Summary

In response to a congressional request, GAO examined the management of computer-based support functions at the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA).

GAO found that, at the end of fiscal year (FY) 1982, ACDA: (1) abolished its Office of Operations Analysis (OA); (2) transferred its analysts to other parts of ACDA and gave them new titles; (3) cancelled its contract for a DEC-20 computer; and (4) kept its small Wang computer and purchased timesharing services from other agencies. ACDA stated that OA was abolished, in part, to help cope with a FY 1983 budget reduction and claimed that over $1.3 million was saved in FY 1983 by relocating the facility. However, GAO estimated that only about $683,000 in savings can properly be attributed to ACDA actions regarding OA and computer support. GAO found that, currently, ACDA does not adequately plan for or evaluate the use of automatic data processing (ADP) systems. Moreover, ACDA is not complying with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on computer security, although GAO is unaware of any loss of data. Within ACDA, there is disagreement concerning the adequacy of operations analysis capabilities to meet future needs. Further, ACDA has limited access to Department of Defense operations analysis resources.