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GAO-21-504PR 1 (2021-05-04)

handle is hein.gao/gaolmp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 1Ooo U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE G A O A Century of Non-Partisan Fact-Based Work 441 G St. N.W. Comptroller General Washington, DC 20548 of the United States May 4, 2021 The Honorable Gary Gensler Chair, Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, NE Washington, DC 20549 Priority Open Recommendation: Securities and Exchange Commission Dear Mr. Chairman: The purpose of this letter is to provide an update on the overall status of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) implementation of GAO's recommendations and to call your personal attention to areas where open recommendations should be given high priority.1 In November 2020, we reported that on a government-wide basis, 77 percent of our recommendations made 4 years ago were implemented.2 As of April 2021, SEC's 4-year implementation rate was 89 percent. Overall, SEC had 10 open recommendations. Fully implementing these open recommendations could significantly improve SEC's operations. Since our April 2020 letter, SEC has implemented one of two open priority recommendations related to strategic human capital management. In doing so, SEC acted to ensure that its new performance incentive bonus program, launched in March 2021, incorporates multiple levels of review and reflects leading practice in fairness and transparency. The other priority recommendation remains open, and we ask your attention to it. In July 2013, we recommended SEC periodically validate, with staff input, the performance management system (see enclosure for full text). Implementing this priority recommendation would help enhance the credibility of the system (including ratings, recognition, or feedback) among staff. SEC agreed and has taken some steps, including developing plans for focus groups with staff at the midpoint of the 2020 appraisal period. To fully implement the recommendation, SEC needs to validate the system for its entire staff. We are not adding any additional priority recommendations this year. In March 2021 we issued our biennial update to our High-Risk List, which identifies government operations with greater vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement or the need for transformation to address economy, efficiency, or effectiveness challenges.3 Our priority recommendation to SEC identified in this letter is directly related to our government-wide strategic human capital management high-risk area. 1Priority recommendations are those that GAO believes warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or agencies. They are highlighted because, upon implementation, they may significantly improve government operation, for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making progress toward addressing a high-risk or duplication issue. 2GAO, Performance and Accountability Report: Fiscal Year 2020. GAO-21-4SP (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 16, 2020). 3GAO, High-Risk Series: Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address Limited Progress in Most High-Risk Areas, GAO- 21-119SP (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 2, 2021).

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