Audit of the Architect of the Capitol’s Unauthorized Commitments

We recommend that Acquisition and Material Management Division establish and implement policies and procedures that clearly define and specify the types of procurement actions that constitute an unauthorized commitment.

We recommend that Acquisition and Material Management Division develop and implement a comprehensive, continuous training program on government purchase card use.

We recommend that Acquisition and Material Management Division revise policies, procedures, and processes to improve the operational efficiency of the unauthorized commitment ratification process.

We recommend that Acquisition and Material Management Division establish and implement clear policies and procedures for emergency/urgent procurements.

We recommend that Acquisition and Material Management Division enhance ratification procedures to clearly define the requirements for documenting unauthorized commitments and submitting, assessing, and approving ratification requests.

We recommend that Acquisition and Material Management Division enhance automated system controls to ensure the ratification submission, review, and approval process requirements are met.

We recommend that Acquisition and Material Management Division develop and implement periodic training for all relevant Architect of the Capitol personnel on (1) appropriate prevention, identification, reporting, and documentation of unauthorized commitments, and (2) the submission, assessment, and approval of ratifications.