Architect of the Capitol: Management Challenges Remain
(21-FEB-06, GAO-06-290).
The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is responsible for the
maintenance, renovation, and new construction of the Capitol Hill
complex, which comprises more than three dozen facilities and
consists of nine jurisdictions, such as the U.S. Capitol and the
Senate and House Office Buildings. In 2003, at the request of
Congress, GAO issued a management review of AOC that contained
recommendations in seven areas to help AOC become more strategic
and accountable. GAO reported on AOC's progress in implementing
those recommendations in January and August 2004. In 2005 and
2006, GAO briefed Congress on AOC's recent progress in
implementing GAO's recommendations and on issues related to AOC's
project and facilities management. This report summarizes GAO's
(1) assessment of AOC's progress in implementing previous GAO
recommendations and in improving project and facilities
management and (2) delineation of remaining management
challenges.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-06-290
ACCNO: A47366
TITLE: Architect of the Capitol: Management Challenges Remain
DATE: 02/21/2006
SUBJECT: Accountability
Agency evaluation
Agency missions
Facility management
General management reviews
Internal controls
Performance measures
Strategic planning
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GAO-06-290
* Report to Congressional Requesters
* February 2006
* ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
* Management Challenges Remain
* Contents
* Results in Brief
* Progress Made on Prior Recommendations but AOC Has Not
Implemented Some Key Recommendations in Critical Areas
* Progress and Challenges in Project Management
* Progress and Challenges in Facilities Management
* Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
* Summary of AOC's Progress on General Management Review Recommendations
* Strategic Management
* Human Capital Management
* Worker Safety
* Recycling
* Financial Management
* IT Management
* COO Action Plan
* Progress and Challenges in Improving Project Management
* Recommendations in September 2005 Briefing
* Progress and Challenges in Improving Facilities Management
* Recommendations Made in December 2005 and January 2006 Briefings
* Status of AOC's Progress on Recommendations
* Major Contributors
Report to Congressional Requesters
February 2006
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Management Challenges Remain
Contents
Table
February 21, 2006Letter
The Honorable Jerry Lewis Chairman The Honorable David Obey Ranking
Minority Member Committee on Appropriations United States House of
Representatives
The Honorable Wayne Allard Chairman The Honorable Richard Durbin Ranking
Minority Member Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch Committee on
Appropriations United States Senate
The Honorable Trent Lott Chairman The Honorable Christopher J. Dodd
Ranking Minority Member Committee on Rules and Administration United
States Senate
The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is responsible for the maintenance,
renovation, and new construction of the Capitol Hill complex, which
comprises more than three dozen facilities, nearly 15 million square feet
of space, and 370 acres of ground developed over 200 years.
Organizationally, AOC consists of a centralized staff that perform
administrative functions and staff who oversee nine "jurisdictions" or
operational units that handle their own day-to-day operations. AOC's
jurisdictions include the buildings and grounds of the U.S. Capitol, the
Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court; the House and Senate Office
Buildings; the Capitol Power Plant (CPP); the Botanic Garden, and Security
Programs. AOC operates in a challenging environment: the agency must
preserve and modernize these high-profile, historic buildings while
meeting the needs of Congress-including its leadership, committees,
individual members, and staffs-and the visiting public. AOC has managed
major projects at the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, and CPP, and
is currently managing the construction of the Capitol Visitor Center
(CVC)-the largest increment of growth in the history of the Capitol.
However, Senate and House Appropriations Committees have raised concerns
about management
documented, and transparent process for evaluating and prioritizing
projects. To improve worker safety, AOC developed several broad
performance measures, including two measures of the extent to which unsafe
conditions exist within AOC and two measures to assess employees'
perception of safety.
o AOC's progress on individual recommendations, while commendable,
represented only initial steps toward the agency's goal of becoming a more
strategic and accountable organization. Substantial work remained to
achieve sustained, long-term management improvements, and greater effort
would be needed to expedite these improvements.
o Sustained commitment and assertive involvement of AOC's leadership would
be key to addressing AOC's long-standing weaknesses and instilling lasting
change.
o The COO's plan-issued in December 2003-included action items related to
several critical areas of improvement, such as strategic planning,
organizational management and structure, project management, customer
service, and communications. However, the plan was not sufficiently
detailed to guide and communicate the agency's performance and progress in
these areas.
Our most recent efforts to monitor AOC's progress included an evaluation
of (1) the agency's overall progress in responding to our recommendations
in seven areas-strategic management, human capital management, project
management, worker safety, recycling, financial management, and
information technology (IT) management; (2) issues related to project
management, including the extent to which AOC meets its original budget
and schedule targets for major construction projects (i.e, projects over
$250,000), and the initiatives that AOC is implementing to improve project
management;5 and (3) issues related to facilities management, including
the extent to which AOC tracks facilities management performance and the
initiatives that AOC is implementing to improve facilities management. We
provided briefings to our congressional requesters on the results of our
work in September and December 2005 and January 2006. This report
summarizes those briefings and supplements the information presented in
the briefings with examples from our other recent work related to AOC's
CVC project and financial management efforts.
To evaluate AOC's progress in responding to our recommendations, we
interviewed AOC officials responsible for implementing the recommendations
and analyzed documents related to AOC's actions. To assess AOC's progress
and challenges in improving project management, we interviewed AOC
officials, analyzed project budget and schedule data, and conducted seven
project case studies.6 To assess AOC's progress and challenges in
improving facilities management, we interviewed AOC officials, interviewed
officials from comparable organizations (including the Smithsonian
Institution, the state capitol complexes of Iowa and Virginia, and the
University of Virginia), compared the performance measures for facilities
management that AOC currently tracks with those used by industry
associations and similar institutions, and analyzed information about
facilities management initiatives at AOC. We conducted our work on the
three reviews from December 2004 through January 2006 in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards.
Results in Brief
Overall, AOC is making progress in fulfilling some previous
recommendations and in improving project management and facilities
management. For example, AOC has implemented 21 of 54 recommendations made
in previous reports (primarily related to strategic management, human
capital management, worker safety, and recycling, although work remains to
be done in each of these areas), established a central organization
dedicated to managing major projects, and completed assessments of nearly
all of the agency's facilities, which will enable AOC to better monitor
the condition of its facilities and develop a comprehensive plan for
facility maintenance and building renewal. Furthermore, AOC has
initiatives for additional improvements planned or underway, such as a
"Strategic Performance Initiative"-a year-long effort to develop and
implement meaningful performance measures and link these measures to daily
activities and resource requirements. AOC is also evaluating its project
management information systems to provide better data and replacing the
existing computer-aided facility management (CAFM) system to enhance
tracking and reporting capabilities. AOC's progress is encouraging but,
since these initiatives are in their early stages, it is too early to
determine their success.
Despite progress in some areas, AOC still has a significant amount of work
ahead to reach its ultimate goal of establishing a strong strategic
management and accountability framework. Specifically, two critical
issues-communication with external stakeholders and internal
controls-underlie challenges that have been highlighted in previous GAO
recommendations or in independent audits of AOC's 2003 and 2004 balance
sheets, such as:
o developing and implementing an effective communication strategy with
congressional stakeholders;
o establishing a strong foundation of financial accountability and
control, including an effective internal control framework and cost
accounting system;
o establishing sound procurement practices; and
o improving IT management, including information security.
These issues affect a wide range of AOC operations. For example,
communication with congressional stakeholders is essential to establish
and clarify service and expectation levels and to obtain input on AOC's
initiatives. An effective cost accounting system is necessary for several
project and facilities management improvements, such as developing a
method to more accurately account for project costs and establishing and
tracking performance measures for facilities management costs. Sound
procurement practices are critical to improve the integrity of AOC's
project management and other procurement processes. Finally, improved IT
management is necessary to effectively safeguard AOC's data and
information assets.
Leadership support is vital to ensure that needed improvements are given
urgent attention; this support is also essential to ensure that
improvements that have already been made are continuously evaluated and
refined, as needed. However, the senior leadership positions of COO, the
Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), and
the Director of the CPP are currently open. Other key management positions
have been created recently, but are currently vacant, such as the Director
of Congressional and External Relations and the Director of Planning and
Project Management. Furthermore, the term for the current Architect of the
Capitol will expire in less than one year. The agency is at a critical
juncture in its transformation efforts. It is essential for AOC to quickly
fill the management positions that are currently vacant to sustain
improvements that have already been achieved, support further
transformation efforts, and have a cohesive management team in place in
the event of a turnover in the position of the Architect of the Capitol.
AOC is in the process of hiring for the positions that are currently open.
To help mitigate the impact of so many vacancies in key leadership
positions, AOC recently appointed an Acting COO-who is also temporarily
serving as the Acting CFO-and an Acting CAO to help guide the agency until
the positions are filled. Once a permanent COO is in place, it will be
particularly important for this person to provide strategic direction for
AOC, including updating the COO action plan to help guide and communicate
the agency's transformation efforts.
We provided a draft of this report to AOC for review and comment. AOC
officials provided oral comments in which they generally agreed with the
content of this report that includes the implementation status of
recommendations made to AOC in our previous reports and those
recommendations made based on our recent reviews of project management and
facilities management. AOC also provided technical corrections, which we
have incorporated, as appropriate.
The following summarizes our three briefings, augmented with examples from
other recent work.
Progress Made on Prior Recommendations but AOC Has Not Implemented Some
Key Recommendations in Critical Areas
AOC has implemented 21 of 54 recommendations that span seven
areas-strategic management, human capital management, project management,
worker safety, recycling, financial management, and IT management. The
agency is making progress primarily in the areas of strategic management,
human capital management, project management (covered in the next
section), worker safety, and recycling. For example, to improve strategic
management, AOC released accountability reports in fiscal years 2003 and
2004, developed a summary document to track key performance goals,
established processes for obtaining employee and customer feedback, and
initiated several new methods for communicating with employees. However,
AOC has not implemented a key recommendation related to communicating with
external stakeholders-to develop protocols that establish and clarify
service and expectation levels with congressional stakeholders. AOC's
Acting COO recognizes the importance of communication with congressional
members and staff. Since October 2005, the Acting COO has met regularly
with congressional stakeholders, including Appropriations Committee staff,
and is developing further strategies to improve communication with
congressional stakeholders. AOC is also hiring a Director of Congressional
and External Relations who will be responsible for developing and
maintaining positive relations with congressional members and staff.7
In addition, to strengthen human capital management, AOC has, among other
things, linked its employee evaluation system to mission-critical goals,
established monthly management meetings to share and assess data from
employee relations offices, and identified a number of ways to collect,
report, and analyze workforce data. However, with a large portion of
employees with knowledge in specific trades eligible for immediate
retirement, AOC leadership needs to ensure progress continues to identify
current and future workforce gaps and develop strategies to address these
gaps. To improve worker safety, AOC has made progress in developing safety
policies, implementing a system to track investigations of incidents and
follow up, completing a job hazard analysis process to report hazards, and
establishing a safety-training curriculum that fully supports the goals of
the safety policies. From fiscal year 2000 to 2005, AOC's injury and
illness rate declined from 17.9 to 5.7 injuries or illnesses per 100
employees. However, until AOC's safety policies are fully implemented, the
agency will not have a comprehensive picture of safety hazards. To improve
recycling, AOC has significantly expanded the recycling program; developed
a clear mission, goals, and performance measures for the program; and
issued an environmental program plan. However, the agency still needs to
evaluate the impact of the new performance measures on its current
evaluation criteria and make any necessary changes.
While AOC has made progress in financial management, substantial work
remains to fulfill recommendations related to this area. For example, AOC
had independent audits of its balance sheets for fiscal years 2003 and
2004
conducted.8 AOC received an unqualified or "clean" opinion of the balance
sheets, but the audits identified a number of material weaknesses related
to internal controls. For example, the audit for fiscal year 2004 found
that AOC's procurement system lacked controls to ensure that contract
modifications were properly executed prior to initiation of the work,
project costs were properly classified, and contract executed amounts were
compared to contract value. Similarly, our separate, ongoing monitoring of
the CVC project showed that AOC needed to take additional steps to ensure
that it was: (1) receiving reasonable prices for proposed contract
modifications, (2) obtaining adequate support for contractors' requests
for reimbursement of incurred costs, (3) adequately overseeing its
contractors' performance, and (4) taking appropriate steps to see that
contractors were not doing work before it was appropriately authorized
under approved contractual arrangements.9 AOC is working to correct these
weaknesses.
