A Performance Measurement Model for the Office of Inspector General

This is thefourth article by Duquette and/or Stowe in a series of articles on performance measurement reporting. The first article discussed future directions in federal financial reporting including performance measurement reporting.(1) The second article presented a set of underlying assumptions, proposed terminology and a methodoogy for deueloping and reporting performance measurement as part offul accountability reporting.(2) The third article identified the reosons for the increased emphasis on performance measurement and its potential impact on government, and presented a methodology for auditing pefonnance measurement reporting.(3) In this article the authors present a performance measurement model for an Office of Inspector General (OIG), based on the concepts and methodology contained in the previous articles, and discuss the recent caUfor a paradigm shift in OIG responsibilities. This article presents a generic performance measurement model for an OIG based on the Inspector General Act. This model and the views expressed in the article are the personal views of the authors and do not represent the views of official position of the Department of Health and Human Services. REASONS FOR OIG PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT All of the reasons for the clamor to measure the performance of governmental entities at all levels of government are also true for the Offices of Inspector General (OIG): scarce resources and the need to "do more with less:" increased demand by taxpayers, legislators and policy-makers for full accountability for the use of allocated resources: and the drive to Management by Objectives (MBO) and Total Quality Management (TQM) throughout industry and now government. The OIG, like other governmental organizations, is increasingly faced with the requirement to carry out its functions with fewer resources and a requirement to do more with less. As the authors of Reinventing Government pointed out, in order to "do more with less." that is, be more efficient and effective, the OIG must be mission-driven rather than rule-driven.(4) But, if the OIG is to be mission-driven, it will need performance measurement information in order to assess how well it is achieving its mission. Moreover, "what gets measured gets done,"(5) is equally applicable to the OIG as to other entities. Given fewer resources, the OIG must make hard choices about allocating resources among competing demands and goals established to achieve its mission. Performance measurement provides valuable information to OIG management for allocating resources among competing demands. Also, like other governmental entities, the OIG is accountable for its use of allocated resources. The increasing emphasis on full accountability for the use of allocated resources goes beyond mere accounting for the expenditure of funds to a full accountability reporting, including both program and financial performance measurement of the results of funds used to achieve the OIG's mission, goals, objectives and targets. Finally, the current drive in both the private and public sectors toward adopting Management by Objectives (MBO) and Total Quality Management (TQM) is equally applicable to the OIG. The management and staffs of the OIG are trained and experienced in conducting and reporting on audits and investigations of other entities. The OIG focus is normally on these other entities. However, in achieving its own mission, the OIG managers are called to think and act as managers of the OIG itself, not as managers of audits and investigations of other entities. Just as "the cobbler's children have no shoes," the OIG, as the zealous watchdog, may devote scant attention to its own internal management other than the minimum required for budgetary, personnel and administrative matters. THE PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT TREND STATE AND LOCAL INITIATIVES At the state and local levels, performance measurement reporting has taken the form of Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) under the auspices of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). …