The federal government’s effort to make federal spending more transparent needs to be more accessible, according to a Department of Treasury Inspector General audit.
The audit examined the Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s effort to create a governmentwide financial management office, as well as to improve the USASpending.gov website. In particular, auditors examined the Fiscal Service’s USASpending.gov Enhancement Project.
“The Enhancement Project, as executed, did not address identified concerns with the quality of the data presented on USASpending.gov,” auditors found.
The audit recommended that the website meet “external user expectations” regarding the quality of the information it contains. “A lack of documentation surrounding the Enhancement Project’s user acceptance criteria and user acceptance testing may have contributed to a website design that did not sufficiently consider external USASpending.gov user expectations.”
The IG recommended that the Fiscal Service “develop a strategy to manage USASpending.gov user expectations regarding the completeness and accuracy of existing data presented on the site, to include posting a statement on the site about current and legacy data quality concerns and plans for data quality improvement. It should also develop and document criteria for external user acceptance of the site.
