Natural Resources Conservation Service: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Program and Financial Accountability
RCED-00-83
Published: Apr 07, 2000. Publicly Released: May 08, 2000.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) efforts to improve its accountability, focusing on the: (1) agency's new approach and the status of its implementation; and (2) extent to which the approach will improve accountability.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Agriculture | To ensure the success of NRCS' efforts to improve its accountability, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of NRCS to improve the integration of financial management and the accountability approach by: (1) revising the agency's strategic planning and accountability policy to make financial management an integral part; (2) developing a plan, including a methodology and timeframe, to incorporate nonpersonnel costs into its total cost accounting database in order to provide accurate information on program costs; and (3) evaluating alternatives and taking appropriate actions to more accurately account for costs reported by its financial management system. |
Closed – Implemented
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has (1) revised its financial and accountability policies and the revisions have been incorporated into software and user guidance, (2) implemented an approach to incorporate non-personnel costs into TCAS by pro-rating and accounting for these costs by program based on actual time staff charged to those programs, and (3) implemented a direct charge approach agency-wide in fiscal year 2004, to more accurately account for costs reported in its accounting system--FFIS. Under this approach, employees time charges and pro-rated administrative costs reported in TCAS will automatically be reported in FFIS and then reported to Congress.
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| Department of Agriculture | To ensure the success of NRCS' efforts to improve its accountability, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of NRCS to incorporate into future strategic and annual performance plans: (1) goals that better represent the desired outcomes of the agency's programs; and (2) a better articulation of partners' contributions to the agency's goals. |
Closed – Implemented
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has taken major steps to implement this recommendation. NRCS has developed detailed performance measures and outcomes for each of its programs. This major effort was completed in May 2003. Also, NRCS' new Conservation Information System includes information on the resources provided by the agency's partners and their accomplishments. These data should enable NRCS, in future strategic and performance plans, to better articulate the partners' contributions to the agency's goals.
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| Department of Agriculture | To ensure the success of NRCS' efforts to improve its accountability, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of NRCS to have the Oversight and Evaluation staff report directly to the Chief or Associate Chief to better ensure that it maintains its independence. |
Closed – Implemented
Although the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) has no plans at this time to have Oversight and Evaluation (O&E) staff report directly to the Chief or Associate Chief of NRCS, they have taken significant steps to ensure the auditors' independence. Specifically, NRCS has created additional independence for the O&E staff by reassigning the resource allocation function from the Deputy Chief responsible for managing the staff to the Chief.
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Topics
Agency missionsConservationstate relationsFinancial managementManagement information systemsPerformance measuresPublic administrationReporting requirementsStrategic planningNatural resource management