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Open Recommendations (31 total)

Small Business Administration: Procedures for Reporting on Veteran-Owned Businesses Need Improvement

GAO-24-106071
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration The Administrator of SBA should ensure that the Associate Administrator of SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure SBA's compliance with Section 603 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Business Development Act of 1999. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Small Business Administration The Administrator of SBA should ensure that the Associate Administrator of SBA's Office of Capital Access develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure SBA gives special consideration to veterans in its lending programs in accordance with the Small Business Act and SBA's implementing regulation. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Communication with Applicants and Address Fraud Risks

GAO-21-589
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration
Priority Rec.
The Associate Administrator of SBA's Office of Disaster Assistance should develop a comprehensive strategy for communicating with potential and actual program applicants in the event of a disaster. Such a strategy should provide guidelines for the types of information and timing of information to be provided to program participants throughout a disaster. The types of information to be addressed in the strategy could include processing steps and time frames applicants might experience through different stages of the loan process. (Recommendation 1)
Open
SBA agreed with the recommendation and stated that the agency planned to develop a comprehensive strategy for communicating with potential and actual disaster loan applicants, which would include information such as processing steps and corresponding time frames applicants might experience through different stages of the loan process. In February 2023, SBA stated that the development of a new disaster loan application portal had been underway since early 2022. SBA stated that the new portal would include improved messaging features that permit applicants to receive immediate status updates and to submit questions to loan processing teams on a safe and secure portal versus communicating through emails. In March 2024, SBA stated that the project was a priority for the agency's Office of Capital Access and Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, and the agency anticipates completing the project by fiscal year 2025. GAO will continue to monitor the agency's actions to address this recommendation.

COVID Relief: SBA Could Improve Communications and Fraud Risk Monitoring for Its Arts and Entertainment Venues Grant Program

GAO-23-105199
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration The Associate Administrator of SBA's Office of Disaster Assistance should ensure that its post-award monitoring procedures for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program specifically address the risks the agency has assessed, including fraud risks, and clearly link them to monitoring activities. As a part of this effort, SBA should document its tolerance for the risks it has identified. (Recommendation 2)
Open
In April 2023, SBA stated that the SVOG fraud risk assessment has been finalized and now directly addresses the risks identified in the post-award monitoring procedures as well as risk tolerance. According to SBA, the updated fraud risk assessment includes a mitigation plan for the risks identified and describes monitoring procedures designed to reduce those risks. SBA stated that the agency's Fraud Risk Management Board reviewed and approved the updated fraud risk assessment in March 2023. In April 2024, SBA stated that the agency has adopted an updated and refreshed Fraud Risk Assessment for the SVOG program focusing on the post-award Monitoring and Closeout phase of the grant life cycle. SBA said the assessment addresses the risks that accompany this phase and the impacts of those risks and links its monitoring activities to those risks. SBA plans to fully address this recommendation by October 2025. This recommendation will remain open until SBA provides documentation of updated post-award monitoring procedures.

Disaster Recovery: Additional Actions Needed to Identify and Address Potential Recovery Barriers

GAO-22-104039
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration
Priority Rec.
The SBA Associate Administrator of the Office of Disaster Assistance should, in coordination with the FEMA Administrator and the HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, develop, with input from key recovery partners, and implement an interagency plan to help ensure the availability and use of quality information that includes (1) information requirements, (2) data sources and methods, and (3) strategies for overcoming information challenges—to support federal agencies involved in disaster recovery in identifying access barriers or disparate outcomes. (Recommendation 5)
Open
In February 2024, SBA officials told us that SBA, together with FEMA and HUD, is developing an interagency plan for data collection, sharing, and analysis to identify potential equity issues. According to SBA, this interagency plan will be developed by June 2024. SBA officials also noted that they are renewing interagency agreements with FEMA and HUD to coordinate data sharing. However, to fully address the recommendation, SBA (with FEMA and HUD) would need to both develop and implement this interagency plan specifying the data needed, and sources and methods for obtaining the data. Without implementing a plan to ensure the availability of comprehensive information, programs lack a means to identify potential social and institutional barriers in their own programs and across programs.

