Embassy New Delhi, India and Constituent Posts - OIG - US ...

Management Controls
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
The chargé d’affaires ad interim had submitted Mission India’s annual statement of
assurance on management controls for the period that ended on July 31, 2010. He concluded that
results of pertinent internal and external reviews provided reasonable assurance that management
control objectives were achieved. He cited compliance with various requirements in the areas of,
among others, financial reporting, property management, vehicle inventory, housing and
construction program management, and safety and health. The chargé indicated one deficiency
related to unauthorized commitments made by Consulate General Hyderabad, and certified
actions taken will correct the weakness and improve management controls.
Management Section
The OIG team noted deficiencies in management controls within the management
sections of Mission India and addresses them in portions of this report that deal with specific
functional areas (i.e., general services and financial management), though some warrant
additional comment. The mission has not adopted or employed some automated procedures that
would improve internal controls and give managers better process visibility. The most notable is
eServices, which is a Department-wide standard for submitting requests for administrative
services. Use of eServices is spotty. Embassy New Delhi uses it for all services except facilities
management, and Consulate General Kolkata has yet to deploy it at all. Consulate Kolkata began
using the WebPASS vehicle, property receiving, and expendable supplies applications only
within the past year.
Recommendation 68: Embassy New Delhi should implement the full use of eServices in
accordance with telegraphic guidance contained in 08 State 133010. (Action: Embassy New
Delhi)
As this report discusses elsewhere, Embassy New Delhi is assigning some of its U.S.
Government-owned residential properties in a manner contrary to 15 FAM 261. In addition, spot
checks of ILMS vehicle inventory indicate that some vehicle data are not accurate, and the
SHEM program lacks required management attention. The OIG team made specific
recommendations to address these shortcomings, but the status of these areas was at odds with
the chief of mission’s annual statement of assurance and suggests more attention is needed in
management controls.
Consular Section
Consular managers at all posts in India are following correct procedures for control of
sensitive items such as visa foils and blank passports. The accountable officers at each post are
aware of their responsibilities for oversight of cashiering and visa and ACS operations, and they
carry them out conscientiously. In one or two cases where the inspection team noted anomalies
in the assignment of control responsibilities to inappropriate or departed officers, these were
corrected. Senior managers review visa adjudications regularly as required. The team advised the
mission to ensure that applicant passports are also secured overnight and on weekends, and the
MCCA responded by instructing consular managers at those posts not following these procedures
to begin to do so immediately.
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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED