The Office of Inspector General (OIG) was established by the Inspector General Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-452) as an independent unit responsible for promoting economy, efficiency, and effectiveness and detecting and preventing fraud, waste, and mismanagement in the General Services Administration’s (GSA) programs and operations. The OIG’s mission is to help the GSA effectively carry out its responsibilities and to protect the public interest by bringing about positive change in the performance, accountability, and integrity of GSA programs and operations. This is accomplished primarily by performing: independent financial, program, information technology, contract and compliance audits; criminal and civil investigations; reviews of proposed legislation and regulations; and by providing other services to senior GSA, Congressional, and law enforcement officials.
The OIG provides nationwide coverage of GSA programs and activities. The OIG consists of the following offices:
- The Office of Administration, a professional support staff that provides budget and financial management, contracting, facilities and support services, human resources, information technology services, and administers the OIG’s records management program.
- The Office of Audits, an evaluative organization staffed with auditors and analysts that provides comprehensive coverage of GSA operations through program, financial, regulatory, and system audits and assessments of internal controls. The office conducts attestation engagements to assist GSA contracting officials in obtaining the best value for federal customers and American taxpayers. The office also provides other services to assist management in evaluating and improving its programs.
- The Office of Counsel to the Inspector General, an in-house legal staff that provides legal advice and assistance to all OIG components, represents the OIG in litigation arising out of or affecting OIG operations, manages the OIG legislative and regulatory review, and coordinates the OIG FOIA program.
- The Office of Inspections, a multi-disciplinary organization that analyzes and evaluates GSA’s programs and operations through management and programmatic inspections and evaluations that are intended to provide insight into issues of concern to GSA, Congress, and the American public. The office also coordinates quality assurance for the OIG, and analyzes potentially fraudulent or otherwise criminal activities in coordination with other OIG components.
- The Office of Investigations, a statutory federal law enforcement organization that conducts nationwide criminal, civil, and administrative investigations of illegal or improper activities involving GSA programs, operations, and personnel.
The OIG headquarters are in Washington, DC. Field and regional offices are located in Atlanta, Georgia; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Fort Worth, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Laguna Niguel, California; New York, New York; Oakland, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Sacramento, California; Tacoma, Washington; and Washington, DC.
U.S. General Services Administration