A statutorily required review has shown that programs of the federal fund that insures savings in credit unions are not susceptible to significant improper payments, defined as those exceeding 1.5% of program outlays and $10 million of all program payments during the year, an inspector general told a Senate committee chairman in late March.
James Hagan, the inspector general (IG) for the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), issued his report in a letter March 22 to Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
Hagan’s letter explains that the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (as amended) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-123, Appendix C, Management’s Responsibility for Internal Control: Requirements for Effective Measurement and Remediation of Improper Payments (OMB Circular A-123), require federal agencies to review all programs and activities they administer, identify those that may be susceptible to significant improper payments, and publish improper payment estimates for any programs or activities identified as being susceptible to significant improper payments.
“The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) annually conducts risk assessments of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) programs. Based on these risk assessments, the NCUA has concluded that the NCUSIF programs are not susceptible to significant improper payments,” Hagan wrote in the letter. He said his office agreed with the agency’s analysis.
IPERA requires inspectors general to annually assess and report on their agencies’ improper payment risk assessments, in accordance with specific IPERA criteria, the letter states.
Hagan, noting that IPERA requires agencies to assess their programs at least once every three fiscal years (FY), wrote that the NCUA indicated its intent to reassess the susceptibility of its programs and activities in calendar year 2020 (since the agency operates on a calendar-year basis).