Observations and Matters for Consideration Regarding the CFPB's Annual Budget Process

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed an evaluation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB's) budget process related to the agency's fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget.¹ Overall, our evaluation showed that the CFPB has a budget process in place to facilitate the achievement of its goals and performance objectives, including transparency to the public. However, we noted opportunities for the CFPB to enhance its practices related to preparing funding requests and posting budget-related information on its website. Accordingly, this report summarizes our observations and provides matters for the CFPB's consideration. The agency informed us that it has continued to improve and refine its budget process since the completion of our fieldwork in November 2012 and has taken actions to address our observations regarding the funds request process and public presentation of budgetary information.

• 1. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as amended, (Dodd-Frank Act) requires the CFPB to order an annual independent audit of its operations and budget. Our evaluation is separate from this statutorily required audit. Return to text