The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) has an ongoing requirement for assessment of internal controls support services (AICSS).

The Risk Management and Assurance (RM&A) Division supports the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with establishing, implementing, and overseeing Department-wide internal controls related to financial management. RM&A’s mission helps the OCFO achieve its goals and objectives as required by, but not limited to, the CFO Act, the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) and its implementing guidelines, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A- 123, “Management’s Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control” and its accompanying appendices, OMB Circular A-136, “Financial Reporting Requirements,” the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA); the DHS Financial Accountability Act (DHS FAA); the Improper Payments Information Act (IPIA); the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA); the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act (IPERIA); the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act); and other statutes governing financial management and internal controls.
RM&A provides Department-wide support in the following capacity:
• Leads the DHS Senior Assessment Team, on behalf of the CFO, in conducting Department-wide assessments of internal controls over financial reporting and conformance with Federal financial management systems requirements;
• Supports the CFO and Under Secretary for Management in overseeing and coordinating internal control assessments over operational areas and financial reporting, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations across all material Components;
• Coordinates the development and implementation of Mission Action Plans to resolve material weaknesses and other significant deficiency conditions; and
• Provides guidance and standards to support the Secretary’s year-end Internal Control Assurance Statements.

• • Provide professional services to assist the RM&A OCFO Division, the Management Directorate, and several DHS Component agencies with the implementation of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-123 across all appendices

  PREVIOUS REQUIREMENTS:

  Provide internal control support services for DHS Headquarters and DHS Components (including any applicable Component field office locations located nationwide and Component finance centers located in Burlington, VT; Chesapeake, VA; Dallas, TX; Glynco, GA; and Indianapolis, IN) as directed by the OCFO in meeting provisions of the CFO Act, FFMIA, FMFIA, OMB Circular A-123, DHS FAA, and other applicable statutes.

  Contractor support shall include, but not limited to, providing assistance and recommendations around internal controls assessments and corrective actions, project management, technical support, and reporting to the DHS OCFO and Component management as follows:
  • Documenting DHS OCFO’s annual planning process, to include considerations for process risk and materiality, to determine the scope of DHS financial management initiatives that will support the Department’s efforts utilizing a risk-based approach to obtain financial statement audit and internal control opinions, with the ultimate goal of obtaining an unqualified opinion on internal controls over financial reporting;
  • Review financial transactions and processes and provide subject matter expertise;
  • Assist with developing and implementing sound audit approaches and sampling methodologies in accordance with Government Accepted General Auditing Standards, as well as, Generally Accepted Auditing Standards;
  • Participating in official meetings and assisting with project oversight, tracking, and evaluations, as requested;
  • Performing activities required for the Senior Assessment Team (SAT) coordination efforts within DHS and with Components, including continuous education and expanded outreach, and specialized consulting;
  • Projecting future costs using various cost models and techniques;
  • Preparing and reviewing documentation, and generating reports, for management review and approval, to meet, at a minimum, DHS FAA, and OMB Circulars A-123 and A-136 compliance requirements, or other financial report requirements as identified by management;
  • Assist with assessing and strengthening internal controls relating to DHS’ operations that have a financial impact, to include but not limited to, bank cards (to include fleet, purchase, debit, and travel); conferences; and additional Component high-risk operations (i.e. permanent change of station, accounting for the border wall, etc.);
  • Assist with suggesting improvements and implementing provisions mandated by the DATA Act;
  • Assist with suggesting improvements and implementing improper payment provisions mandated by the IPIA and as amended by the IPERA and the IPERIA;
  • Assist with documenting, assessing, and remediating system controls and processes that support data quality and security, in accordance with the Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual (FISCAM), DHS 4300A policy, and other applicable guides;
  • Assist with designing and implementing process enhancements to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of controls and processes including the design and implementation of automated solutions and/or tools along with data analytical capabilities, to include analysis, modeling, and reporting techniques;
  • Assist with developing and implementing corrective actions to resolve deficiencies identified by auditors, management, and other entities;
  • Support management with financial risk assessment and mitigation strategies and techniques to support business processes as well as enterprise risk management;
  • Assist with other risk areas as identified by DHS and Component management that may have a material impact on the ability of the Department to carry out its mission with respect to federal management and internal controls;
  • Support the review and implementation of new requirements as issued through legislative acts, presidential orders, and/or other regulatory bodies;
  • Assisting in conducting studies (benchmarking, forecasting, statistical, etc.) and analyses as appropriate to build the best-fit models for each component’s workforce. Studies and analyses will be provided in the specified report format. These studies and analyses will provide DHS with activity level workload and staffing data that will improve cost estimates and cost models used to produce budgetary forecasts and plans;
  • Documenting the number of Manpower Requirements across DHS by using mathematical modeling and cataloging Manpower Requirements Models;
  • Assisting in the building and validating of Manpower Requirements Models across all 10 components of DHS. The Manpower requirements modeling process mitigates the risk of over-budgeting and under-budgeting. It also provides a level of internal control that prevents misappropriations of funding. Interacting with the component subject matter experts will be necessary;
  • Providing oversight of Manpower Requirements Determination process that includes defining the requirements, building the models, and validating the models.