Foreign Assistance: Treasury's Technical Assistance Program

GAO found that the Office of Technical Assistance relied primarily on informal mechanisms to maintain program oversight. As the Office of Technical Assistance began to expand its program outside its primary area of operation of Central Europe and Russia, GAO reported that it should develop more formal policies and procedures for conducting program oversight and enforcing them. Additionally, GAO reported that a more structured approach to program oversight and accountability was needed to provide assurance that the government's interest is protected and to provide an institutional memory that could be used to make future programmatic decisions. The report recommended that the Secretary of the Treasury establish formal requirements and procedures that clearly state advisor responsibilities and ensure compliance. The Department of the Treasury reported on June 16, 1999, that measures have been taken to implement the recommendation and to address the deficiencies identified in the report.