module to help the public determine if EEOC is the appropriate agency to assist them with their complaint, and an "e-Questionnaire" module will allow the public to securely transmit an inquiry to an EEOC field office for processing. These endeavors require committed financial support to ensure that EEOC continues its progress in providing better agency Internet services to the public.
This page was last modified on November 18, 2004
