Upcoming Audit Work

Postal facilities are used to process a variety of market dominant and competitive letter, Flat, and parcel mail products. Some of these facilities are used to process only parcel mail products. The Postal Service uses methodologies established by the Postal Regulatory Commission to determine its attributable and fixed costs, which are also referred to as institutional costs. Our objective is to assess the Postal Service's processes for tracking and attributing costs for parcel-only processing facilities. The scope of our audit is for fiscal years 2019 through 2024. The estimated report release date is September 2024.

In 2022, the Postal Service announced it will convert select facilities into Sorting and Delivery Centers (S&DCs) in support of its Delivering for America plan. According to the Postal Service, the goal of S&DCs is to reduce transportation and mail handling costs, as well as provide customers with additional services; and allow for easier standardization and management of operations while improving building and operating conditions for employees.

The OIG will evaluate whether the Postal Service established and met operational goals for the implementation of S&DCs. Specifically, we will focus on S&DCs that began operations in or prior to September 2023.
 

To combat money laundering in the U.S., Congress enacted a series of laws, collectively referred to as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), requiring financial institutions in the United States to assist government agencies in detecting and preventing money laundering and other financial crimes. The BSA’s reporting and recordkeeping provisions apply to banks, savings and loans, and credit unions as well as other financial institutions, including money services businesses (MSBs). The Postal Service is classified as an MSB as it sells money orders, conducts Sure Money wire transfers, and sells non-reloadable gift cards.  Our objective is to evaluate the Postal Service's Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering program for compliance with recordkeeping, reporting and training regulations.

Under Delivering for America, the Postal Service is redesigning its legacy network to create a best-in-class mail and package processing network. Central to this redesign is the creation of approximately 60 Regional Processing and Distribution Centers (RPDC) to consolidate mail processing operations and create fewer points in their transportation networks. The Portland, OR RPDC opened in February 2024, centralizing outgoing mail and package processing in the greater Portland metropolitan area. The objective of this audit is to assess the operational impacts related to the launch of this RPDC and identify successes, opportunities, and lessons learned.

Under its Delivering for America plan, the Postal Service is redesigning its legacy network to create a best-in-class mail and package processing network. Central to this redesign is creating approximately 60 Regional Processing and Distribution Centers (RP&DC) to consolidate mail processing operations and create fewer points in their transportation networks. The Atlanta, GA, RP&DC opened in February of 2024, centralizing outgoing mail and package processing for the majority of Georgia and parts of eastern South Carolina. The objective of this audit is to assess the operational impacts related to the launch of this RP&DC and identify successes, opportunities, and lessons learned.