To further improve financial management, AOC is developing an agencywide
internal control framework and a cost accounting system, which are
essential to improving accountability across all AOC operations. The
internal control framework initiative is scheduled to be implemented by
June 30, 2006, while the cost accounting system is scheduled to be
implemented by September 30, 2006. However, this schedule is likely to be
delayed by a lack of funding and qualified staffing resources. At the
beginning of fiscal year 2006, AOC requested the contractors leading these
initiatives to significantly scale back their development efforts, citing
a lack of fiscal year 2006 funding resources. At that time, the Office of
the CFO estimated that 10 positions-including senior manager level
positions to help lead these initiatives-would be needed to implement the
initiatives on schedule. AOC recently transferred authority to fill some
of the positions from within AOC and reprogrammed funds to help continue
these initiatives; as of January 2006, the contractors have resumed their
development efforts. However, AOC transferred authority for only 4 of the
estimated 10 positions, none of which were at the senior manager level.
10 As of February 8, 2006, AOC had posted vacancy announcements to fill
three of the four positions, but filling these positions could take
several months.11 Leadership support-especially from the Architect, COO,
and CFO-is critical to ensure that these important initiatives are
appropriately funded, staffed, and monitored. Until these initiatives are
implemented and operating effectively, AOC faces substantial risk in
financial management.
AOC also has begun several initiatives to improve IT management, but
substantial work remains, particularly in information security. To improve
information security, AOC has issued a policy and a plan for performing
risk assessments, issued and implemented an IT security training policy,
and developed a plan to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of IT
security policies and controls. However, AOC has yet to establish and
implement key information security practices, such as completing risk
assessments on all of its major applications, documenting the identified
risks in system security plans, and developing and implementing
appropriate security controls to mitigate the risks-including developing
contingency plans for all systems and applications. Until AOC implements
key information security practices, it will be challenged to effectively
safeguard its data and information assets.
As part of our review of AOC's progress in responding to previous
recommendations, we followed up on our recommendation related to the COO
action plan-issued by AOC's previous COO in December 2003. In August 2004,
we found that the plan was not sufficiently detailed to guide and
communicate the agency's performance and progress and recommended that the
Architect of the Capitol and the COO consult with members of Congress and
key committees on the specific information regarding AOC's plans,
policies, procedures, actions, and proposed organizational changes in
order to enhance the usefulness of the COO action plan. The COO
subsequently departed AOC and, despite the absence of a permanent COO, the
agency has been continuing to follow the steps laid out in the action
plan. For example, AOC has made progress in addressing elements of AOC
project management that were recommended to be included in the action plan
and has consulted with congressional stakeholders on project management
initiatives, such as prioritizing projects and establishing a new project
management organization. According to AOC officials, the action plan will
be updated when a permanent COO is in place.
Appendix I provides a more complete summary of AOC's progress in
responding to recommendations. Appendix IV lists all 54 recommendations
from previous reports-as well as recommendations from the recent project
management and facilities management reviews-and details AOC's progress on
each recommendation.
Progress and Challenges in Project Management
According to AOC, 84 major construction projects (all 41 projects that
were completed since January 1, 2003, in addition to all 43 active
projects) were meeting budget targets as of September 2005. However, in
some cases, AOC's budget targets included higher construction contingency
allowances than are typical for industry or AOC's guidance. Furthermore,
the budget status of projects constructed "in house" by AOC's Construction
Branch (rather than by contractors) could not be accurately determined
because overhead costs for the branch may not have been charged to the
appropriate project. AOC officials believe they are using appropriate
contingency allowances, but acknowledged that estimating and accounting
for the costs of projects could be improved. AOC also reported that about
half of the projects were behind schedule based on the original estimated
contract completion date, in part because of scope changes and unforeseen
conditions. However, additional measures that reflect the customer's
needs, such as the "beneficial occupancy date," could provide a more
complete picture of AOC's schedule performance.
AOC has initiatives-such as establishing an organization dedicated to
managing major construction projects and reinstating a quarterly report on
the budget and schedule progress of projects-that should improve project
management and related communications with congressional stakeholders.
However, AOC's major construction projects generally take between 5 and
eight years to complete, so it is too early to determine the results of
AOC's initiatives to improve project management. Meanwhile, better
internal controls are needed to improve management and accountability,
particularly in establishing and tracking budget targets, revising
guidance manuals, and implementing controls concerning the quality of
reports. We made recommendations aimed at improving internal controls in
these areas, and AOC has made progress on these recommendations since we
provided the briefings in September 2005. For example, AOC has begun an
internal review of its Construction Branch operations and included a
"beneficial occupancy date" in tracking project schedules.
Appendix II provides a more complete summary of AOC's progress in
improving project management.
Progress and Challenges in Facilities Management
AOC tracks performance measures for the quality and timeliness of its
facilities management services, but does not track comprehensive cost
measures or evaluate ("benchmark") its performance against that of any
similar facilities management organizations. AOC's current measures show
that AOC's customers are satisfied with the quality of AOC's services and
that AOC is meeting or exceeding the targets for its timeliness measures.
However, the timeliness measures could be improved to better represent the
amount of time required for-and spent on-specific tasks. Industry best
practices that would improve accountability and provide useful information
on trends in costs include developing and tracking cost performance
measures and benchmarking performance against that of other organizations.
AOC officials plan to develop cost measures after the completion of the
new cost accounting system and the installation of a new CAFM system.
To improve facilities management, AOC has several initiatives, including
assessing the condition of its facilities to develop a comprehensive plan
for facility maintenance and building renewal and switching to a new CAFM
system that should enhance AOC's tracking and reporting capabilities.
These initiatives can help improve AOC's ability to develop facilities
management cost measures to facilitate the benchmarking of performance, as
well as improve overall facilities management. However, assessing facility
conditions has brought to light the magnitude of AOC's deferred
maintenance and other projects-at least $2.6 billion over nine years as
initially estimated by an AOC contractor (and now being validated by
AOC)-and the challenge of funding these projects. In addition, the new
CAFM system will not be fully effective until, among other things, it is
linked to the planned cost accounting system, the development and
implementation of which has been delayed. In our briefings in December
2005 and January 2006, we made recommendations aimed at improving AOC's
facilities management performance measures and the effectiveness of the
new computer system.
Appendix III provides a more complete summary of AOC's progress in
improving facilities management.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
We provided the Architect of the Capitol a draft of this report for review
and comment. We received oral comments from AOC officials stating that
they generally agreed with the content of the information presented in
this report-including the implementation status of recommendations made to
AOC in our previous reports and recommendations based on our recent
reviews of project and facilities management. AOC officials emphasized
that GAO's findings regarding project management largely reflected past
problems and that AOC's new Project Management Organization (now a
division within AOC) is proceeding with a number of initiatives that are
targeted to correct past problems and has plans to start additional
initiatives. AOC officials also provided technical corrections to the
report, which we have incorporated, as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional
committees. We are also sending this report to the Architect of the
Capitol. We will make copies available to others upon request. In
addition, this report will be available at no cost on the GAO Web site at
h ttp://www.gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional
Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, you may contact
me at (202) 512-2834 or at d [email protected], or Sara Vermillion at (202)
512-9913 or at v [email protected]. Major contributors to this report
are listed in appendix V.
Patricia A. Dalton Managing Director, Physical Infrastructure Team
Summary of AOC's Progress on General Management Review
Recommendations Appendix I
Under the congressional mandate to monitor the Architect of the Capitol's
(AOC) progress, we evaluated AOC's response to 54 recommendations in seven
areas: strategic management, human capital management, project management,
worker safety, recycling, financial management, and information technology
(IT) management. We provided briefings on our work in September 2005.
Appendix IV lists all 54 recommendations and details AOC's progress on
each recommendation. Appendix IV also includes the most recent
recommendations resulting from our review of AOC's project management and
facilities management.
AOC has implemented 21 of 54 recommendations and is making progress
primarily in the areas of strategic management, human capital management,
project management (discussed in detail in app. II), worker safety, and
recycling, although work remains in all of these areas. While AOC has also
made progress in financial management and IT management, substantial work
remains to fulfill recommendations related to these areas, particularly in
financial management. Many of the recommendations that have not been
implemented require significant organizational changes; leadership support
for these changes is vital to ensure their success as well as the
continued success of initiatives that AOC has in place.
Strategic Management
Strategic management recommendations were designed to help AOC improve
strategic planning efforts and organizational alignment, establish
meaningful performance measures, obtain feedback from employees and
customers, improve internal and external communications, and strengthen
the relationship between AOC and congressional stakeholders. In response,
AOC released accountability reports for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 and
developed a summary document to track performance for each of its
strategic goals. The agency has also established processes for obtaining
feedback from employees and customers, which should improve communications
with these groups. To further improve communication with employees, AOC
has implemented a variety of communication methods to convey information
to employees, including a weekly newsletter on project updates, policy
announcements, management and communication tips, and other agencywide
messages. However, AOC still needs to improve communication with external
stakeholders. For example, AOC has not fully implemented protocols to
establish and clarify service and expectation levels with congressional
stakeholders. Without such protocols, neither AOC nor congressional
stakeholders can be assured that agency efforts and resources are targeted
to their highest priorities. The Acting Chief Operating Officer (COO)
recognizes the importance of communication with congressional members and
staff. Since October 2005, the Acting COO has been meeting regularly with
congressional stakeholders, including Appropriations Committee staff, and
is developing further strategies to improve communication with
congressional stakeholders. AOC is also in the process of hiring a
Director of Congressional and External Relations who will be responsible
for developing and maintaining positive relations with congressional
members and staff. In addition, AOC has not developed a comprehensive set
of outcome-based and performance-based measures that would enable AOC and
Congress to assess AOC's progress. AOC has developed a document-the "AOC
dashboard"-that includes several high-level indicators to track
performance for each of its strategic goals as well as a target goal for
each indicator. The dashboard is a positive step that needs further
development as AOC revises its goals and objectives and assign measures to
each area in fiscal year 2006.
Human Capital Management
Human capital management recommendations were aimed at strengthening
AOC's human capital policies and performance. In response, AOC implemented
a performance management approach by developing strategic goals and
measuring performance and linked its employee evaluation system to
mission-critical goals. In addition, AOC management has improved the way
it gathers and assesses data from employee relations offices by holding
monthly meetings to share and discuss data, make recommendations, and take
action. AOC has also identified a number of ways to collect, report, and
analyze workforce data and has developed a report that forecasts future
workforce needs. However, with a large portion of employees with knowledge
in specific trades eligible for immediate retirement, AOC leadership needs
to ensure progress continues to complete ongoing efforts to identify gaps
in current and future workforce needs and develop strategies to address
these gaps. Completing these efforts should further improve its employee
evaluation system and AOC's ability to strategically plan for future
workforce needs.
Worker Safety
Worker safety recommendations were designed to enhance AOC's ongoing
efforts to establish a strategy for the worker safety program by
developing performance measures for safety goals and objectives, establish
policies for reporting hazards, establish a system for conducting
investigations and follow-up, and implement a safety-training curriculum.
In response, AOC has developed 23 of 35 specialized safety policies;
implemented a system to track investigations of incidents and follow-up;
completed a job hazard analysis process to report hazards; and established
training that supports the goals of the safety policies. Overall, AOC's
injury and illness rate declined from 17.9 in fiscal year 2000 to 5.7 in
fiscal year 2005. However, until AOC fully implements the specialized
safety policies, particularly a policy on hazard assessment and control,
the agency will not be able to develop a comprehensive picture of AOC
hazards. During our Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) monitoring work, we noted
that worker injury rates for the CVC construction site were higher than
the rates for comparable sites and that gaps existed in the management of
worker safety at the CVC site. AOC has taken action to address this issue;
the injury and illness rate for the CVC project declined from 9.1 in 2003
and 12.2 in 2004, to 5.9 for the first 10 months of 2005-below the 2003
industry average of 6.1.
Recycling
Recycling recommendations were designed to help AOC adopt a strategic
approach to recycling by developing a mission and goals for the recycling
program, establishing performance measures for the program, examining the
roles and responsibilities of recycling staff, and holding staff
accountable for achieving goals. In response, AOC has developed a clear
mission, goals, and performance measures for AOC's recycling program and
issued an environmental program plan. AOC has also included recycling
tasks in recycling staff position descriptions and recycling objectives in
AOC's evaluation system for recycling managers. However, AOC still needs
to evaluate the impact of the new performance measures on its current
evaluation criteria and make any necessary changes.
According to AOC officials, the AOC recycling program has undergone
significant expansion over the past five years, while at the same time
becoming more efficient. Initially consisting of recycling of paper, cans,
bottles, and scrap metal, the AOC recycling program has now been expanded
to include items such as toner cartridges, carpeting, concrete, ceiling
tiles, batteries, pallets, wooden spools, hard plastics, and electronic
wastes such as computers. The program has also been expanded by increasing
the number of locations at which recycling is taking place. The paper
recycling program has maintained a "zero percent off-specification"
(formerly referred to as "contamination") rate for the past two years,
down from historical contamination rates as high as 50 percent.
