A 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title How officials reporting to both executive officials and congressional representatives work to keep the government honest, efficient, and effective. Inspectors general are important players in the federal government, and their work often draws considerable public attention when one of them uncovers serious misdeeds or mismanagement that make the headlines. This book by two experts in public policy provides a comprehensive, up-to-date examination of how inspectors general have operated in the four decades since Congress established the offices to investigate waste, fraud, and mismanagement at federal agencies and to promote efficiency and effectiveness in government programs. Unique among federal officials, inspectors general are independent of the agencies they monitor, and they report to the executive and legislative branches of government. One key factor in their independence is that they are expected to be non-partisan and carry out their work without regard to partisan interests. The authors of U.S. Inspectors General: Truth Tellers in Turbulent Times emphasize the “strategic environment” in which inspectors general work and interact with a variety of stakeholders, inside and outside the government. Their new book is based on in-depth case studies, a survey of inspectors general, and a review of public documents related to the work of inspectors general. It will be of interest to scholars and students of public policy and public management, journalists, and ordinary citizens interested in how the government works—or doesn’t work—on their behalf.

Public accountability is critical to a democracy. But as government becomes ever more complex, with bureaucracy growing ever deeper and wider, how can these multiplying numbers of unelected bureaucrats be held accountable? The answer, more often than not, comes in the form of inspectors general, monitors largely independent of the management of the agencies to which they are attached. How, and whether, this system works in America is what Nadia Hilliard investigates in The Accountability State. Exploring the significance of our current collective obsession with accountability, her book helpfully shifts the issue from the technical domain of public administration to the context of American political development. Inspectors general, though longtime fixtures of government and the military, first came into prominence in the United States in the 1970s in the wake of evidence of wrongdoing in the Nixon administration. Their number and importance has only increased in tandem with concerns about abuses of power and simple inefficiency in expanding government agencies. Some of the IGs Hilliard examines serve agencies chiefly vulnerable to fraud and waste, while others, such as national security IGs, monitor the management of potentially rights-threatening activities. By some conventional measures, IGs are largely successful, whether in savings, prosecutions, suspensions, disbarments, or exposure of legally or ethically questionable activities. However, her work reveals that these measures fail to do justice to the range of effects that IGs can have on American democracy, and offers a new framework with which to evaluate and understand them. Within her larger study, Hilliard looks specifically at inspectors general in the US Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security and asks why their effectiveness varies as much as it does, with the IGs at Justice and Homeland Security proving far more successful than the IG at State.

This volume offers the first systematic evaluation of the offices of inspector general (OIG) and examines the government-wide investment in the OIGs concept. Despite their increasingly prominent, often controversial, role in the internal oversight of government, very little is known about their institutional or operational problems.

For every leader there are dozens of followers working closely with them. This updated third edition speaks to those followers and gives them the insights and tools for being effective partners with their leaders.

This book is an in-depth look at the experiences of the former head of the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General-the most expansive IG organization in the world-from 2002-2005. The Handbook is designed not only for teaching and training professionals assigned to Offices of Inspector General throughout the US federal and state governments, but also for the benefit of government and corporate leaders who will need, sooner or later, to deal intelligently with an IG. "Important reading for every inspector general."-DONALD RUMSFELD Secretary of Defense of the United States, 1975-1977 and 2001-2006 "Nobody knows the history, traditions, and functions of an Inspector General better than Joe Schmitz. The Inspector General Handbook is a practical guide for anyone working within an IG office who wants to serve in a constitutionally sound role as part of the leadership team. The IG in any organization should detect organizational performance problems early, and should enable rapid responses so that systemic problems can be addressed before they spread further or cause irreversible damage. This first-ever IG Handbook sheds light on an area of American government that is often misunderstood, frequently maligned, and yet indispensable to the functioning of our republic. This book is a 'must read' for all government leaders and for every lawyer who needs to know by what authority and for what purposes an Inspector General serves 'We the People' of these United States." -JOHN ASHCROFT former U.S. Senator and Attorney General of the United States, 2001-2005 "The office of Inspector General can seem highly problematic, located within each executive department but reporting not only to the head of the department but also to Congress and, through Congress, to the public. Schmitz carefully examines the nature of the institution, and demystifies it while at the same time promoting respect for it. The Inspector General Handbook is a work of lasting value." -MICHAEL B. MUKASEY Attorney General of the United States, 2007-2009, and U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, 1988- 2006 "Joe Schmitz' Handbook delivers a previously missing link in the understanding of post-9/11 law enforcement professionals who take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Of all public sector professionals, Inspectors General should be transparent; the American People ought never to wonder why an IG does what he or she does. And with Joe's Inspector General Handbook, that transparency is now achieved." -LOUIS J. FREEH Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1993-2001

Policymakers and program managers are continually seeking ways to improve accountability in achieving an entity's mission. A key factor in improving accountability in achieving an entity's mission is to implement an effective internal control system. An effective internal control system helps an entity adapt to shifting environments, evolving demands, changing risks, and new priorities. As programs change and entities strive to improve operational processes and implement new technology, management continually evaluates its internal control system so that it is effective and updated when necessary. Section 3512 (c) and (d) of Title 31 of the United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA)) requires the Comptroller General to issue standards for internal control in the federal government.

Within the Inspector General community, inspections and evaluations have long afforded OIGs a flexible and effective mechanism for oversight and review of Department/Agency programs by using a multidisciplinary staff and multiple methods for gathering and analyzing data. These Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation have been developed as a framework for performing both inspection and evaluation work.

The Plum Book is published by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and House Committee on Oversight and Reform alternately after each Presidential election. The Plum Book is used to identify Presidential appointed and other positions within the Federal Government. The publication lists over 9,000 Federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment. The duties of many such positions may involve advocacy of Administration policies and programs and the incumbents usually have a close and confidential working relationship with the agency head or other key officials. The Plum Book was first published in 1952 during the Eisenhower administration. When President Eisenhower took office, the Republican Party requested a list of government positions that President Eisenhower could fill. The next edition of the Plum Book appeared in 1960 and has since been published every four years, just after the Presidential election.