Audit Report: DOE-OIG-16-12

May 2, 2016

The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Technology Services Federal Support Costs

The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Technology Services (EITS) shared services program, formerly known as the Department of Energy’s Common Operating Environment, was based, in part, on a Secretarial initiative to implement a single, integrated information technology (IT) infrastructure across the Department’s Federal environment.  In an effort to increase efficiency and purchasing power and reduce overall expenditures, the Chief Information Officer was tasked with consolidating Federal IT support services and providing standard desktop, electronic mail, and related services.  At the time of our review, EITS provided shared services to approximately 9,000 users across the Department at a cost of approximately $158 million for fiscal years 2013 and 2014.

The Office of Inspector General contracted the independent public accounting firm of KPMG LLP (KPMG) to conduct an audit to determine whether EITS Federal support costs were reasonable and were managed effectively.  Although KPMG was unable to conclude whether the EITS Federal support costs were reasonable, KPMG found that EITS officials had not always managed costs effectively.

Although KPMG also observed a number of positive aspects regarding management of the EITS program, without improvements the Department may be unable to ensure that the EITS program is managed effectively, ensuring that the costs of services provided are appropriately identified, the quality of services provided to customers are maximized, and the costs of services are fully recovered.  Therefore, KPMG made recommendations in the report that, if fully implemented, should assist the Department with improving its EITS shared service program.

Topic: Management & Administration