Financial Management
Financial management recommendations were aimed at helping AOC improve
financial management by institutionalizing sound financial management
practices; strengthening accountability and control through senior
management's visible support for efforts to prepare auditable financial
statements and implement internal controls; and enhancing the successful
development of appropriate cost accounting and meaningful financial, cost,
and performance reporting. AOC made progress in financial accountability
by issuing its initial agencywide accountability reports in December 2004
and February 2006, in which the results of audits covering AOC's fiscal
year 2003 and 2004 balance sheets, respectively, were presented;
requesting a full-scope audit of a complete set of its financial
statements and related note disclosures for fiscal year 2005; and
beginning development of an AOC-wide internal control framework and a cost
accounting system. While these initiatives reflect progress, until they
are implemented AOC will continue to face significant risk in financial
management and program operations.
The AOC received an unqualified or "clean" opinion on its balance sheet
for fiscal year 2003 and its comparative balance sheet for fiscal years
2003/2004. However, the Independent Auditor's Report on Internal Control
for fiscal year 2003 noted a number of internal control weaknesses that
AOC has been working to correct, including weaknesses in the areas of:
capitalizing work-in-process expenses, allocating overhead to project
costs, accounts payable cutoff, capital and operating leases, payroll
record retention, and IT controls. As reported in AOC's 2004
Accountability Report, the AOC has fully addressed six out of seven
material weaknesses identified in the fiscal year 2003 auditor's report.
The fiscal year 2004 auditor's report identified weaknesses in the areas
of: internal control assessments, annual leave processing, timekeeping
controls, procurement system controls for contracts, procurement processes
for capital and operating leases, and IT security.
To further improve financial management, AOC is developing an agencywide
internal control framework and a cost accounting system, which are
essential to improving accountability across all AOC operations; however,
it is unlikely that these initiatives will be completed by their scheduled
implementation dates of June 30, 2006, and September 30, 2006. During
fiscal year 2005, AOC approved the establishment of an AOC-wide internal
control framework. AOC began developing a process to formally evaluate,
document, and recommend improvements on the effectiveness of the design
and operations of its internal control structure. In developing this
framework, AOC has begun to identify key financial and operational
processes, updating process documentation and flowcharts, perform risk
analyses, update and benchmark controls, and document any identified
deficiencies. In addition, in an effort to move AOC's financial system
from a budget-based system to a performance-based system, AOC is
developing a cost accounting system, which would align goals, activities,
and outputs; it would also improve systems and reporting across the
agency, including project management and facilities management. AOC plans
to implement the new performance-based system in phases to make an orderly
transition from the current budget-based financial system. Those plans
include pilot deployment of an interim cost structure for managers through
fiscal year 2006, followed by the development of a structure for general
and administrative cost reporting, and the development of a structure for
jurisdictional services in fiscal year 2007. However, AOC's schedule for
implementing these key initiatives is likely to be delayed by a lack of
funding and qualified staff resources. At the beginning of fiscal year
2006, AOC requested the contractors leading the internal control and cost
accounting initiatives to significantly scale back their development
efforts, citing a lack of fiscal year 2006 funding resources. At that
time, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) estimated that 10
positions-including senior manager level positions to help lead these
initiatives-would be needed to implement the initiatives on schedule. AOC
recently transferred authority to fill some of the positions from within
AOC and reprogrammed funds to help continue these initiatives; as of
January 2006, the contractors have resumed their development efforts.
However, AOC transferred authority for only four of the estimated 10
positions-none were at the senior manager level.1 As of February 8, 2006,
AOC had posted three of the four vacancy announcements (two Senior
Accountant positions and one Junior Accountant position), but filling
these positions could take several months. Leadership support-especially
from the Architect of the Capitol, COO, and CFO-is critical to ensure that
these important initiatives are appropriately funded, staffed, and
monitored. Until these initiatives are implemented and operating
effectively, AOC faces substantial risk in financial management.
In total, the extent of progress on the financial management reporting
improvement efforts has been limited. Successful completion of the
development and implementation of these important financial management
initiatives will require additional AOC funding and qualified staff, close
monitoring, and strong and visible support of these initiatives by AOC
leadership. AOC will continue to face significant risk in financial
management and its program operations until these key accountability and
management control initiatives are fully implemented.
IT Management
IT management recommendations were designed to help AOC adopt an
agencywide approach to information management by: developing and
implementing IT investment management processes to support informed
executive decision making; developing, implementing, and maintaining an
enterprise architecture2 to guide and constrain IT investments throughout
AOC; and establishing and implementing an information security program. In
response, AOC established a Director of the Office of Information and
Resource Management to manage IT across the agency. AOC has also taken
important initial steps to address the management and structure needed to
establish a sound IT investment management process, such as assigning
roles, responsibilities, and the authority needed to manage its IT
investment portfolio. AOC, moreover, is in the process of instituting an
approval process and mechanism to screen all proposed IT projects using
standardized criteria. Further, AOC has established the management
structure for developing, implementing, and maintaining an enterprise
architecture, such as designating a chief enterprise architect to guide
architecture development and maintenance and developing an updated version
of its architecture that was approved by the senior policy committee,
which includes senior representatives from across the agency. In addition,
AOC has established some aspects of an effective information security
program, such as issuing a policy and a plan for performing risk
assessments; issuing and implementing an IT security training policy; and
developing a plan to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of IT security
policies and controls.
However, more work remains to be done to fully implement our
recommendations. In particular, AOC has yet to fully develop and implement
important key steps in their IT investment management process, such as
developing an overall approach to portfolio management that incorporates
existing and proposed projects into the investment decision making process
and documenting and implementing a sound investment control process to
monitor all current and proposed IT investments. Furthermore, AOC has yet
to establish and implement key practices associated with developing,
implementing, and maintaining an enterprise architecture, such as ensuring
that the architecture addresses security and ensuring that metrics are
used to measure progress, quality, compliance, and return on investment.
Moreover, as stated above, the agency has yet to establish and implement
key information security practices, such as completing risk assessments on
all of its major applications, documenting the identified risks in system
security plans, and developing and implementing appropriate security
controls to mitigate the risks-including developing contingency plans for
all systems and applications. Until AOC completes and implements plans for
improvement that are consistent with all our recommendations, it will be
challenged in its ability to effectively use IT to optimize mission
performance.
COO Action Plan
As part of our progress review, we followed up on our recommendation
related to the COO action plan-issued by AOC's previous COO in December
2003-which recommended that the Architect of the Capitol and the COO
consult with members of Congress and key committees on the specific
information regarding AOC's plans, policies, procedures, actions, and
proposed organizational changes in order to enhance the usefulness of the
COO action plan. The agency has been continuing to follow the steps laid
out in the action plan, despite the absence of a permanent COO. For
example, AOC has made progress in addressing elements of AOC project
management that were recommended to be included in the action plan.
According to AOC officials, the action plan will be updated when a
permanent COO is in place.
Progress and Challenges in Improving Project Management Appendix II
To evaluate AOC's efforts to improve project management, we (1) determined
the extent to which AOC is meeting it original budget and schedule targets
for major construction projects (projects costing over $250,000, not
including four construction projects-building the CVC, modernizing the
Supreme Court, expanding the West Refrigeration Plant, and increasing
Perimeter Security) and (2) identified initiatives that AOC is
implementing to improve project management and challenges that remain. We
provided briefings on this work in September 2005.
At the time of our briefings, AOC reported that all recent major projects
were meeting budget targets. However, AOC's budget targets are based on
cost estimates that include construction contingencies that are sometimes
5 percent higher than both industry standards and AOC's own guidance.1
Although higher budget targets reduce the need for AOC to request
additional funds to complete projects, higher targets could also reduce
the incentive for AOC to prudently manage project funds and tie up excess
funds that could be used for other capital projects. For example, 41
projects completed from January 2003 to April 2005 had excess funding
totaling about $5.5 million. In addition, the overhead costs of projects
constructed "in house" by AOC's Construction Branch (rather than by
contractors) may not have been accurately charged to the correct project
because these charges do not receive the same level of review as those of
outside contractors. According to AOC officials, using a contingency
higher than 10 or 15 percent requires documented rationale for why the
percentage is higher than prescribed by AOC guidance. AOC officials stated
that they believe that their contingency allowances are appropriate for
the environment in which AOC operates, but acknowledged that estimating
and accounting for the costs of projects could be improved.
AOC also reported that about half of recent projects were behind schedule
based on the original estimated contract completion date, in part because
of scope changes, unforeseen conditions, and changes in jurisdictions'
(the customers') priorities. However, additional measures that reflect the
customers' needs, such as the "beneficial occupancy date" could provide a
more complete assessment of AOC's schedule performance. Since our
briefings, AOC has tracked the beneficial occupancy date, as well as the
original estimated contract completion date.
AOC has initiatives in several areas-planning, project management
organization and accountability, and communication-that are designed to
improve project management. For example, AOC continues to refine its
planning process to identify, develop, and prioritize capital projects.
The most recent refinements include adding the results of completed
facility condition assessments and using two new criteria to evaluate
projects-"urgency" and "type of project." AOC also implemented a Project
Management Organization to align project and construction management to
provide "cradle to grave" project oversight. Under this new organization,
AOC is:
o using "jurisdictional executives" as liaisons with jurisdictions;
o tracking performance measures for budget and completion dates and
quality of project design;
o using a governmentwide system to evaluate and record contractor
performance;
o maintaining central files for key project documentation to improve
access and accountability; and
o enforcing liquidated damages against contractors on delayed projects to
motivate them to meet contract commitments.2
Finally, AOC has reinstated a quarterly report to Congress to communicate
the budget and schedule status of ongoing projects.
While these initiatives are promising, AOC faces the challenge of
developing better internal controls to improve management oversight and
accountability. Meeting this challenge will improve the chances of success
for AOC's initiatives. For example, AOC's planning process would benefit
from more complete information on the initial scope of projects. For the
new Project Management Organization, AOC has not implemented a customer
satisfaction survey to track the quality of construction services, fully
clarified staff roles and responsibilities, or updated guidance manuals.
The quarterly report does not accurately reflect the performance of
projects constructed by AOC's Construction Branch because the agency does
not have a method for calculating current working estimates for this
branch. Furthermore, the quarterly report must be compiled manually
because AOC's information systems do not adequately support project
management and reporting needs.
Recommendations in September 2005 Briefing
To improve internal controls related to project management, we recommended
that AOC:
o develop a method to establish and track more accurate budget targets,
which could include tracking and reporting on the accuracy of cost
estimates compared with bids, the accuracy of project budgets compared
with final project costs, the amount of excess project funds and how these
funds are used, and cost data for the Construction Branch;
o expedite the development of a customer satisfaction survey for
construction services;
o clarify the roles and responsibilities of staff in the new Project
Management Organization;
o revise project management guidance manuals; and
o develop or modify information systems to provide needed cost and
schedule data on projects and track reasons for changes across all
projects.
AOC generally agreed with our recommendations and, since September 2005,
has made progress in addressing these recommendations by
o developing and tracking new cost measures on a monthly basis,
o piloting the use of a project closeout sheet to verify reallocation of
excess funds,
o initiating an internal review of AOC's Construction Branch's operations,
o initiating the development of a customer satisfaction survey for
construction services,
o communicating and clarifying staff roles through regular staff meetings,
and
o analyzing the Project Management Organization's information needs to
determine the requirements for a new or revised information system.
Progress and Challenges in Improving Facilities Management Appendix III
To evaluate AOC's efforts to improve facilities management, we reviewed
(1) the extent to which AOC tracks facilities management performance and
(2) the initiatives AOC is implementing to improve facilities management
and the challenges that remain.1 We provided briefings on our work in
December 2005 and January 2006.
AOC tracks performance measures for quality and timeliness of facility
management services; these measures indicate that AOC's customers are
satisfied with the quality of AOC's services and that AOC is providing the
services in a timely manner. For example, in 2004, all but one of AOC's
quality ratings were above 80 percent and almost half were above 90
percent. AOC is also meeting or exceeding its timeliness targets. For
example, in September 2005, AOC closed 88 percent of the demand work
orders that were closable that month and completed 95 percent of the
orders in less than 30 days.2 However, AOC's timeliness measures could be
improved to better represent the amount of time required for specific
tasks. AOC uses a standard timeliness measure of 30 days for all tasks,
even though many tasks take less time to complete. For example, the Senate
jurisdiction allots 24 hours for decorative paint repair, 1 week to paint
an entire area, and 2 weeks to refinish furniture. The Smithsonian
Institution, an organization with characteristics similar to AOC, tracks
multiple time frames that are more relevant for specific tasks, such as 24
hours, 3 days, and within 30 days. Not tracking more specific timeliness
measures hinders AOC in accurately determining whether tasks are completed
in a timely manner, and identifying which tasks may need additional
resources.
