We follow the Government Auditing Standards (also known as the “Yellow Book”), which are established by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). These standards provide a framework to ensure that:

• Staff who conduct the audits have the required skills and competencies to conduct the audits and do not have conflicts of interests regarding the topic they are auditing
• Audits are conducted in an independent and objective manner
• Findings and recommendations are fully supported by facts
• Information and data used to support audit findings are valid, appropriate, and reliable
• Management has an opportunity to review draft reports for factual accuracy and respond to draft audit findings and recommendations prior to the report being published
• The OIG has an internal quality control process to assess its compliance with the Government Auditing Standards and its policies and procedures for conducting audits
• The OIG undergoes an external quality control review, conducted by reviewers independent of the OIG, at least once every three years after beginning the first performance audit

We use other GAO publications to assist us in conducting our audits:

• Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government (also known as the “Green Book”), to assess risk and internal controls when conducting our audits
• Assessing Data Reliability as guidance for assessing the reliability (e.g., completeness, accuracy) of data that we expect to use to support our audit findings, conclusions, and recommendations
• Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Developing and Managing Capital Program Costs to assist us in evaluating the reasonableness of project cost estimates
• Schedule Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Project Schedules as guidance for evaluating project management and program performance