Hot Topic Tuesday — SBA OIG Says Managing Stimulus is the Greatest Challenge Facing SBA
December 8, 2020
Caity Roach
Editor
Hot Topic Tuesday — SBA OIG Says Managing Stimulus is the Greatest Challenge Facing SBA
“This semiannual period has been like no other in the history of SBA,” says SBA Inspector General, Hannibal ‘Mike’ Ware in the Fall 2020 Semiannual Report to Congress. “The focus of our work has been to oversee the agency’s management of the enormous resources Congress provided to help keep small businesses alive during the pandemic since mid-March when the nation’s economy came to a virtual halt because of the public health crisis caused by the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019.”
During the fall 2020 reporting period, the SBA OIG issued 10 reports with 24 recommendations on ways to improve SBA operations, reduce fraud, and decrease unnecessary losses in agency programs. The 10 reports include 3 White Papers, a Flash Report, and a Management Alert on pandemic-related issues and fraud. Throughout these reports, the SBA OIG has maintained that managing COVID-19 stimulus is the greatest challenge currently facing the SBA.
By the end of this reporting period, the SBA OIG had received more than 100,000 complaints of potential fraud via the OIG Hotline and had launched hundreds of investigations in response. OIG investigations resulted in 47 indictments and 8 convictions. To date, the inspector general’s investigations and audits achieved monetary recoveries and savings of $124,513,846.
The semiannual report notes that the SBA has made great progress in addressing this year’s list of management challenges and that the OIG plans to continue to work with the Agency to ensure that year-end goals are met despite the ongoing pandemic. “[The] OIG continues to focus on the most critical risks facing SBA, directing our resources at the most serious management and performance challenges,” says the Inspector General “There is no doubt that pandemic oversight is at the top of the list.”
The OIG’s most recent Semiannual Report to Congress is available to download from the SBA’s website here.
Other OIG Reports From the Fall 2020 Reporting Period:
Second White Paper (April 3, 2020)
Management Alert (July 28, 2020)
Audit Follow-Up (July 30, 2020)
Management Advisory (August 25, 2020)