A majority of Federal agencies selected for review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have fully addressed their electronic recordkeeping requirements, according to a new report.
The Federal Records Act and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regulations require that agencies ensure transparency, efficiency, and accountability of Federal records. GAO was tasked with evaluating Federal agencies’ implementation of those requirements selected 17 agencies for review.
GAO found that 14 of the 17 agencies that were selected for review had established sufficient records management programs. Of those 14, nearly all had addressed requirements related to incorporating electronic records into existing programs. However, many of the 14 “did not have policies and procedures to fully incorporate recordkeeping functionalities into electronic systems, establish controls and preservation considerations for systems, and issue instructions on email requirements.”
GAO has made 40 total recommendations to the 14 out of 17 agencies to fully address policies and procedures to incorporate recordkeeping functionalities. Letters provided by NARA, NASA, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, Department of Commerce, National Science Foundation, and Office of Personnel Management detailed their with the GAO recommendations.
GAO had made five recommendations for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), including to work with the Executive Office of the President’s (EOP) Office of Administration (OA) to incorporate electronic records into its overall program. OMB cited that “as a result of OMB’s relationship to the EOP-managed enterprise, OMB was unable to provide OA policies and procedures and therefore GAO could not verify documentation maintained by the EOP on behalf of OMB and other EOP components.”
Recommendations were also made to the Armed Forces Retirement Home, Election Assistance Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Marine Mammal Commission, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Peace Corps.