AOC does not track comprehensive cost performance measures or evaluate (or
"benchmark") its performance with that of similar facilities management
organizations. While AOC has the capability to track a limited number of
annual complex-wide cost measures, it does not comprehensively and
routinely track specific cost measures, such as the cost per square foot
of cleaning or maintenance and repairs. By not tracking these performance
measures, AOC cannot understand how those costs compare with those of
similar institutions, or identify how its costs may be increasing or
decreasing over time. However, to track cost performance measures, AOC
must first develop and implement a cost accounting system. As discussed
earlier in this report, development and implementation of this cost
accounting system has been delayed due to lack of adequate resources and
personnel. Furthermore, while AOC internally compares the performance of
individual jurisdictions in areas such as customer satisfaction and
timeliness, the agency does not benchmark its performance against that of
external organizations. Even though AOC's facilities are somewhat unusual,
benchmarking could help identify areas where costs may be high or cost
trends differ. AOC officials told us that the agency has implemented cost
accounting pilot initiatives in several jurisdictions and acknowledge that
benchmarking performance against that of comparable external organizations
would be beneficial.
AOC has several initiatives under way that should help improve its ability
to develop and track cost performance measures and benchmark performance.
o Conducting facility assessments to develop a comprehensive plan for
facility maintenance and building renewal: The Facility Condition
Assessment (FCA) initiative establishes an ongoing process for monitoring
facility conditions and enables AOC to develop a comprehensive plan for
facility maintenance and building renewal. FCAs help AOC prioritize
projects for budget requests and increase AOC's accountability, since they
enable AOC to directly link facility needs and budget plans. AOC has
completed all but two FCAs-for the Library of Congress Building and
Grounds and the Supreme Court. While FCAs have enabled AOC to develop a
comprehensive plan for facility maintenance and building renewal, the
assessments have also documented the magnitude of AOC's deferred
maintenance and other projects-$2.6 billion over nine years-and the
challenge of funding these projects. Funding for only a limited number of
these projects has been integrated into AOC's Capital Improvement Plan
process. According to AOC officials, they plan to discuss funding needs
with appropriators as part of the Capital Improvement Plan process, using
the FCA results to help appropriators better understand the funding needs.
o Switching to a new Computer-Aided Facility Management (CAFM) system to
enhance tracking and reporting capabilities: AOC uses its current CAFM
system to track demand work orders, but does not consistently track
preventive maintenance work orders (even though the current system is
capable of tracking these work orders).3 By not tracking preventive
maintenance work orders, AOC cannot compare how much preventive
maintenance jurisdictions are performing with how much is recommended. AOC
is replacing its existing CAFM system because the vendor is phasing out
support for that system. According to AOC officials, the new system will
have improved tracking and reporting capabilities, which will make it
easier for the jurisdictions to use the system to track preventive
maintenance work orders, as well as develop cost performance measures.
However, the new CAFM system must be used in conjunction with a new cost
accounting system (as noted above, development and implementation of this
system has been delayed) before AOC will be able to fully utilize data
provided by the new CAFM system.
o Consolidating service contracts to save money on contract
administration: AOC jurisdictions consolidate contracts for some services,
such as elevator maintenance and hazardous waste disposal. Currently, 20
percent of services conducted in multiple jurisdictions are under
consolidated contracts. Contract consolidation can save money because the
administrative functions for the contract are centralized; AOC could also
gain from additional economies of scale. AOC officials acknowledge that
there are additional opportunities for consolidation, including window
cleaning and fire alarm testing and certification.
o Standardizing facility inspection practices to make inspections
consistent across jurisdictions: AOC has a comprehensive, jurisdictionwide
inspection program. For example, over 95 percent of AOC's assets are being
inspected through modes such as FCAs and Night Custodial Inspections.
Although jurisdictions currently conduct inspections independently using
their own procedures, AOC plans to evaluate the inspections and merge them
into a comprehensive inspection manual that standardizes the preferred
inspection procedures across jurisdictions. According to AOC officials,
the standardization of inspections across jurisdictions will help ensure
that inspections are performed consistently across jurisdictions and that
they are completed as efficiently as possible using a minimum of
resources.
Recommendations Made in December 2005 and January 2006 Briefings
To improve how AOC measures its performance in the areas of timeliness and
cost, the agency should:
o develop and track more specific timeliness measures that more accurately
reflect the amount of time required to complete tasks;
o develop the capability to comprehensively and routinely track cost
measures; and
o benchmark appropriate existing and new performance measures against
those of similar institutions, such as the Smithsonian Institution and
state capitols.
AOC should use the new CAFM system to track preventive maintenance and
demand work orders across all jurisdictions, including the time taken to
complete work orders.
AOC generally agreed with our findings and the areas identified for
improvement, such as developing cost measures, benchmarking, and tracking
preventive maintenance work orders. AOC officials noted that they also had
identified these areas and have taken steps toward implementing
improvements.
Status of AOC's Progress on Recommendations Appendix IV
The following table includes all recommendations made as part of our
general management review. In addition, the table includes new
recommendations resulting from our reviews of project management and
facilities management. For recommendations that have been implemented, the
"status" column includes the month and year of the GAO report that
acknowledges the completion of that recommendation.
Table 1:
GAO Recommendation Status
Strategic management
1. Improve strategic Making progress: AOC has
planning and organizational involved congressional and
alignment by involving key other stakeholders in
congressional and other strategic planning efforts
external stakeholders in and organizational
AOC's strategic planning changes. For example, AOC
efforts and in any sought input and guidance
organizational changes that from congressional
may result from these stakeholders and GAO on
efforts. its efforts to align its
activities, core
Jan. 2003 processes, and resources
with its mission and
strategic goals, which
resulted in a revised
organizational structure.
In addition, AOC has
shared its strategic plan
and its performance plan
with its congressional and
other stakeholders and has
received guidance on how
to improve future reports.
AOC has also worked with
congressional and other
stakeholders on several
management changes such as
instituting a Capitol
Visitor's Center Executive
Director and a Director of
Congressional and External
Relations. In a November
2005 letter to
appropriators, the
Architect of the Capitol
provided an update on
several key strategic
planning efforts and plans
for fiscal year 2006. The
Acting COO currently
provides periodic
briefings to congressional
stakeholders including
information on updates to
the strategic plan. AOC is
in the process of hiring a
permanent COO, who will be
responsible for continuing
to consult with Congress
on AOC's strategic
planning efforts and
organizational changes.
2. To strengthen the Making progress: Although
relationship between AOC AOC has not developed a
and its congressional and comprehensive set of
other stakeholders, we performance measures, the
recommend that the agency has developed a
Architect of the Capitol document-the AOC
direct the COO to actively dashboard-that summarizes
consult with Congress on performance in each of its
the design and strategic focus areas:
implementation of project management,
meaningful outcome-based facilities management,
and performance-based human capital management,
measures that are useful to and organizational
both AOC and Congress. This excellence. The dashboard
will enable AOC and includes several
Congress to assess AOC's high-level indicators to
progress. track performance for each
of the strategic goals as
Aug. 2004 well as a target goal for
each indicator. AOC plans
to revise goals and
objectives and assign
measures to each area in
fiscal year 2006. AOC is
in the process of hiring a
permanent COO, who will be
responsible for consulting
with Congress and
communicating AOC's
progress on the design and
implementation of a
comprehensive set of
outcome-based and
performance-based
measures.
GAO Recommendation Status
3. Develop a comprehensive Implemented February 2006:
strategy to improve AOC has established a
internal and external process for obtaining
communications by providing employee input and
opportunities for routine feedback and finalized a
employee input and process manual for
feedback. employee feedback. The
process manual provides
Jan. 2003 guidance for obtaining
employee feedback using a
four-step approach:
identifying concerns,
obtaining data, giving
feedback, and following up
on results. The process
manual also details
responsibilities for staff
and provides an
implementation plan. While
AOC has provided
opportunities for routine
employee feedback, it is
important for AOC to
collect a consistent and
comprehensive set of data
on a regular basis in
order to monitor progress
against an established
baseline.
4. Gather and analyze Implemented February 2006:
employee feedback from AOC held focus group
focus groups or surveys sessions in September 2004
before fiscal year 2005, as and has communicated
well as communicate how it planned actions to
is taking actions to employees by issuing three
address any identified brochures. According to
employee concerns. AOC, it has begun to
implement several of the
Jan. 2004 planned actions and will
continue to communicate
with employees as each
action plan is
implemented. In addition,
AOC has issued a focus
group guide that outlines
procedures for conducting
focus groups and reporting
on the results.
5. To improve Implemented February 2006:
communications with AOC implemented the basic
employees, we recommend framework in its
that the Architect of the communications plan
Capitol direct the COO to through a variety of
fully and effectively communication methods to
implement the basic convey information to
framework as defined in its employees including a
communications plan and weekly newsletter on
process manuals, and project updates, policy
finalize its draft employee announcements, management
feedback manual to assure and communication tips,
that the current progress and other agencywide
already made is maintained. messages. AOC has also
distributed a process
Aug. 2004 manual for employee
feedback.
6. Develop a comprehensive Making progress: According
strategy to improve to AOC officials, the
internal and external protocols that AOC drafted
communications by were not considered to be
completing the development viable by congressional
of congressional protocols stakeholders. AOC is
by involving stakeholders. developing an alternative
to formal protocols by
Jan. 2003 documenting internal
7. Conduct a pilot of its procedures for
congressional protocols in communicating with
one or more of its congressional staff such
jurisdictions to determine as returning calls within
how well its protocols 24 hours and written
requests within 5 days.
would work in addressing AOC's Acting COO/CFO
customer requests for explained that this effort
service, while balancing would help clarify service
the need of multiple and expectation levels.
requests with the strategic
plan and corresponding
project priorities of the
agency.
Jan. 2004
8. Develop a comprehensive Implemented February 2006:
strategy to improve AOC has fulfilled our
internal and external recommendation through the
communications by improving release of its fiscal year
annual accountability 2003 accountability report
reporting through annual and its plans to publish
performance planning and its fiscal year 2004
reporting. accountability report and
fiscal year 2005
Jan. 2003 performance and
accountability report. In
addition, AOC released a
performance plan in April
2005 that details steps to
achieve its strategic
goals and objectives. AOC
staff, AOC Audit Committee
staff, GAO, and other
congressional stakeholders
are involved in the
development of these
reports. AOC plans to
monitor the progress
toward meeting milestones
outlined in its
performance plan through
monthly assessment
meetings.
GAO Recommendation Status
9. Develop a comprehensive Implemented January 2004a:
strategy to improve AOC fulfilled our
internal and external recommendation by
communications by implementing the annual
continuing to regularly building services customer
measure customer satisfaction survey.
satisfaction AOC-wide. Information from the
survey will be
Jan. 2003 incorporated into AOC's
business plan and will be
useful in monitoring the
quality of AOC's services
and the progress of AOC's
improvement initiatives.
10. To strengthen the Implemented February 2006:
relationship between AOC AOC has fulfilled our
and its congressional and recommendation by
other stakeholders, we releasing the results of
recommend that the the 2003 building
Architect of the Capitol services customer
direct the COO to expedite satisfaction survey in its
the release of the 2003 2004 report. The report
building services customer tracked customer
satisfaction survey, as a satisfaction between 2002
transparency and and 2004. In addition, AOC
accountability mechanism provided customers with
and to provide Congress and letters detailing actions
other stakeholders planned to address their
assurance that actions are concerns.
being taken in response to
their feedback.
Aug. 2004
11. Establish Implemented January 2004a:
action-oriented AOC fulfilled our
implementation goals over recommendation by issuing
the long term and a time its draft performance plan
line with milestone dates in March 2003, which was
to track the organization's prepared to satisfy a
progress towards achieving congressional requirement
those implementation goals. for the development of a
The Architect of the management improvement
Capitol should work with plan. This draft
key congressional and other performance plan for
stakeholders to develop fiscal years 2003-2007
plans. established
action-oriented
Jan. 2003 implementation goals over
the long term and a time
line with milestone dates
to track the
organization's progress
toward achieving those
goals.