Small Business Research Programs: Reporting on Award Timeliness Could Be Enhanced

GAO-23-105591
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration
Priority Rec.
The Administrator of the Small Business Administration should develop, document, and execute a plan to (1) identify actions that could improve timely publication of its annual report to Congress, and (2) implement the actions identified. (Recommendation 1)
Open
SBA concurred with this recommendation. In August 2023, SBA described some steps taken to implement it including timely collection of agency award data, efforts to review all parts of the process, and convening an annual meeting with agency representatives to discuss opportunities to streamline the annual report. As of March 2024, according to SBA, it had assessed its annual report processes and was working to publish all SBIR/STTR annual reports, including the fiscal year 2023 report by September 30, 2024. We will reassess the status of this recommendation when SBA provides additional information on its implementation.

Small Business Innovation Research: Better Data and Clarity on Eligibility of Venture Capital-Owned Businesses Are Needed

GAO-24-107004
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration The Administrator of the SBA should take steps—such as clarifying the SBIR policy directive or eligibility guide or suggesting model language for SBIR solicitations—to ensure that all agencies participating in the SBIR program fully understand the eligibility of small businesses with differing levels of ownership by VCOCs, hedge funds, or private equity firms. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Disaster Recovery: Additional Actions Needed to Identify and Address Potential Recovery Barriers

GAO-22-104039
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration
Priority Rec.
The SBA Associate Administrator of the Office of Disaster Assistance should coordinate with the FEMA Administrator and the HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development to design and establish routine processes to be used within and across federal recovery programs to address identified access barriers and disparate outcomes on an ongoing basis. (Recommendation 6)
Open
In February 2024, SBA officials told us that SBA, together with FEMA and HUD, is developing an interagency plan that includes a description of routine processes that they will use to address any equity issues they identify. According to SBA, this interagency plan will be developed by June 2024. For its part, SBA officials told us that to help reduce access barriers in rural communities, they implemented the Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act in June 2023, which simplified the process for SBA disaster declaration in rural communities. SBA officials also told us that they established Portable Loan Outreach Centers to enable recovery teams to deploy to low-capacity theaters of operation after a disaster. However, to fully implement this recommendation, SBA needs to provide evidence it has designed and institutionalized routine processes within and across federal recovery programs to address identified access barriers and disparate outcomes on an ongoing basis. Without routine processes, disaster recovery programs lack a mechanism to ensure they can address any potential access barriers or disparate outcomes they might identify, particularly if those barriers or disparate outcomes arise from the interaction between or among programs.

COVID Relief: Fraud Schemes and Indicators in SBA Pandemic Programs

GAO-23-105331
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration The Administrator of SBA, in coordination with the Fraud Risk Management Board, should ensure that SBA has mechanisms in place and utilizes them to facilitate cross-program data analytics. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In November 2023, SBA reported that it was running detective cross-program analyses for SBA's major COVID-19 loan and grant programs as well as for the agency's 7(a), 504, and regular disaster loan programs, with results provided to appropriate program office personnel on a monthly basis. Further, SBA has started a Data Analytics Strategy Project to perform a comprehensive review of the current and future states of fraud prevention and mitigation analytics within SBA as well as the development of a road map to achieve a mature data analytics program. Specifically, SBA plans to conduct a gap analysis between the current and future states of SBA's fraud prevention and mitigation analytics along with the implementation of a road map to include establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to measure the success of the data analytics strategy. Finally, the SBA Fraud Risk Management Board, in conjunction with the relevant program offices, plans to develop policy pertaining to program office actions relating to cross program results, management of inventory, and parameters of operation. As of February 2024, SBA was still in the process of developing and implementing these efforts. We will continue to monitor SBA's progress in this area.

Small Business Administration: Targeted Outreach about Disaster Assistance Could Benefit Rural Communities

GAO-24-106755
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration The SBA Administrator should ensure that the Associate Administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience distinguishes between rural and urban communities in SBA's outreach and marketing plan and incorporates actions to mitigate challenges encountered by rural communities in accessing the Disaster Loan Program. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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