EPA Needs to Strengthen Management Controls Over Its Travel Authorization Process

This is our report on the Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) management controls governing travel authorization and the approval of travel vouchers using the GovTrip travel system. An OIG employee notified OIG managers that he/she could authorize his/her own travel despite not meeting the criteria to do so under the Agency's Travel Policy. Subsequently, we evaluated EPA's management controls over the GovTrip approval and authorization process. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether these controls are adequate to prevent unauthorized and unapproved travel using the GovTrip system. This report summarizes the results of our evaluation.