GAO Recommendation Status
12. To enhance the Making progress: AOC
usefulness of the COO cannot fully implement
action plan, we recommend this recommendation until
that the Architect of the a permanent COO is in
Capitol and the COO consult place. In the interim, AOC
with members of Congress has made initial progress
and key committees on the in addressing elements of
specific information AOC project management
regarding AOC's plans, that were recommended to
policies, procedures, be included in the action
actions, and proposed plan. For example, AOC has
organizational changes. As implemented a process to
part of this effort, the prioritize projects. To
Architect and the COO monitor projects, AOC has
should work with Congress issued quarterly reports
to determine Congress's to Congress on the cost
information needs and the and schedule of active
timing and format of projects, including
delivery of that real-time performance
information that will best metrics and budgetary-risk
meet Congress's needs. forecasting, based on
Furthermore, consistent feedback from
with our findings and congressional staff. To
recommendations with benefit from lessons
respect to congressional learned, AOC has developed
and other stakeholder a design services survey
involvement in general and and has plans to implement
the Capitol complex master a construction services
plan in particular, as well survey. To improve
as our original January accountability, AOC has
2003 management review, established a project
specific emphasis should be management organization
placed on AOC's project with a project manager
management. Particular dedicated to each project
issues to be discussed from start to finish.
could include how: AOC's Director of Project
Management holds periodic
AOC's projects' priorities briefings with
are determined; congressional staff in
order to better understand
AOC monitors and controls their information needs as
project cost, quality, and it relates to project
timeliness; reporting. In addition,
project performance
AOC uses lessons learned measures are included in a
from projects and seeks to document called the AOC
incorporate best practices; dashboard that summarizes
performance in each of its
project management strategic focus areas.
accountability is assigned
and managed; and Once a permanent COO is in
place, AOC leadership
AOC determines the best mix needs to complete an
of in-house and contractor action plan that addresses
support when designing items outlined in this
projects. recommendation. Time
frames, action items,
Subsequent COO action plans issues, progress, and
and status reports will milestones on each of
likely be most helpful to these items should be
Congress to the extent that included as key elements
they are rigorously in the action plan. GAO
specific as to the problem continues to believe that
or issue that needs to be it is critical for the new
addressed, the actions that COO to actively consult
are being taken in with members of Congress
response, the progress to and key committees on the
date, and milestones for development and
additional actions. implementation of this
plan, including providing
Aug. 2004 specific information on
AOC's plans, policies,
procedures, actions, and
proposed organizational
changes.
13. Further refine its Making progress: AOC has
employee feedback efforts established the results of
by establishing a method(s) its 2004 focus groups as a
to collect consistent and baseline for its work
comprehensive information environment assessment.
on a regular basis and to According to AOC, its
allow AOC to track results Quality Management group
over time against an will issue a specific
established baseline. guide to consistently
follow up the work
Oct. 2005 environment assessment as
a separate effort from the
regular annual employee
feedback research. AOC
does not plan to follow up
on its focus groups for at
least three years.
14. Improve its Making progress: AOC's
communications strategy for Quality Management group
employee feedback (as has prepared a second
documented in its employee version of the employee
feedback manual) to ensure feedback process manual to
that employees and external reflect GAO
stakeholders receive an recommendations on
adequate level of detail stakeholder communication.
about employee feedback As of December 2005, the
initiative results and manual is undergoing
related agency actions in a review by the quality
timely manner. The council prior to being
communications strategy submitted for signature.
should also emphasize the
need to summarize the
documents and provide a
consistent level of detail.
Oct. 2005
GAO Recommendation Status
Human Capital Management
15. Strengthen performance Implemented February 2006:
measurement and strategic AOC has implemented a
human capital management by performance management
developing annual goals and approach that includes
measuring performance. strategic planning, annual
performance planning and
Jan. 2003 reporting, and assessment
of AOC's progress in
meeting agencywide
milestones and measures.
AOC has identified four
strategic goals:
facilities management,
project management, human
capital management, and
organizational excellence.
AOC has also identified a
number of measures to
monitor and evaluate
performance, and these
measures will serve as the
basis for employees'
annual performance goals
as well as the assessment
of AOC's overall success
in meeting its strategic
goals. The measures
include quality facility
management; projects
delivered on time, on
budget, and of high
quality; highly skilled
and motivated employees;
and effects of managerial
oversight. In addition,
AOC has developed a
document-the AOC
dashboard-that summarizes
performance in each of its
strategic focus areas:
project management,
facilities management,
human capital management,
and organizational
excellence. The dashboard
includes several
high-level indicators to
track performance for each
of the strategic goals as
well as a target goal for
each indicator.
16. Strengthen performance Implemented February 2006:
measurement and strategic AOC has fulfilled this
human capital management by recommendation. AOC's
creating "a line of sight" senior executive
linking AOC's senior performance management
executive and employee system and its employee
performance management performance evaluation
systems to mission-critical system are linked to AOC's
goals. mission-critical goals.
Employees are expected to
Jan. 2003 ensure completion of a
performance plan that
outlines performance
standards for each
critical task related to
the employee's position.
The employee's performance
is evaluated against the
established performance
plan as it relates to
AOC's strategic goals and
objectives. The employee
is given a rating of
"outstanding," "fully
successful," or
"unsuccessful" for each
element, as well as a
summary rating.
17. Strengthen performance Making progress: AOC has
measurement and strategic identified core
human capital management by competencies for all
establishing agencywide positions. AOC is in the
core and technical process of developing
competencies and holding competencies for all AOC
employees accountable for employees through the use
these competencies as a of a skills survey. AOC's
part of the performance Workforce Planning and
management system. Management Office will
compare the survey results
Jan. 2003 with established
competencies before
including the competencies
in its evaluation system.
18. Strengthen performance Making progress: AOC's
measurement and strategic Workforce Planning and
human capital management by Management Office has
developing the capacity to identified numerous ways
collect and analyze to collect, report, and
workforce data. analyze workforce data.
Several data sources have
Jan. 2003 been identified and used
for analysis, resulting in
reports on the agency's
workforce, such as
retirement reports. AOC
plans to use the
information in these
reports for agencywide
planning. AOC has
developed a system to
report and monitor
full-time equivalents
(FTEs). However, GAO
continues to have concerns
about the reliability of
the data AOC is
collecting, particularly
related to AOC's ability
to estimate, track, and
report on FTEs.
19. Strengthen performance Making progress: AOC's
measurement and strategic Workforce Planning and
human capital management by Management Office recently
identifying current and developed a report on
future workforce needs and agencywide retirement that
developing strategies to forecasts future workforce
fill gaps. needs on the basis of
anticipated retirements,
Jan. 2003 turnover trends, and
historical hiring
practices. AOC plans to
use the report's findings
to identify gaps in
current and future
workforce needs. AOC needs
to develop strategies to
address workforce gaps.
GAO Recommendation Status
20. Strengthen AOC's human Implemented February 2006:
capital policies, AOC has approved a policy
procedures, and processes development schedule to
by continuing to develop revise human capital
and implement agencywide policies as part of its
human capital policies and human capital plan. In
procedures and holding addition, AOC developed a
management and employees document for supervisors,
accountable for following Supervisors' Tools of the
these policies and Trade, which provides
procedures. supplemental guidance on
human capital policies as
Jan. 2003 needed. Supervisors are
rated for performance in
human capital management
as part of AOC's
evaluation system.
However, it is important
that AOC continue to
monitor whether
supervisors and managers
are fairly administering
the policies as the
revisions are implemented.
21. Strengthen AOC's human Implemented February 2006:
capital policies, AOC has fulfilled this
procedures, and processes recommendation by holding
by assessing ways in which monthly meetings between
AOC management could better the Human Resources
gather and analyze data Director, Equal Employment
from the various employee Opportunity and
relations offices and Conciliation Program
employee advisory council Director, the chair of the
while maintaining employee employee advisory council
confidentiality. and the employment
council, and the employee
Jan. 2003 assistance program manager
and the Deputy Chief of
Staff to review and
discuss employee relations
data. The group makes
recommendations to senior
management based on
findings and takes action
on the items. According to
AOC, the importance of
maintaining employee
confidentiality is
emphasized at each
meeting.
22. To improve Closed - not implemented:
communications with Although AOC has not
employees, we recommend completed an assessment of
that the Architect of the the capacity of existing
Capitol direct the COO to offices to resolve
conduct an analysis of both employee concerns and
AOC management and employee issues and does not plan
needs with respect to to do so, the agency has
resolving employee concerns implemented a variety of
and issues, as well as mechanisms to resolve
assessing the capacity of employee concerns and
existing offices to fulfill issues. According to AOC,
those needs. multiple offices and
programs address employee
Aug. 2004 concerns and issues,
including the Equal
Employment Office, the
Employee Assistance
Programs, the standard
grievance process, and the
external Office of
Compliance process. In
addition, AOC holds
monthly meetings between
representatives of these
offices to review and
discuss employee relations
data. The group makes
recommendations to senior
management based on
findings and takes action
on the items. Employees in
bargaining units are also
represented by the union
and have a process in
place to resolve
individual employee
issues. In October 2005,
AOC issued a brochure to
all employees on all Equal
Employment Office policies
and the available
programs. In addition, AOC
is currently developing a
proposal that would
establish a mediation
program as part of AOC's
operational business
strategy. After
implementing the pilot
program, AOC plans to
assess its use and
effectiveness and make any
needed modifications
before making it a
permanent program and
expanding the group of
trained mediators. AOC
should continue to monitor
the effectiveness of the
programs through employee
feedback.
23. Establish a direct Implemented February 2006:
reporting relationship AOC has not had an
between the ombudsperson ombudsperson on staff for
and the Architect of the several years. According
Capitol consistent with to AOC, if an ombudsperson
professional standards. is needed, a direct
reporting relationship
Jan. 2003 between the ombudsperson
and the Architect would be
established once hired.
GAO Recommendation Status
Worker safety
24. Identify performance Making progress: Although
measures for safety goals AOC has made significant
and objectives, including progress to develop
measures for how AOC will written safety policies,
implement the 43 full implementation of the
specialized safety programs safety policies has not
and how superintendents and occurred. As of December
employees will be held 2005, 23 of AOC's 35
accountable for achieving safety policies have been
results.a written and approved by
the Architect's office.
Jan. 2003 The AOC has developed
workbooks to help AOC
staff implement the safety
policies. AOC plans to
include a schedule for
releasing the remaining
safety policies in the
Office of Safety and
Health Program Plan. GAO
will continue to monitor
the progress of the safety
policies.
25. Establish clearly Making progress: AOC has
defined and documented completed a job hazard
policies and procedures for analysis (JHA) process
reporting hazards similar including describing the
to those that apply to steps associated with each
injury and illness job task, identifying
reporting. potential hazards
associated with each task,
Jan. 2003 developing appropriate
controls to eliminate or
reduce the hazards,
developing a training
program to perform JHAs,
and assisting first-line
supervisors with
performing qualitative
JHAs. In addition, AOC has
completed a "step-by-step
plan" that provides a
general approach for
jurisdictions to manage
implementation of the JHA
process. Finally, AOC has
included a telephone
number for reporting
hazards in its monthly
safety newsletters, which
are distributed AOC-wide.
AOC is currently in the
process of finalizing its
hazard assessment and
control policy for
distribution to agency
reviewers.
26. Establish a consistent Implemented February 2006:
AOC-wide system for AOC fulfilled this
conducting investigations recommendation with the
and follow-up. approval of its interim
incident notification,
Jan. 2003 investigation, and
reporting policy. AOC also
implemented the incident
analysis module, a
component of the facility
management assistant
program. This module
provides an electronic
recordkeeping approach to
track the investigation of
incidents associated with
AOC personnel and
property. In addition, the
module interfaces with the
facility management
assistant program by
creating a deficiency
report when corrective
actions associated with an
incident are identified.
Moreover, an AOC-wide
incident investigation
form has been implemented
across the jurisdictions.
Finally, lessons learned
are shared in a number of
ways, including through
AOC's safety support
group.
27. Establish a Implemented February 2006:
safety-training curriculum AOC has fulfilled this
that fully supports all of recommendation in
the goals of the safety establishing training that
program and further supports the goals of the
evaluate the effectiveness current safety policies.
of the training provided. For example, during the
implementation review
Jan. 2003 process, AOC revalidated
training requirements
against regulatory
requirements. Moreover,
Safety Policy Managers
have worked with the Human
Resources Management
Division (HRMD) to ensure
that training required by
upcoming policies has been
identified. In addition,
AOC has completed a
training workbook exercise
to assess the overall
impact of required safety
policy training on its
budget. Also, central
staff safety professionals
continue to audit training
courses and provide
feedback to course
instructors. Finally, the
AOC has been using injury
and illness data to
identify training needs.
28. Assign clear Making progress: AOC has
responsibility for tracking chosen a data management
and recording training system-AVUE-that will,
received by AOC employees, among other things, track
including maintaining an and record the training,
inventory of employees' licensing, and
certifications and certification requirements
licenses. received by employees.
Safety personnel have met
Jan. 2003 with AVUE designers to
ensure that the designers
fully understand AOC's
safety training needs. AOC
is working with AVUE to
obtain a delivery
schedule.
GAO Recommendation Status
29. Clarify and explore the Implemented February 2006:
possibility of expanding AOC has fulfilled this
the role of the Office of recommendation by working
the Attending Physician with OAP to ensure that
(OAP) in helping AOC meet the lists of medical
its safety goals, surveillance program
consistent with the broad participants are current.
responsibilities laid out In addition, OAP is
in the 1998 Memorandum of providing reports to AOC
Understanding between AOC jurisdictions when
and OAP. employees are either (1)
due or (2) past due for
Jan. 2003 their medical surveillance
exams. AOC is also
drafting a document on the
scope of medical
surveillance services to
better define and
communicate the agency's
requirements to OAP to
ensure a common
understanding and set of
expectations.
