Board Report: 2014-IT-B-002 February 7, 2014
The scope of this initial audit included reviewing the budget for the data center relocation and the MOU between the Board and FRB Richmond, as well as obtaining background information on the project, including schedules and the interdependencies of the data center relocation and the Martin Building renovation projects. Our scope did not include an analysis of the final decision to relocate the data center to FRB Richmond's Baltimore Branch. We did not evaluate the specific criteria used to compare the different options considered by the Board regarding the future of the data center, nor did we assess the validity of those options.
To accomplish our objective, we reviewed the Board's Business Case for Data Center Strategy, which was prepared by a consultant, and the MOU between the Board and FRB Richmond. We also reviewed the Board's budget documents and supporting documentation relating to cost estimates for the data center, strategic plans, project charters, organizational charts, project schedules, the project's risk register, and status reports provided to us by the Board's Data Center Relocation Manager.
We reviewed the GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide and a Board Budget Q&A document. We also reviewed a prior OIG management letter related to the Martin Building renovation.4
We interviewed IT Division and Management Division personnel who are involved in the data center relocation, and we conducted a site visit to FRB Richmond's Baltimore Branch to meet with both Board and FRB Richmond personnel and to tour the space selected for the data center. We participated in teleconferences held to discuss the design of the data center, and we reviewed meeting minutes and other documents associated with the design of the data center. We conducted our fieldwork from April 2013 to September 2013.
We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
