Discover how the author transformed a massive government department in just a few years and fixed seemingly unfixable problems In Transforming a Federal Agency: Management Lessons from HUD’s Financial Reconstruction, finance and strategy expert Irving (Irv) L. Dennis delivers an insightful and eye-opening exploration of the lessons he learned in bringing private sector experience to the transformation of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s financial systems. Pulled out of retirement after a 37-year career at Ernst & Young (EY), the author’s tenure at HUD involved a rapid and surgical rejuvenation of their financial infrastructure. The book details the ten management areas he focused on and also includes: The transformation process and the barriers and roadblocks the author encountered on his journey Ensuring an enduring transformation even after changes in administration Functional differences between the private sector and governmental organizations How the author approached his first 100 days as Chief Financial Officer of the Department Insights into the innerworkings of the Executive Branch of government Perfect for government employees, finance professionals in the public and private sectors, and business students, Transforming a Federal Agency is a simultaneously fascinating and instructive journey through the remediation of seemingly intractable financial mismanagement.

Mention the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the word scandal comes to mind. When it comes to recent history, the association is quite accurate; in 1989-90 congressional panels were investigating -abuses, favoritism, and mismanagement- at HUD; in 1954 HUD's predecessor, the Federal Housing Administration, was targeted by the FBI for involvement in fraudulent home-improvement schemes; in the 1970s HUD was scrutinized for lax lending standards, blatant overappraisals, and shoddy housing. In this ground-breaking volume, Irving Welfeld, a senior analyst with HUD, describes and explains these sensational episodes as well as a series of hidden blunders that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars. In this thorough, firsthand account, Welfeld provides not only soundly documented history, but analyses of events that arrive at different interpretations than Congress reached in its investigations. Throughout, his readings ask hard and probing questions: Where were the overseers--the media, Congress, the General Accounting Office, the Office of Management and Budget? To what extent is poor management the root cause of HUD's failures? Will tighter regulation help in keeping out corruption? After his comprehensive survey of the scene, Welfeld goes the final step and offers solutions: a set of programs that would minimize secrecy on the part of federal administrators and the temptation to abuse the public trust. Most importantly, the programs outlined here will enable HUD to more effectively fulfill its mission to see that there is decent affordable housing for all Americans. HUD Scandals will be of interest to scholars of public administration, political scientists, and analysts of housing issues.

The Dept. of Housing and Urban Develop. (HUD) assists millions of Amer. through programs that encourage home ownership, house the poor, and promote econ. develop. To accomplish its mission, HUD relies on the integrity of thousands of third parties -- such as private lenders, contractors, nonprofit org., and local governments. As HUD dramatically downsized its staff in the 1990s, it came to rely more and more on private contractors, which deliver programs and perform many functions that used to be done by HUD's staff, incl. those in its mortgage insur. and rental assistance programs -- areas at high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. This report on HUD's acquisition mgmt. discusses the challenges HUD faces in overseeing its contractors. Charts and tables.