Publications

IT Optimization: Navigating Fiscal Austerity
The Federal Government faces a situation similar to that of the private sector in the early 2000s. Many corporations experienced rapid growth in the late 1990s. Companies spent tens of millions of dollars on ERP, CRM, and other enterprise IT systems. As the below graphic illustrates, large enterprise systems grew corporate expense budgets at an unprecedented rate in the form of support, maintenance, enhancement, operations, and amortization. The late 1990’s technology and dot com busts, multiple downturns, and a recession caused industry to change their spending habits and drive cost out of their baseline. Some succeeded, many failed, and a few went bankrupt.

Public sector sustainable cost reduction
A government that "works" is one that operates as a good steward of taxpayer funds, invests in programs and organizations that have public impact, and discontinues programs and organizations that do not provide value. With increasing pressure to reduce costs due to the ballooning Federal deficit, and to invest in programs that stimulate an apprehensive economy, policymakers require unprecedented accountability for Federal performance. Disciplined cost management is critical in achieving this transparency and accountability.

Real property portfolio optimization
Operating in a secure, efficient physical environment is essential to completing agency missions, housing a motivated workforce, and managing changing priorities. This paper explores how we help Federal agencies to identify and overcome key challenges to efficient and economical management of their real property asset portfolios and to comply with Federal real property guidelines.

The waves of change in Federal human capital management
It has never been more essential for federal agencies to staff the right people in the right positions — and to retain them and their valuable knowledge. Now, more than ever, the ability to perform vital missions relies on a human capital management system that is decisive, responsive, accountable, and agile. Human capital management is a major business priority for federal agencies. Waves of recent change have had an impact on the federal workforce and the way human capital is managed.

The crisis in Federal Government succession planning
Never in recent history has the need for outstanding government leaders been more acute than it is today. This paper assesses the state of succession planning within the Federal Government, survey best practices and indentifies areas for improvement.

Insights and Trends:
Current Portfolio, Programme, and Project Management Practices
With increased scrutiny over budgets and “doing more with less,” efficiency and effectiveness are key factors of successful organizations. The data from the 2012 edition of the survey to help identify correlations between Project Management (PM) and organizational success within five key performance indicators (delivering projects on time, within budget, to scope, to quality standards, and with the intended business benefits). In the 2012 survey, the third of its' nature, PwC continued our analysis to determine the current state of PM maturity and the characteristics of higher-performing projects. The survey also set out to find out more about current trends and best practices in PM. We evaluated what was working well, and where areas for improvement were needed within the PM discipline.

No surprises. Turning Federal agency risks into opportunities: An enterprise risk management approach
This paper discusses the current risk environment with Federal agencies, PwC's enterprise risk management methodology, and the benefits an agency can realize by implementing an enterprise risk management program.

Guarding privacy in the Federal Government: A holistic approach
Senior executives at federal agencies are now wrestling with how to design and effectively implement comprehensive, strategic privacy programs. PwC, along with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), recently examined the Federal Government’s progress in implementing privacy programs.

Integrated governance, risk and compliance (iGRC) approach
The wide array of complex and overlapping Federal laws and regulations related to the protection of financial information and systems poses a number of challenges to the USSS and EFS Branches. A number of laws have been implemented to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the sensitive information resources that support Federal operations and assets, including financial systems and data. The purpose of this PwC paper is to present an approach for assisting with the automation of internal management controls over business processes, application security, and technical infrastructure security.

Integrated governance risk and compliance: How the right approach can improve performance and enhance productivity for Federal agencies
In recent years, high profile accounting and management scandals in the commercial sector have given rise to legislative action to improve internal controls over financial reporting. PwC’s approach goes beyond the compliance exercise to provide a comprehensive approach for business process improvement (BPI) for Federal agencies.

Agile defense: Re-defining defense organizations as agile enterprises
Familiar combat tactics combined with new threats requires defense organizations to become agile, which will demand strong leadership to successfully implement such strategic changes to defense operations.

Continuous monitoring strategy planning
Information systems and the environments in which they reside are inherently dynamic and are constantly changing. These changes are driven by many factors, including the organization’s mission, user requirements, technological advancements, and maintenance needs. Security risks continually evolve and challenge federal agencies to look for ways to proactively identify, evaluate, and manage system risks.

Developing an enterprise FISMA transition plan
Taking a strategic approach to planning and implementation is required in order to achieve a successful information security program. Since the enactment of FISMA in 2002, most Federal agencies have taken a tactical approach to measuring progress against a scorecard.

Developing a scalable and sustainable FISMA compliance program
The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) was established in 2002 to guide Federal agencies in developing and assessing their information security programs. Annually, each agency must report FISMA compliance for information systems supporting their operations, including systems managed by third-parties. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issues guidance, on an annual basis, in the form of a questionnaire for both the agency Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Inspector General (IG) to report FISMA compliance.

Safeguarding personally identifiable information in the Federal Government
Recent well publicized actual and potential disclosures of US citizens’ personally identifiable information by the Federal Government and its employees have resulted in heightened scrutiny of agency information security and privacy programs. This paper explores safeguarding protection, and how government agencies can extend their privacy efforts to promote collaboration and awareness.

Federal Government Environmental Stewardship
Implementation of E.O. 13514 requires agencies to integrate sustainability goals with their mission and strategic planning practices. Each agency is charged with developing a Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan that prioritizes the agency’s actions toward the Executive Order goals.

Federal Real Estate & Sustainability
Examining relationships among the sustainability components shows that many of the inputs and outputs are directly affected by real estate operations and management, making facility managers and other property stakeholders critical players in effecting change.