Office of Inspector General audit report on ``The U.S. Department of Energy`s X-Change 1997: The global D and D marketplace conference``

The Department of Energy and Florida International University (FIU), a state university, cosponsored the X-Change 1997: The Global D and D Marketplace conference (X-Change Conference) that was held December 1--5, 1997, in Miami, Florida. The purpose of the conference was to disseminate information on decontamination and decommissioning problems, solutions, and technologies to an international audience of government, industry, and academia. Through a contract with the Department, FIU was responsible for conference planning, organization, and logistical support. FIU awarded a subcontract to ICF, Inc. to work on the conference. ICF, Inc. is a major Department contractor with responsibilities for projects at Hanford, Argonne National laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The audit objectives were to determine whether FIU had controls in place to ensure that public funds were used appropriately, and whether fiscal practices associated with the conference were consistent with Government requirements and Department policy. FIU implemented accounting and budget mechanisms to identify and control the sources and uses of funds. However, the absence of a Departmental policy on funding conferences resulted in questionable fiscal practices associated with the conference. These are discussed