“Under the auspices of CIGIE, this report summarizes top challenges that were identified by Federal IGs as part of their recent top challenges reports. In response to a data call from CIGIE, IG offices identified top challenges facing their respective agencies from a list of commonly occurring challenges. IGs could also provide open-ended responses that were not on that list. The resulting top challenges are as follows:
- Information Technology Security and Management (73 percent of respondents)
- Human Capital Management (50 percent)
- Financial Management (48 percent)
- Homeland Security, Disaster Preparedness, and COVID-19 (47 percent)
- Procurement Management (43 percent)
- Grant Management (43 percent)
- Performance Management and Accountability (42 percent) …”
“The information technology (IT) security and management challenge includes top challenges related to the protection of Federal IT systems from intrusion or compromise by external or internal entities and the planning and acquisition of replacing or upgrading IT infrastructure. This is a long-standing, serious, and ubiquitous challenge for Federal agencies because agencies depend on reliable and secure IT systems to perform their mission-critical functions. The security and management of government IT systems remain challenges due to significant impediments faced by Federal agencies, including resource constraints and a shortage of cybersecurity professionals.”
Key Areas of Concern
“Key areas of concern related to IT security and management include safeguarding sensitive data and information systems, networks, and assets against cyber-attacks and insider threats; modernizing and managing Federal IT systems; ensuring continuity of operations; and recruiting and retaining a highly skilled cybersecurity workforce…”
Read the full 31-page report here.
Source: Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing Multiple Federal Agencies – February 2021. Oversight.gov.
