Audit Readiness and Audit Liaison Support Services

The Office of Assurance and Compliance (OAC) is responsible for overseeing the Agency’s audit readiness (remediation) activities for findings from internal and external assessments. These include the DHS consolidated annual financial statement audit, Internal Controls over Financial Reporting (ICOFR) and Internal Controls over Operations (ICOOP), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The audit readiness (remediation) support shall assist with the management of ICE’s corrective actions, consisting of Mission Action Plans (MAPs). Efforts include thorough review of the condition, finding or gap, root cause analyses, summarization of the cause and potential recommendations for the program office or system owner; assistance in development of the MAP or critical review of the MAP; development of requirements, tools, policies and charters; and monitoring the day-to-day operations of the implementation of the MAPs. To ensure corrective actions are properly completed, the Contractor must perform extensive reviews of deliverables to analyze the design and efficacy of process controls and effective implementation. The Contractor shall provide technical knowledge and recommendations based on technical expertise, industry best practices and overarching guidance to include DHS and ICE policies, Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB), The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, Information Technology systems audit standards, and other regulations. The Contractor shall review remediation deliverables for efficiency of process control design, relevance, and sufficiency; and assist with the MAP close out process. Expertise for designing proper internal controls and demonstration of innovation in resolving complex financial reporting and financial system controls is critical. The audit remediation support team shall leverage the full capabilities of automated communication tools, such as SharePoint and existing resource guidance, such as the DHS Audit Playbook, and OAC Audit Liaison Guide to make improvements to the various processes to capitalize on efficiencies in completing the tasks and continue to comply with agency and Department guidance. Audit Readiness (Remediation) and Liaison Support functions include the following:

1) Develop strategy for reporting on the status of MAPs, OAC deliverables and executive reports in coordination with the Government Program Manager and COR.

2) Root Cause Analysis

3) Prioritization of Remediation Efforts

4) Key Requirements Form (KRF) Development

5) Mission Action Plan (MAP) Development

6) MAP Execution and Monitoring

7) Validation

8) Develop Risk Register

9) Reporting

10) Provide surge support to compile and submit audit support documentation as necessary