Summary

GAO's July 1997 testimony before Congress (GAO/T-AIMD-97-138) identified implementation issues concerning the strategic plan developed by the Special Trustee for American Indians to improve Indian trust fund accounting and asset management. In August 1997, the Secretary of the Interior issued a memorandum that addressed several of these implementation issues. Some issues, however, were not addressed by the memorandum, including the timing of record cleanup and conversion in connection with acquiring the proposed automated accounting system module and the need for additional coordination and planning for proposed major information technology investments. Addressing those issues should increase the strategic plan's chances for success.

GAO noted that: (1) GAO's July 1997 testimony identified implementation issues related to several of the strategic plan's proposed initiatives; (2) the August 1997 memorandum outlined plans that relate to several of the initiatives for which GAO had identified implementation issues; (3) there remain some implementation issues not addressed by the memorandum, including the timing of record cleanup and conversion in connection with acquiring the proposed automated accounting system module and the need for additional coordination and planning for proposed major information technology investments; and (4) addressing those issues will enhance the opportunity for successful implementation.