The controversial NASA Inspector General (IG) operation found little cost savings in space agency programs, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study of IG reports.
NASA spends almost three times as much on the IG operation as the IG produces in savings, the GAO report concluded.
“Of the 71 reports issued by the OIG’s Office of Audits in fiscal years 2006 and 2007, only 1 report had recommendations to address the economy and efficiency of NASA’s programs and operations with measurable monetary accomplishments,” the GAO noted.
“Over the 5-year period of fiscal years 2003 through 2007, audit reports contributed to only 1 percent of the OIG’s total monetary accomplishments. The remaining 99 percent came from the OIG’s investigative cases.”
Other inspectors general in various agencies produce on average some 26 times more recommendations for savings than the NASA IG, the GAO disclosed.
The GAO recommended that the NASA IG develop a plan to probe NASA programs for potential efficiency savings, and also recommended an independent review of whether the IG is independent or compromised. The NASA IG disagreed.
The full GAO report titled “Inspectors General: Actions Needed to Improve Audit Coverage of NASA” may be read in full at http://www.gao.gov.