ADP Planning
Allegations of Inadequate Procurements at the National Archives Gao ID: IMTEC-88-34 April 28, 1988Pursuant to a National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) employee's allegations of procurement irregularities, GAO examined NARA procurement of two computers and an upgrade, focusing on allegations concerning NARA: (1) procurement planning procedures; (2) underuse and poorly coordinated use of the computers; (3) inattention to user needs; and (4) investigation of the procurement.
GAO found that NARA: (1) planned in advance its procurement of the first computer and knew of the computer's limitations; (2) procured the upgrade for purposes other than addressing the first computer's limitations; (3) procured the second computer for a purpose which the first computer and its upgrade could not fulfill; and (4) appropriately investigated the procurement's cost benefits.