As part of its Performance and Accountability Series, GAO provided information on the major management challenges and program risks facing the Department of the Interior.

GAO noted that: (1) a reexamination of the organization of the four major land management agencies is needed to streamline their operations and become more efficient; (2) even though Interior is the caretaker for much of the nation's natural and cultural resources, it frequently lacks information on the condition of these resources; (3) as a result, Interior does not know the status of key issues like the nature or extent of many problems relating to the resources it is legislatively mandated to foster, protect, and preserve; the effectiveness of measures taken to deal with the problems; or the areas where the limited financial resources available should be allocated to achieve the most good; (4) decentralization of responsibility, coupled with inadequate guidance and oversight, has resulted in significant differences in how Interior's field offices have implemented both legislative mandates and the administration's goals and objectives; (5) management of the $3 billion Indian trust fund has long been characterized by inadequate accounting and information systems, untrained and inexperienced staff, poor recordkeeping and internal controls, and inadequate written policies and procedures; (6) a half-billion-dollar automated records system now being developed by the Bureau of Land Management is years behind schedule and is estimated to cost more than $100 million over the original estimate; (7) Interior has acknowledged the need to address many of these challenges and, for the most part, has begun to do so; and (8) however, much remains to be done, and it is still too early to determine whether Interior's actions will be effective.

Below are the reports in this series:

High-Risk Series: An Update HR-99-1, Jan 1, 1999

Performance and Accountability Series:

Major Management Challenges and Risks: An Executive Summary OCG-99-ES, Feb 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: A Governmentwide Perspective OCG-99-1, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Agriculture OCG-99-2, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Commerce OCG-99-3, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Defense OCG-99-4, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Education OCG-99-5, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Energy OCG-99-6, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Health and Human Services OCG-99-7, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Housing and Urban Development OCG-99-8, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of the Interior OCG-99-9, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Justice OCG-99-10, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Labor OCG-99-11, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of State OCG-99-12, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Transportation OCG-99-13, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of the Treasury OCG-99-14, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Department of Veterans Affairs OCG-99-15, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Agency for International Development OCG-99-16, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Environmental Protection Agency OCG-99-17, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: National Aeronautics and Space Administration OCG-99-18, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Nuclear Regulatory Commission OCG-99-19, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Risks: Social Security Administration OCG-99-20, Jan 1, 1999

Major Management Challenges and Program Risks: U.S. Postal Service OCG-99-21, Jan 1, 1999