Navy Inventory:

Better Controls Needed Over Planned Program Requirements

NSIAD-93-151, Jul 1, 1993

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GAO reviewed the Navy's management of planned program requirements for ship and submarine parts, focusing on the Navy's program monitoring and internal controls for these requirements.

GAO found that: (1) internal control weaknesses in the Navy's Ships Parts Control Center's planned program requirements system include duplicate and unauthorized program requirement records, inappropriate records, and inadequate guidelines and validation procedures; (2) the Center lacked sufficient management and analytical data to ensure that it was adequately matching customer requisitions with program requirements or accounting for on-hand stocks reserved for planned program requirements; (3) improved control and monitoring of the Navy's planned program requirements could help ensure that valid requirements are satisfied in a timely and efficient manner; and (4) Center actions to identify system problems and reduce the number of planned program requirements in its inventory include establishing a review group and conducting vulnerability and risk assessments as part of its management control review cycle.

Status Legend:

More Info
  • Review Pending-GAO has not yet assessed implementation status.
  • Open-Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned, or actions that partially satisfy the intent of the recommendation have been taken.
  • Closed-implemented-Actions that satisfy the intent of the recommendation have been taken.
  • Closed-not implemented-While the intent of the recommendation has not been satisfied, time or circumstances have rendered the recommendation invalid.
    • Review Pending
    • Open
    • Closed - implemented
    • Closed - not implemented

    Recommendations for Executive Action

    Recommendation: The Secretary of the Navy should identify and implement the internal controls and monitoring efforts needed to ensure that all changes made to the Ships Parts Control Center's file as a result of program support data slippage, delays, and deletions are analyzed to determine the impact on procurement and inventory levels.

    Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy

    Status: Closed - Implemented

    Comments: The Navy was looking into an automatic link to program support data with the parts system. The system was implemented and fully operational on January 11, 1996.

    Recommendation: The Secretary of the Navy should identify and implement the internal controls and monitoring efforts needed to ensure that all planned program requirements procured by the Ships Parts Control Center are matched with customers' requisitions.

    Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy

    Status: Closed - Implemented

    Comments: The Navy implemented a process to match requisitions to planned program requirements.

    Recommendation: The Secretary of the Navy should identify and implement the internal controls and monitoring efforts needed to ensure that planned program requirements do not unnecessarily protect inventories from routine requisitions.

    Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy

    Status: Closed - Implemented

    Comments: The Navy developed procedures and controls to ensure that planned program requirements are not unnecessarily protecting inventory from requisitions. The initial review corrected 1,150 planned program requirements valued at $48 million.

    Recommendation: The Secretary of the Navy should identify and implement the internal controls and monitoring efforts needed to ensure that duplicate, unauthorized, and inappropriate planned program requirements are not entered or maintained in the Ships Parts Control Center's file.

    Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy

    Status: Closed - Implemented

    Comments: The Navy has reviewed planned program requirements to ensure that duplicate, unauthorized, and inappropriate requirements are not included. The Navy is developing a process to perform future reviews. A system to match customer requisitions to planned program requirements has been implemented. An initial review deleted $32 million in duplicate planned program requirements.

    Recommendation: The Secretary of the Navy should prepare procedures for validating planned program requirements prior to taking procurement action.

    Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy

    Status: Closed - Implemented

    Comments: The Navy began using a checkoff sheet for all procurement requests, including planned program requirements. In May 1993, the Navy began to validate all planned program requirement procurements over $200,000.