All Reports

Our audit of costs billed to TVA by a contractor who provided engineering and technical support found that most of the contract employees had been transferred from staff augmentation contracts where they had been performing the same duties at a substantially lower cost to TVA. In total, we determined TVA's costs increased $689,000 when the staff augmentation contract employees were moved to the "managed task" contract, primarily due to a high overhead markup rate.

We audited $4.5 million of payments TVA made to a contractor from April 2004 through November 2006 for engineering and technical support. In summary, we found TVA was overbilled and/or had overpaid the contractor $30,645, including (1)$28,679 for payroll tax billings that exceeded the contractor's actual costs and (2)$1,966 due to miscellaneous billing and payment errors. The contractor and TVA management agreed with our findings. Summary Only

We audited $2.49 million of costs billed to TVA by a contractor from January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2006, for the administration of TVA's vision benefit program. Our audit objective was to determine if the costs billed to TVA were in compliance with the contract terms and conditions. In summary, we found TVA was billed (1)an estimated $69,928 for miscalculated and unsupported claim costs, (2)$4,210 for duplicate claims, and (3)$22,255 for claims that exceeded the contract frequency limitations.

We audited $3.9 million of costs billed by a TVA contractor who provided engineering, materials, and installation support for automating TVA's hydro system. We found TVA was billed $380,000 for costs and associated fees that were either excessive, unsupported, or not in accordance with the contract. The overbillings included excessive labor markups, unsupported labor costs, unallowable or unsupported travel costs, excessive facility rental costs, duplicate billings, overstated retroactive billing adjustments, and fees. Summary Only

We completed agreed-upon procedures to assist the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) in determining TVA's compliance with the annual reporting requirements of CRS' Green Pricing Accreditation Program for the year ended December 31, 2006. The required information on TVA's renewable energy initiative, "Green Power Switch," was provided to CRS.

We evaluated the design, implementation, and effectiveness of TVA's Ethics and Compliance Program and found:TVA's current ethics program was limited to the Office of Government Ethics' standards and requirements. The Designated Agency Ethics Officer (DAEO), currently within the General Counsel's office, is responsible for making sure the appropriate employees are trained in these standards. Currently, about 20 percent of TVA employees are required to participate in annual ethics training.

We determined: Personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive information were not properly secured thus exposing the information to anyone with a TVA network ID;Temporary shares were being used to store non-business related information;TVA does not have a policy or guidance for management of temporary shares to address the proper use of the share (i.e., types of information that can be stored and the unsecured nature of the share), responsibilities of the users, and maintenance (i.e., maximum time frame for retention of files on the share); TVA Standard

We audited $23.2 million of costs billed by a TVA contractor for providing construction and modification services for TVA's generating plant switchyards, substations, electrical transmission system, and power control communication facilities. We found the costs billed by the contractor were fairly stated except for a minor overbilling of craft labor costs that occurred as a result of a clerical error. Summary Only

Full-time annual employees are eligible to participate in TVA's Tuition Reimbursement Program (TRP). The use of the program has grown significantly since fiscal year (FY) 2003. Payments to employees increased from about $339,000 in FY 2003 to over $985,000 in FY2006. The objective of our review was to assess compliance with TRP policies and procedures. In summary, we identified opportunities for improvement in TRP program controls.

Gold Cards are issued to TVA Board members, officers, and other designated employees for travel, entertainment, hospitality, and incidental miscellaneous expenses and these charges are directly billed to TVA. Our review included Gold Card purchases made from October 1, 2004, to August 28, 2006. Of the 272 cardholders with charges during this period, 10 accounted for about 34 percent of all charges.