Federal IT acquisition is a growing concern for the Government Accountability Office as a number of government CIOs and senior tech executives have announced their resignations in recent months, reports FedScoop.
In 2015, GAO added IT acquisition to its High Risk List, a register of federal programs most vulnerable to waste, fraud and abuse. While Congress has since enabled CIOs to advance their departments' IT strategy, a number have recently stepped down or shifted to new roles, and President Donald Trump has yet to appoint replacements.
"That's an area to be concerned about," GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro said Wednesday at a National Academy of Public Administration event on the High Risk List in Washington, D.C., reports FedScoop. "We need good strong CIOs, we need good strong [chief financial officers] in the government. And the investment the government has made every year [in IT], it's about $80 billion or $90 billion, and we feel that the federal government does not get an adequate return on that investment."
"If people aren't in place in senior management positions to manage that risk, that's of concern to me," he added.
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