30. Establish a senior Implemented August 2004b:
management work group that AOC has fulfilled this
will routinely discuss recommendation by
workers' compensation cases developing performance
and costs, and develop measures to assess the
strategies to reduce these long-term impact and
injuries and costs. trends of workers'
compensation injuries and
Jan. 2003 costs. In addition,
through the Safety,
Health, and Environment
Council (SHEC), safety and
human resource officials
are exchanging information
and data in order to
control workers'
compensation injuries and
costs. Finally, through
SHEC, the relationship
between safety and
workers' compensation
injuries and illnesses is
being promoted.
31. To enhance worker Making progress: AOC plans
safety performance measures to include safety-related
at AOC, the Architect of questions as part of an
the Capitol should direct agencywide work
the COO to expand upon its environment assessment.
safety perception survey by AOC's Quality Management
developing a more rigorous group is currently
methodological approach and developing a guide for
collecting such information conducting the work
on a more regular basis. environment assessment.
The worker safety
Aug. 2004 questions should be
designed to elicit full
and honest views on worker
safety.
Recycling
32. Develop a clear mission Implemented February 2006:
and goals for AOC's AOC has fulfilled this
recycling program with recommendation. AOC
input from key drafted a mission
congressional stakeholders statement, goals, and
as part of its proposed performance measures for
environmental master plan. its recycling program and
AOC may want to establish shared this draft with
reasonable goals based on congressional
the total waste stakeholders. The mission
stream-information it plans for the recycling program
to obtain as part of its is to foster an
long-term environmental environment that
management plan-that could encourages recycling by
potentially be recycled. the legislative branch
staff through convenient
Jan. 2003 and efficient programs,
resulting in the diversion
of wastes from the solid
waste stream. AOC
established three main
goals for its recycling
program: (1) increase
overall recycling rates by
diverting office wastes,
(2) increase overall
recycling tonnage by
diverting non-office
wastes, and (3) improving
communication and
coordination among
interested Legislative
Branch agencies by
establishing a recycling
working group by the end
of fiscal year 2006.
33. To further assist AOC Implemented February 2006:
in developing a more AOC has fulfilled this
strategic approach for its recommendation. AOC relied
recycling programs and to on input from internal and
ensure that congressional external stakeholders,
input is obtained when it including congressional
would be most useful, we stakeholders, to assist in
recommend that the the development of the
Architect of the Capitol mission, goals, and
direct the COO to obtain performance measures as
preliminary input from part of its recycling
congressional stakeholders program.
on its environmental
program plan-particularly
as the plan relates to the
mission and goals of AOC's
recycling programs-prior to
the completion of the plan.
Aug. 2004
GAO Recommendation Status
34. Develop a performance Making progress: AOC
measurement, monitoring, submitted performance
and evaluation system that measures that support the
supports accomplishing recycling program mission
AOC's recycling mission and and goals to congressional
goals. stakeholders on November
3, 2005. AOC plans to
Jan. 2003 evaluate the impact of the
new performance measures
on its current evaluation
criteria and will make
changes as needed in 2006.
Recycling managers are
currently rated in AOC's
evaluation system for
success in several
recycling-related tasks.
In addition, AOC has an
environmental services
indefinite-delivery,
indefinite-quantity
contract that, according
to AOC, will allow for the
quick procurement of
consultant services and
other services in support
of the implementation
plan.
35. Examine the roles and Making progress: AOC has
responsibilities of AOC's included recycling tasks
recycling program staff to in position descriptions
ensure that they are and has included recycling
performing the right jobs responsibilities for
with the necessary supervisors in its
authority, and holding the evaluation system. For
staff accountable for example, the performance
achieving program and evaluation system includes
agency results through recycling objectives in
AOC's performance the ratings of recycling
management system. managers. In addition, AOC
has included recycling as
Jan. 2003 an objective in its
business plan for the
House and Senate. AOC
plans to evaluate the
impact of the new
performance measures on
its current evaluation
criteria and will make
changes as needed in 2006.
Financial management
36. Continue to improve Making progress: AOC
AOC's approach to financial continues to make progress
management by developing institutionalizing
strategies to financial management best
institutionalize financial practices to support
management practices that efforts to improve
will support budgeting, budgeting, financial
financial, and program management, and program
management at AOC. Such management. AOC continued
strategies could include its efforts to annually
developing performance produce audited financial
goals and measures and statements and took action
associated roles aimed at in March 2005 to authorize
increasing the the development of an
accountability of AOC-wide internal control
nonfinancial managers and framework. To date, AOC
staff, such as reports that it has
jurisdictional partially completed the
superintendents, program development of this
managers, and other AOC framework. Also, important
staff-whose support is work has begun to identify
critical to the success of changes to systems,
AOC's financial management procedures, and reporting
initiatives-and ensuring methods needed to
that these staff received implement a new financial,
the training needed to cost, and performance
effectively carry out their reporting system (the cost
roles and responsibilities. accounting system), which
is intended to provide
Jan. 2003 operating managers with
timely and useful
information to enhance
their management and
oversight. However, AOC's
progress has been slower
than originally
anticipated and
insufficient resources
have delayed
implementation of these
initiatives. As a result,
significant work remains
to be done to successfully
implement many of the
initiatives and,
collectively, to
institutionalize the range
of financial management
best practices envisioned
by this recommendation. To
do so, it is imperative
that adequate resources be
continually identified and
provided to implement and
maintain these improvement
efforts. The initiatives
represent significant
cultural and operational
changes that will directly
affect many of AOC's
operations. Successfully
dealing with these changes
will require strong and
visible senior management
support to help ensure
that the initiatives'
implementation is
effectively monitored and
that, if necessary,
actions are taken to keep
the implementation on
track. The Office of the
CFO has thus far relied
extensively on contractor
support to plan and
initiate actions needed to
implement many of these
initiatives. By not having
AOC staff resources
actively involved in the
planning stages of these
important accountability
initiatives serves to
limit the transfer of
institutional knowledge
that was developed by the
contractor to the AOC
staff.
GAO Recommendation Status
37. To help strengthen and Making progress:
sustain AOC's emerging Organizationally, AOC made
foundation of financial progress in strengthening
accountability and control, its foundation of
we recommend that the financial accountability
Architect of the Capitol, and control by issuing its
the COO, the Chief first and second
Financial Officer, and agency-wide accountability
other senior management reports in December 2004
provide strong and visible and 2005, in which the
support for efforts to results of audits covering
prepare auditable financial AOC's fiscal year 2003 and
statements and implement an 2004 balance sheets,
effective internal control respectively, were
framework by monitoring the presented; requesting a
implementation and related full scope audit of a
milestones for each effort, complete set of financial
ensuring the commitment to statements and related
and support to for each footnote disclosures for
effort by participating AOC fiscal year 2005;
units, and acting to beginning the development
resolve any impediments of an AOC-wide internal
that may arise. control framework.
Aug. 2004 However, the extent of
this progress has been
limited because (1) the
scope of the follow-up
financial audit, which was
originally planned to
cover all of AOC's
financial statements, was
again limited to AOC's
balance sheet, (2) the
internal control
framework, which was
initially planned to be
designed and authorized by
the start of fiscal 2005,
was authorized for
development in March 2005,
and (3) due to a lack of
fiscal year 2006
resources, development and
implementation work on the
internal control framework
has been delayed. Based on
what we have learned, we
believe AOC's schedule for
full implementation of
this framework (June 2006)
will likely slip. While
these initiatives reflect
a degree of progress,
until they are implemented
AOC will continue to face
increased risk in
financial management and
in its program operations.
The AOC received an
unqualified or "clean"
opinion on its balance
sheets for fiscal years
2003 and 2004. However,
both of these audits
identified a number of
internal control
weaknesses that AOC has
been working to correct,
the 2003 auditor's report
included weaknesses in the
areas of: capitalizing
work-in-process expenses,
allocating overhead to
project costs, accounts
payable cutoff, capital
and operating leases,
payroll record retention,
and information technology
controls. As reported in
AOC's 2004 Accountability
Report, the AOC has fully
addressed six out of seven
material weaknesses
reported in the 2003
report. In the fiscal year
2004 auditor's report, the
auditor's reported
weaknesses in the areas
of: (1) Internal Control
Assessments - AOC lacks a
formal and systematic
process to assess and
evaluate the design and
operation of internal
controls, (2) Annual Leave
- AOC lacks controls to
ensure differences in
leave balances across
systems were identified,
manual adjustments were
approved, monitored, and
reversed upon system
posting, and leave earning
rates were consistent with
years in service, (3)
Timekeeping Controls - AOC
did not have effective
controls over time and
attendance processing to
detect time charge
modifications after
supervisory approval had
been made, to require
employees and supervisors
to regularly sign and
attest to the accuracy of
timesheets, (4)
Construction
Work-In-Process (this
weakness was also reported
in the fiscal year 2003
audit report of the CVC
Base Building) - AOC does
not maintain a formal
system that ensures
execution of a contract or
modification before the
initiation of work, (5)
Capital and Operating
Leases - AOC does not have
an effective policy to
timely identify the
execution or modification
of lease agreements and
perform the requisite
analyses to determine if
they are capital or
operating leases for
financial reporting, and
(6) Information Technology
Controls - AOC does not
have an
GAO Recommendation Status
effective
information system
security program
resulting in
weaknesses in
their information
system control
environment.
With regard to the
specific focus of
this
recommendation-the
need for visible
and strong senior
management support
for audit and
internal control
initiatives-senior
management will
need to increase
its focus on
managing and
overseeing these
important
accountability and
control
initiatives that
are in process in
order to help
ensure their
success.
38. To enhance the Making progress:
successful development of Organizationally, AOC has
useful financial, cost, and made progress in
performance reporting for developing a cost
major operating units and accounting system and
appropriate cost useful financial and
accounting, we recommend performance reports for
that the Architect of the major operating units. The
Capitol direct the COO and Office of the CFO reports
the Chief Financial Officer progress in conducting
to work with operating analyses designed to
managers to assess the identify the changes
usefulness of needed to improve cost and
financial-statement-level performance-based
information, take an active management, systems, and
role in AOC near-term reporting methods. The
efforts to develop analyses-performed by
agencywide performance outside
measures, and review all contractors-assessed the
available options to current cost and reporting
determine whether systems and made
substantial work can begin, recommendations related to
prior to fiscal year 2006, defining common lines of
on the analyses needed to business and activities,
identify changes necessary identifying
to implement useful cost activity-related outputs,
accounting at AOC. and linking activities and
outputs to strategic goals
Aug. 2004 and performance outcomes.
Acknowledging that
financial-statement-level
information was not
directly useful to line
managers, the Office of
the CFO has met with the
jurisdictions to identify
financial-related
information and reports
that managers can use to
enhance their operational
management and oversight.
AOC management was briefed
on the results of the
analyses and related
recommendations and plans
to implement the new
performance-based system
in phases to make an
orderly transition from
the current budget-based
financial system. Those
plans include pilot
deployment of an interim
cost structure for
managers through fiscal
year 2006, followed by the
development of a structure
for General and
Administrative cost
reporting, and development
of a structure for
jurisdictional services in
fiscal year 2007.
Currently, due to lack of
fiscal year 2006 resources
all work being performed
by the contractor has been
delayed. AOC plans to
resume work using in-house
staff whose positions have
been funded and approved,
but currently these
positions remain unfilled.
AOC plans to request
fiscal year 2007 funds to
continue involvement of
the contractor to work
with this staff going
forward on an "as needed"
basis. It is likely that
this shortage of resources
will delay the scheduled
date (9/30/2006) for full
system implementation.
With regard to the focus
of this
recommendation-that the
COO and the CFO work with
operating managers on each
of these initiatives-the
Acting COO/CFO will need
to closely monitor and
oversee the development of
these initiatives and work
to ensure that managers
use the information to
improve their operational
management and oversight.
GAO Recommendation Status
39. To enhance the Making progress: As noted
successful development of in our analysis of AOC's
useful financial, cost, and progress in implementing
performance reporting for the previous
major operating units and recommendation, AOC has
appropriate cost made progress in efforts
accounting, we recommend to develop cost accounting
that the Architect of the and useful financial,
Capitol direct the COO and cost, and performance
the CFO to have senior reporting for major
management visibly operating units. However,
demonstrate its continuing with regard to the focus
commitment to and support of this recommendation-the
for making AOC-wide system, need for senior management
procedural, and cultural to visibly demonstrate its
changes necessary to continuing commitment to
provide managers with and support for the
timely financial, cost, and changes needed to
performance information by implement these important
monitoring the efforts' management initiatives by
implementation and related monitoring implementation
milestones, ensuring the efforts, ensuring the
commitment to and support commitment and support of
for the efforts by participating AOC units,
participating AOC units, and acting to resolve any
and acting to resolve any impediments that may
impediments that may arise. arise-AOC senior
management will need to
Aug. 2004 take concerted action to
visibly demonstrate its
commitment and support to
making the AOC-wide
system, procedural, and
cultural changes necessary
to provide managers with
timely financial, cost,
and performance
information needed to
improve their oversight
and management of
operations.
