Plans by agencies of the Homeland Security Department to correct security weaknesses in their financial management systems don't correct the fundamental causes of the problems. Also, the plans are not consistently updated with correct information and lack detail, according to a recent audit commissioned by DHS’ inspector general.
The consulting firm KPMG found that the Information Technology Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&M) that several DHS agencies have used to fix vulnerabilities in financial management systems were insufficient. The audit found that milestones in those plans often lacked enough information to correct problems and the schedules the agencies set are not reasonable.
DHS’ inspector general hired the company to audit the POA&M plans that the Coast Guard, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had for improving the security of their financial management systems. The department’s fiscal 2006 Performance and Accountability Report cited the security of the department’s financial management systems as a material weakness.
The company's auditors said they could not make a determination of what effect DHS’ efforts to consolidate its components financial management systems would have on agencies’ POA&M’s because that integration plan is still in its pre-implementation phase.
A department IG report released in May said DHS should re-examine options for its financial systems consolidation project and correct outstanding software coding issues before moving ahead with the financial system consolidation project.
The audit, which was conducted in November and December of 2007, made a series of recommendations for the components and DHS’ Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). The report was released July 1.
-Ben Bain, FCW.com
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