Our Mission
Promote economy and efficiency, and prevent and detect waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the programs and operations of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Our Vision
Drive improvements and promote accountability at the U.S. Department of the Interior through fair, neutral, and objective oversight.
Our Values
Integrity, Objectivity, Impact and Excellence
Our dedicated, mission-focused, and high-performing workforce is our most important resource, and our values guide employee behavior and decisions at all levels.
Who We Are
The Inspector General Act of 1978 authorized and established our office as an independent and objective unit within the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to ensure accountability. Our office, like all Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs), works to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness and to prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse. We conduct fair, objective and neutral audits, inspections, evaluations, investigations, and reviews. We report our findings to DOI officials and Congress. In conducting our work, we act with professionalism and integrity.
What We Do
We achieve our mission by conducting independent investigations, audits, inspections, and evaluations and by reporting our findings of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement along with recommendations for improvement.
Depending on the nature of the information, we share it with Department officials, Congress, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and other law enforcement entities, and the public. We use our findings to prompt corrective action when we find shortcomings and deficiencies and to prevent wrongdoing and mismanagement. We conduct outreach to those responsible for the expenditure of DOI funds, including employees, contractors, grantees, and tribes. These outreach efforts help inform these audiences of the consequences of wrongdoing, red flags that they can identify, and how to report problems or concerns to us. We also provide the DOI with information on recipients of DOI funding that should be considered for suspension and debarment actions, which can protect taxpayer resources by preventing wrongdoers from receiving additional Federal funds.
Insular Area Audit Responsibilities
Under the Insular Areas Act of 1982 (48 U.S.C. § 1422), the Inspector General performs the functions of “government comptroller” in the United States insular areas of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands by conducting audits of all property, receipts, revenues, and expenditures. The OIG also has audit responsibilities in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau pursuant to the Compact of Free Association Act of 1985 (48 U.S.C. § 1681 note).