With many of AOC's top
leadership positions
currently vacant,
including the COO, the
CFO, the Director of
Congressional and External
Relations, and the
Director of Planning and
Project Management, AOC
will have difficulties in
the short-term effectively
achieving the level of
leadership called for by
this recommendation.
Furthermore, the term for
the current Architect of
the Capitol will expire in
less than a year. In an
attempt to mitigate the
impact of so many
vacancies in key
leadership positions, AOC
recently appointed an
Acting COO, and asked this
individual to also
temporarily fill the
position of the Acting CFO
to guide the agency's
transformation efforts
until qualified permanent
candidates can be hired.
It is essential for AOC to
quickly fill the
management positions that
are currently vacant to
sustain improvements that
have already been
achieved, support further
transformation efforts,
and have a cohesive
management team in place
in the event of a turnover
in the position of the
Architect of the Capitol.
Information technology
management
40. Establish a chief Implemented January 2004a:
information officer or AOC fulfilled this
comparable senior recommendation by issuing
executive, with the a centralized IT
responsibility, authority, management policy that
and adequate resources for assigned a senior
managing IT across the executive-namely, the
agency, who is a full Office of Information and
participant in AOC's senior Resource Management (OIRM)
decision making processes director-the role,
and has clearly defined responsibility and
roles, responsibilities, authority for managing IT
and accountabilities. across the agency,
including the development,
Jan. 2003 management, and oversight
of IT. In addition, the
policy made the OIRM
director a key participant
in executive decision
making, such as serving as
the principal adviser to
the Architect of the
Capitol in applying IT to
improve business
processes. The OIRM
director's role also
includes controlling AOC's
IT budget and chairing the
IT project management
board.
GAO Recommendation Status
41. Develop and implement Making progress: The AOC
IT investment management IT investment review board
processes with the full charter was approved by
support and participation the Deputy Chief of Staff
of AOC's senior leadership. in July 2004. This board
Specifically, the Architect includes senior-level
of the Capitol must develop managers across the
a plan for developing and agency. AOC reports that
implementing the investment it is in the process of
management processes, as implementing a project
appropriate, that are review board to oversee
outlined in our IT all IT projects and to
investment management monitor schedules, costs,
guide. At a minimum, the and risks. AOC recently
plan should specify approved a new IT
measurable tasks, goals, investment management
time frames, and resources policy which describes the
required to develop and roles and authority of the
implement the processes. boards involved in
The Architect of the overseeing IT investments
Capitol should focus first such as the Enterprise
on the management processes Architecture Executive
associated with controlling Steering committee and the
existing projects and Business Systems
establishing the management Modernization Office. The
structures to effectively IT investment management
implement an IT management policy also describes the
process. process for requesting
funding and monitoring
Jan. 2003 such investments. AOC has
taken important initial
steps to address the
management and structure
needed to establish a
sound IT investment
management process, such
as assigning roles,
responsibilities and the
authority needed to manage
its IT investment
portfolio. However, the
agency has yet to provide
a plan that lays out its
efforts to implement the
processes and to control
existing investments which
includes specifying the
measurable tasks, goals,
time frames, and
resources.
42. Plan for and implement Making progress: AOC
those practices in our IT reports that, to
investment management guide prioritize investments, it
associated with corporate, is using an IT request
portfolio-based investment form to quantify
decision making, such as investment requests by
(1) implementing criteria their urgency, value, and
to select investments that risk. Although AOC is in
will best support the the process of instituting
organization's strategic an approval process and
goals, objectives, and mechanism to screen all
mission, (2) using these proposed IT projects using
criteria to consistently standardized criteria, it
analyze and prioritize all has yet to fully develop
IT investments, and implement important
(3) ensuring that the key steps in their IT
optimal investment investment process. For
portfolio with manageable example, AOC has yet to
risks and returns is develop an overall
selected and funded, and approach to portfolio
(4) overseeing each management that
investment within the incorporates existing and
portfolio to ensure that it proposed projects into the
achieves its cost, benefit, investment decision-making
schedule, and risk process and document and
expectations. implement a sound
investment control process
Jan. 2004 to monitor all their
current and proposed IT
investments.
GAO Recommendation Status
43. Develop, implement, and Making progress: AOC has
maintain an enterprise (1) developed a written
architecture (EA) to guide and approved agencywide IT
and constrain IT projects policy that provides for
throughout AOC. The developing, implementing,
Architect of the Capitol and maintaining an EA; (2)
should implement the assigned responsibility
practices, as appropriate, for guiding EA development
as outlined in the Chief and obtaining approval of
Information Officer the EA from the agency's
Council's architecture senior leadership team,
management guide. As a which includes senior
first step, the Architect representatives from
of the Capitol should across the agency, such as
establish the management the Director of
structure for developing, Congressional and External
implementing, and Relations, the Chief
maintaining an EA by Administrative Officer,
implementing the following and the superintendents of
actions: the House and Senate
offices and of the Capitol
developing an agencywide buildings; (3) designated
policy statement providing a chief enterprise
a clear mandate for architect, who is
developing, implementing, responsible for EA
and maintaining the development and
architecture; maintenance; and (4)
developed an architecture
establishing an executive that was approved by the
body composed of senior leadership team on
stakeholders from AOC November 1, 2004. However,
mission-critical program the EA is not yet
offices to guide the complete, although AOC's
strategy for developing the plans call for evolving
EA and ensure agency the architecture through a
support and resources for series of incremental
it; and versions. According to AOC
officials, the other
designating an individual practices needed to
who serves as a chief effectively develop,
enterprise architect to implement, and maintain
develop policy, lead the the architecture,
development of the EA, and contained in relevant
manage it as a formal guidance, such as GAO's
program. enterprise architecture
management maturity
Jan. 2003 framework, have not yet
been implemented. For
example, AOC has not
developed and implemented,
among other things,
communications,
configuration, quality,
and risk management plans;
employed an independent
verification and
validation (IV&V)
contractor; or developed
metrics for measuring and
reporting EA compliance.
According to AOC, it has
recently awarded a
contract to a qualified
vendor to work with its
Chief Enterprise Architect
and Business Systems
Modernization Office in
performing an IV&V of
AOC's EA against GAO's
framework for assessing
and improving enterprise
architecture. Work under
the contract began,
according to AOC, in
January 2006 and will
continue through April
2006.
44. Plan for and implement Making progress: According
the practices in our to AOC, in December 2005,
architecture management the executive steering
guide associated with committee approved its
leveraging an EA for updated EA (EAFY06). In
organizational developing the
transformation, such as (1) architecture, AOC used the
ensuring that adequate federal enterprise
resources are devoted to architecture framework and
the program (funding, this version contains both
people, tools, and an "as is" and a "to be"
technology); (2) ensuring architectural description
that the architecture and a sequencing plan.
describes both the "as is" However, the architecture
and the "to be" does not include all the
environments in terms of elements of a well-defined
performance; (3) ensuring architecture. For example,
that architecture business, the "as is" and "to be"
performance, information descriptions do not
and data, applications and address security as laid
services, and technology out in AOC's security
descriptions address plan. AOC officials stated
security; and (4) ensuring that the alignment between
that metrics are used to the EA and security system
measure EA progress, development life cycle is
quality, compliance, and in progress. AOC also
return on investment. stated that it plans to
continue to refine and
Jan. 2004 expand on the
architecture, based on the
agency's goals,
objectives, and business
needs. Further, AOC stated
that, once selected, the
verification and
validation contractor will
measure EA progress,
quality, compliance, and
return on investment using
metrics.
GAO Recommendation Status
45. Require disciplined and Making progress: In August
rigorous processes for 2005, AOC completed its
managing the development new IT investment
and acquisition of IT management policy. In the
systems and implement the policy, AOC states that
processes throughout AOC. the system development
Specifically, these lifecycle is used
processes should include throughout the investment
the following: management process to
provide guidance and
quality assurance documentation support for
processes, including the project. In addition,
developing a quality AOC officials said that
assurance plan and its draft system
identifying applicable development lifecycle
process and product guidelines address
standards that will be used acquisition processes such
in developing and assessing as configuration
project processes and management and risk
products; management and that its
quality assurance
configuration management processes have been
processes, including developed and are being
establishing a repository refined to ensure the use
or configuration management of standardized project
system to maintain and documentation. However, we
control configuration have not received evidence
management items; that these acquisition
processes have been
risk management processes, implemented throughout the
including developing a agency.
project risk management
plan, identifying and
prioritizing potential
problems, implementing risk
mitigation strategies, as
required, and tracking and
reporting progress against
the plans; and
contract tracking and
oversight processes,
including developing a plan
for tracking contractor
activities, measuring
contractor performance and
conducting periodic
reviews, and conducting
internal reviews of
tracking and oversight
activities.
Jan. 2003
GAO Recommendation Status
46. Establish and implement Making progress: AOC has
an information security (1) designated a security
program. Specifically, the officer with the authority
Architect of the Capitol to implement an agencywide
should establish an security program;
information security developed a security plan
program by taking the (dated September 2004);
following steps: and, according to AOC
officials, assigned
designate a security resources (funding and
officer and provide him or staff) to implement the
her with the authority and security program; (2)
resources to implement an developed and issued a
agencywide security policy for performing risk
program; assessments as well as a
plan for performing risk
develop and implement assessments on its 50
policy and guidance to major applications by
perform risk assessments March 2008; (3) acquired
continually; risk assessment technology
to assess and manage the
use the results of the risk technical controls on all
assessments to develop and AOC general support
implement appropriate system; (4) developed and
controls; issued a policy for IT
security training and
develop policies for completed the annual
security training and awareness training for all
awareness and provide the employees, but has not
training; and implemented training based
on user roles and
monitor and evaluate policy responsibilities; and (5)
and control effectiveness. developed a plan to
monitor and evaluate the
Jan. 2003 effectiveness of policies
and controls.
However, AOC does not have
any systems certified and
accredited and has not
completed risk assessments
on all of its major
applications; documented
the identified risks in
system security plans; and
developed controls to
mitigate the risks, such
as developing contingency
plans for all systems.
According to AOC, its
certification and
accreditation process has
been planned, resourced,
and initiated and phase I,
which addresses the
general support systems
and mission critical
applications, is expected
to be completed by the
second quarter of fiscal
year 2006. However, in the
interim, AOC's internal
systems and applications
remain potentially
vulnerable and AOC has not
developed and implemented
a risk-mitigation strategy
to carry it through this
interim period. AOC stated
that they believe that
their strong perimeter
defenses (i.e., firewalls)
and polices will help
carry the agency through
the interim while they
mitigate internal risks.
According to AOC, it
cannot evaluate the
effectiveness of IT
security controls until it
determines if its security
policies meet the minimum
security standards
established by the Chief
Information Officers
Council and National
Institute of Science and
Technology's Federal
Information Technology
Security Assessment
Framework. AOC officials
stated that a self
assessment of its IT
security polices was
conducted and documented.
They also added that they
plan to mitigate the
results of the findings
through a plan of action
and milestones. However,
no time frame was
provided.
Project management
GAO Recommendation Status
47. Develop a Capitol Making progress: AOC is
complex master plan and currently developing the
complete condition Capitol complex master
assessments of all plan and has completed
buildings and facilities facility assessments for
under the jurisdiction of most of the facilities
AOC. within the complex. The
Capitol complex master
Jan. 2003 plan has three components:
(1) vision statement, (2)
framework (concept) plan
and (3) jurisdiction
plans. The draft vision
statement has been
completed. The framework
plan is in progress. An
expert advisory panel
reviewed the vision
statement in December 2004
and the draft concept plan
in March 2005, and the
planning models are being
refined and expanded in
response to the panel's
input. Jurisdiction plans
have been launched in each
jurisdiction except the
Supreme Court. The master
plan is scheduled for
completion by the end of
2006. The draft will be
prepared in the spring of
2006, and extensive
consultations will occur
in the spring, summer, and
fall of 2006 before the
master plan is finalized.
AOC has completed all
facility condition
assessments except those
for the Library of
Congress and the Supreme
Court. AOC has not
received funding for the
Library assessment and
plans to conduct the
assessment for the Supreme
Court after renovations
are completed.
48. In order to improve Making progress: AOC has
Capitol complex master involved congressional
planning efforts, we stakeholders and AOC
recommend that the stakeholders in the
Architect of the Capitol, development of the Capitol
with support from the COO, complex master plan. For
lead efforts to ensure that example, the House
congressional and other Jurisdiction plan was
stakeholders are engaged accelerated ahead of the
early and throughout the remaining master plan
development of the Capitol because of early funding
complex master plan. provided by the House.
