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Summary

The Office of Inspector General is initiating an audit of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) practices for certifying and issuing warrants to Contracting Officers. DOT’s Contracting Officers are responsible for awarding and managing a significant portfolio of contracts that totaled $1.3 billion in obligations in fiscal year 2013 (excluding the Federal Aviation Administration). As such, it is important that the Department’s Contracting Officers meet Federal and DOT qualification standards. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy requires that Contracting Officers be certified at the appropriate level to correspond with the dollar value of contracts they are authorized to award and administer and directed each agency’s Chief Acquisition Officer to establish agency-specific certification and warrant requirements. DOT established a Contracting Officer Warrant Program, which outlines the Department’s standards and is intended to ensure that only properly trained and qualified employees are appointed as Contracting Officers. Accordingly, our audit objectives will be to (1) evaluate DOT’s compliance with requirements for certifying and assigning warrant levels to its Contracting Officers and (2) determine whether DOT has effective oversight policies and practices to ensure its Contracting Officers meet applicable requirements.