Whether mandated by law or simply to address topics of interest, numerous audits are performed each year both internally by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and externally by other agencies or organizations. Internal DOE audits are typically carried out by the Office of Inspection General (OIG) while external ones are done by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) or independent auditing organizations. Regardless of who conducts the audits, the Office of Program Management and Evaluation (PME) within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) works closely as an au... [More]

EERE is committed to continually improving the efficiency and effectiveness of its monitoring and oversight activities for financial assistance. Audits represent an essential oversight function and may be conducted by a wide range of internal and external parties: the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General (OIG); the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); or other independent agencies or firms. Audits scrutinize the technical and financial performance and management controls of EERE’s technology programs and its financial assistance Recipients. Individually, these audits have helped inform and strengthen EERE’s monitoring activities. Collectively, they can help to identify and address common issues. [More]

Implementation of the Recovery Act is not only creating jobs while advancing science and technology; it is also giving us at EERE an opportunity to improve our own efficiency and effectiveness. To make the most of this opportunity, EERE’s Office of Field Operations (FO) conducted a comprehensive analysis of audit findings related to programs that EERE sponsored or implemented under the Recovery Act. The analysis covers [more than/almost] sixty audits undertaken between February 2009 and May 2011 by the Department’s Office of the Inspector General and the US Government Accountability Office, as well as by outside auditors that reviewed recipients’ use of EERE financial assistance. The audits cover both EERE as a whole and individual EERE programs, spanning projects in every state, the District of Columbia, and several US territories and Native American tribal lands. [More]

EERE is a learning organization, committed to continuous improvement, and we've worked hard to create an environment that increases our capacity for innovation and improvement. In keeping with this commitment, one of the factors which informed EERE’s monitoring framework is past audit findings, and we continue to implement lessons learned to strengthen our processes. [More]