According to AOC,
Aug. 2004 throughout this process,
there was extensive
consultation with House
leadership, congressional
members, staff, and
stakeholders. In addition,
briefings were conducted
at standing meetings
between AOC and House
leaders and consultations
with AOC staff were
conducted. GAO will
continue to monitor
stakeholder involvement
throughout the development
of the master plan.
49. Develop a process for Implemented February 2006:
assigning project AOC has fulfilled this
priorities that is based on recommendation. AOC
clearly defined, implemented a program
well-documented, development process in
consistently applied, and 2003 that rated projects
transparent criteria. in five categories: (1)
historic preservation and
Jan. 2003 stewardship, (2) fire,
life, safety, and code
compliance, (3) impact on
mission, (4) economics,
and (5) security, with a
score from 1 to 100. In
the spring of 2004, AOC
improved the program
development process by
establishing extensive
procedures designed to
ensure that project scopes
fully met both customer
needs and all criteria and
standards. The project
evaluation criteria are
currently being expanded
to include urgency (such
as immediate, high,
medium, or low) and
classification of a
project (such as deferred
maintenance or capital
improvement). This
expansion of the
evaluation criteria
results from information
being received from FCAs.
In September 2005, the
AOC's project
prioritization panel will
evaluate these recommended
changes. Assuming
approval, they will be
applied to projects in the
fiscal year 2007 budget
submission and fully
implemented effective with
the project call of 2006.
GAO Recommendation Status
50. In order to improve the Making progress: AOC has
process for prioritizing held and continues to hold
projects, we recommend that regular briefings with
the Architect of the congressional staff since
Capitol, with support from developing a program
the COO, lead efforts to development process.
ensure that AOC informs and According to AOC
obtains agreement from officials, the agency has
congressional and other received positive feedback
stakeholders on how and why and a high level of
specific projects are support for the process.
submitted for funding. As we reported previously,
although the
Aug. 2004 prioritization process is
a useful tool, it does not
address the underlying
need to inform and get
agreement from
congressional and other
stakeholders on how and
why AOC submits projects
for funding.
51. Develop tools to Making progress: AOC has
effectively communicate developed and communicated
priorities and progress of the program development
projects, as a part of a process prioritization
broader communication procedures to all parties
strategy. through various means,
including regular
Jan. 2003 briefings to congressional
stakeholders. AOC has also
developed quarterly status
reports on the budget and
schedule status of
projects that are released
to congressional
appropriators. However,
AOC still needs to develop
a method to more
accurately account for
overhead costs charged by
its construction branch
and calculate current
working estimates for
projects constructed by
the branch. AOC is
currently conducting a
peer review of
Construction Branch
operations. In addition,
AOC needs to automate the
generation of the
quarterly report to
provide timely and
accurate data.
52. Define Making progress: AOC has
project-management-related reported on construction
performance measures to schedule and budget
achieve mission-critical performance measures. AOC
strategic and annual also established a survey
performance goals. and performance measures
on the quality of design
Jan. 2003 and project management
services. AOC is
developing a similar
survey of performance
measures for quality of
construction services.
53. To strengthen the Making progress: In 2003,
relationship between AOC AOC implemented a program
and its congressional and development process that
other stakeholders, we rated projects in five
recommend that the categories: (1) historic
Architect of the Capitol preservation and
direct the COO to work with stewardship, (2) fire,
Congress on the design and life, safety, and code
implementation of a compliance, (3) impact on
transparent process to mission, (4) economics,
facilitate an understanding and (5) security, with a
between AOC and its score from 1 to 100.
congressional stakeholders Through this process, AOC
about how AOC targets its created its first capital
efforts and resources to improvement plan in 2004
the highest project and a fiscal year 2005
priorities and how line item construction
strategic and tactical program that included
decisions and trade-offs consideration of these
are made. ratings. In the spring of
2004, AOC improved the
Aug. 2004 program development
process by establishing
extensive procedures
designed to ensure that
project scopes fully met
both customer needs and
all criteria and standards
requirements. In addition,
AOC enhanced procedures
for determining project
costs, and these
improvements were
reflected in the
procedures used in
determining the fiscal
year 2006 line item
construction program. AOC
recently approved a
predesign manual to help
ensure correct project
scopes. The COO will be
responsible for continuing
to work with AOC's
congressional stakeholders
as this process is
refined.
54. Align project Implemented February 2006:
management staff and AOC has fulfilled this
resources with AOC's recommendation. In October
mission-critical goals. 2005, AOC implemented a
project management
Jan. 2003 organization. The
organization includes 32
. personnel with
responsibilities for
project management,
construction management,
and inspection. The
organization is focused on
"cradle-to-grave" project
delivery. Duties
considered to be
"collateral," such as
design reviews, are being
reassigned to other AOC
officials outside of the
new organization.
GAO Recommendation Status
55. Develop a method to Making progress: AOC has
establish and track more established two measures,
accurate budget targets. which will be tracked on a
This method could include monthly basis, to help
tracking and reporting on develop more accurate
the following to help AOC budget targets. These
refine targets: measures are: (1) ratio of
the government estimate to
Accuracy of cost estimates the average of the bid
compared to bids, amounts and (2) the
contract award cost versus
Accuracy of budget compared the government estimate.
to final project costs, AOC is also planning to
add an additional measure
Amount of excess project for the accuracy of the
funds and how funds are budget compared to final
used, project costs. In
addition, AOC's project
Cost data for the management organization is
Construction Branch, piloting the use of a
including current working project closeout sheet
estimates. that project managers are
required to complete at
Sept. 2005 the conclusion of each
project. The sheet, among
other things, requires the
project manager to list a
final project cost and the
amount of money available
to give back to the
jurisdiction. Finally, AOC
is examining what plans,
tools, and measures are
used to conduct
construction branch work
as part of an ongoing
internal review of
construction branch
operations.
56. Expedite the Making progress: AOC is
development of a customer developing a customer
satisfaction survey for satisfaction survey for
construction services. construction services
which AOC expects to be
Sept. 2005 completed by the end of
the first quarter of
calendar year 2006.
57. Clarify roles and Making progress: According
responsibilities of staff, to an AOC official, AOC's
including the role of new organizational
Jurisdictional Executives structure has been
and responsibility for approved. However,
developing Programs of position descriptions are
Requirements. still undergoing an
internal review that is
Sept. 2005 not expected to be
completed until the middle
of next year. However, AOC
is clarifying roles of the
newly aligned project
management organization
through regular staff
meetings. AOC has
developed a project
development document that,
once approved, will be
used to define the roles
of planning and project
managers.
58. Revise project Making progress:
management manuals to Currently, AOC revises its
reflect changes in how AOC project management and
plans for, designs, and pre-design manuals
constructs projects; revisions every two years
develop management controls and the manuals were last
to ensure compliance with revised in 2004. The
manuals. pre-design manual will be
updated once the project
Sept. 2005 development document used
to clarify the roles of
planning and project
managers is approved. AOC
does not plan to revise
the project management
manual until the end of
2006.
59. Develop or modify Making progress: AOC has
information systems to created a steering group
provide needed cost (the Project Information
schedule data on projects Center Business
and track reasons for Reengineering Task Force,
changes across all which meets every 2 weeks)
projects. to conduct an enterprise
architecture analysis-a
Sept. 2005 requirements analysis of
its information system.
According to AOC, the task
force will identify AOC's
information system needs,
then AOC will determine if
the system needs
replacement, modification,
or better support. AOC
plans to include a funding
request in its fiscal year
2007 budget request for
whatever course of action
is recommended.
Facilities management
60. To improve how AOC New
measures its performance in
the areas of timeliness and
cost, the agency should:
develop more specific
timeliness measures that
more accurately reflect the
amount of time required to
complete tasks, develop the
capability to
comprehensively and
routinely track cost
performance measures, and
benchmark performance
measures against those of
similar institutions, such
as the Smithsonian
Institution and state
capitols.
Dec. 2005
GAO Recommendation Status
61. Use the new CAFM system New
to track preventive
maintenance and demand work
orders across all
jurisdictions, including
the time taken to complete
work orders.
Dec. 2005
Current Status of Recommendations
aGAO, Architect of the Capitol: Status Report on Implementation of
Management Review Recommendations, GAO-04-299 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 30,
2004).
bGAO, Architect of the Capitol: Midyear Status Report on Implementation of
Management Review Recommendations, GAO-04-966 (Washington, D.C.: Aug. 31,
2004).
Major Contributors Appendix V
Shirley L. Abel William B. Bates Carole J. Cimitile John C. Craig George
A. Depaoli Tamera L. Dorland Sharon E. Dyer Elizabeth R. Eisenstadt Elena
P. Epps Brett S. Fallavollita Denise M. Fantone Kara A. Finnegan-Irving
Jeanette M. Franzel Mark L. Goldstein Randolph C. Hite Neelaxi Lakhmani
Steven G. Lozano Kieran McCarthy Susan Michal-Smith Amanda K. Miller Sara
Ann Moessbauer John J. Reilly, Jr. William H. Roach, Jr. Matthew C.
Rosenberg Kris Trueblood Sarah E. Veale William F. Wadsworth
(543152)
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt? GAO-06-290 .
To view the full product, including the scope
and methodology, click on the link above.
For more information, contact Patricia A. Dalton at (202) 512-2834 or
[email protected].
Highlights of GAO-06-290 , a report to congressional committees
February 2006
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Management Challenges Remain
The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is responsible for the maintenance,
renovation, and new construction of the Capitol Hill complex, which
comprises more than three dozen facilities and consists of nine
jurisdictions, such as the U.S. Capitol and the Senate and House Office
Buildings. In 2003, at the request of Congress, GAO issued a management
review of AOC that contained recommendations in seven areas to help AOC
become more strategic and accountable. GAO reported on AOC's progress in
implementing those recommendations in January and August 2004. In 2005 and
2006, GAO briefed Congress on AOC's recent progress in implementing GAO's
recommendations and on issues related to AOC's project and facilities
management. This report summarizes GAO's (1) assessment of AOC's progress
in implementing previous GAO recommendations and in improving project and
facilities management and (2) delineation of remaining management
challenges.
What GAO Recommends
The implementation status of recommendations made in our previous reports
along with recommendations made following our recent reviews of project
and facilities management is summarized in this report. In commenting on
this report, AOC generally agreed with its content.
Overall, AOC is making progress in implementing GAO's previous
recommendations and in improving project and facilities management. For
example, AOC has implemented 21 of 54 recommendations, established a
central organization for managing major projects, and completed
assessments of nearly all of the agency's facilities, for use in
developing a comprehensive facility maintenance and building renewal plan.
AOC has also begun initiatives to develop meaningful performance measures
and to restructure its project management information systems to provide
better data for monitoring and reporting. These initiatives, though
encouraging, are in their early stages, and it is too early to determine
their success. In recent briefings provided to AOC management and
congressional staff, GAO made additional recommendations to improve the
accountability and effectiveness of AOC's project and facilities
management initiatives.
AOC has made progress in some areas, but still has a significant amount of
work ahead to achieve its ultimate goal of establishing a strong strategic
management and accountability framework. Specifically, it has not
completed initiatives to address two critical issues-communication with
external stakeholders and development of internal controls-identified in
previous GAO recommendations or in independent audits of AOC's 2003 and
2004 balance sheets. These issues affect a wide range of AOC operations.
For example, communication with congressional stakeholders is essential to
establish and clarify service and expectation levels. Internal controls,
such as a reliable cost accounting system, sound procurement practices,
and a comprehensive information security program, are necessary to,
respectively, improve project and facilities management, strengthen the
integrity of AOC's procurement processes, and effectively safeguard AOC's
data and information assets.
Leadership support is vital to ensure that needed improvements are given
urgent attention; this support is also essential to ensure that
improvements that have already been made are continuously evaluated and
refined as needed. However, the key leadership positions of Chief
Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer,
Director of the Capitol Power Plant, Director of Congressional and
External Relations, and Director of Planning and Project Management are
currently vacant. Furthermore, the term for the current Architect of the
Capitol will expire in less than a year. AOC is at a critical juncture in
its efforts to become more strategic and accountable. Quickly filling the
vacant management positions with qualified people is essential for AOC to
sustain and extend its recent improvements and to have a cohesive
management team in place in the event of a turnover in the Architect of
the Capitol position. AOC is now attempting to fill the vacant leadership
positions, and, to mitigate the impact of these vacancies, it recently
appointed an Acting Chief Operating Officer--who is also temporarily
serving as the Acting Chief Financial Officer-and an Acting Chief
Administrative Officer to help guide the agency's improvement efforts.
*** End of document. ***