FAQs

No, CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.  CPB is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting and the largest single source of funding for public radio, television, and related online and mobile services.

CPB’s mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, high-quality content and telecommunications services. It does so by distributing more than 70% of its funding to more than 1,500 locally owned public radio and television stations. To learn more about CPB visit the CPB website.  

The CPB OIG has oversight authority of CPB pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) (IG Act).  The IG Act established Inspector Generals some that are Presidentially appointed/Senate Confirmed and some that are appointed by agency heads (designated federal entities). CPB is a designated federal entity and its Board of Directors selects and appoints the CPB Inspector General.

CPB Grantees, contractors, the public, and CPB employees should report to the OIG any concerns about the use of CPB funds, the operation of CPB’s programs and/or suspected wrongdoing, including:

• Grant/contract fraud and collusion;
• bribery and acceptance of gratuities;
• gross mismanagement;
• misuse or embezzlement of funds;
• CPB employee misconduct, e.g., misuse of official position; and
• other illegal or unethical activities.

To report fraud, waste, or abuse please use the link at the top of this page or the contact section of this website.

The Inspector General Act of 1978 states that the IG will not disclose the identity of an employee who makes a complaint without that employee’s consent unless the IG determines such disclosure is unavoidable during the course of an investigation.

For CPB directors, officers and employees the CPB whistleblower policy can be found at the following link.

CPB Whistleblower Policy

When you receive an audit notification letter, you should ensure that all records pertaining to your CPB grants are up-to-date and readily available for audit.  The OIG is authorized by law access to all records, reports, documents, papers, and other materials that relate to any CPB funded programs and operations.  The following list identifies the types of grant records the auditors may need to review:

• grant applications, agreements, and amendments, including any contracts and sub-agreements;
• the general ledger, journal entries, cash disbursements and cash receipts journal, chart of accounts, and payroll records ;
• and IRS Forms 990 and 990T for the period of the audit;
• reconciliation schedules or other documentation to trace the revenues reported to CPB on the Annual Financial Report (AFR) or Financial Summary Report (FSR) to the audited financial statements and general ledger;
• records of in-kind contributions and fund-raising activities;
• expense transaction details for all expenses, including supporting documentation (e.g., invoices, timecards, contracts, cancelled checks, etc.); and
• notices, agendas, and minutes of Board of Director, committees of the board, Community Advisory Board meetings, and Annual Station Activities Survey.

We suggest that you inform your staff that an audit will be conducted and emphasize the necessity and importance of cooperating with the auditors.  There is no doubt that the auditors’ work will interrupt your normal routine.  The auditors are fully aware of this and will limit requests for information and records to the minimum necessary to conduct the audit.

To facilitate the audit and reduce disruption, you should prepare a list of your key personnel and their functions.  You should also designate a point of contact establish a main contact point to handle liaison between your staff and the auditors.

If the audit work is conducted on-site, the auditors will normally keep the same work hours as your office staff unless alternative arrangements are made.  Our auditors will never remove books or records from your premises without your specific authorization.

Our auditors will bring their own laptop computers and will need to connect to your internet system.  They will also need adequate working space to accommodate the auditor(s) assigned to the audit (e.g., unused office space, desk(s), or a meeting room). 

Your first contact with the auditor(s) will be following the issuance of the audit engagement letter.  The auditor(s) will call to arrange the date and time to contact an entrance conference, as well as discuss the information requested in the engagement letter to facilitate our preliminary planning.  At the actual entrance conference, the auditor will further explain the purpose, scope, objectives, how the audit will be conducted (on-site, virtually, or both), and schedule for completing the audit.

Yes, final audit reports are published on the OIG website in the reports section.

No, the majority of our audits and reviews find that grantees generally comply with grant requirements with some exceptions resulting in recommendations to improve future compliance.  Similarly, a Report of Investigation may be closed without substantiating the allegations.

We provide our audit reports to the CPB Board of Directors and to specific Congressional committees with oversight responsibilities.  We also distribute our Semiannual Reports to Congress, which summarizes our six-month activities including outreach, issues impacting CPB’s programs, as well as audits, reviews, and investigations.  The IG also provides monthly updates on OIG activities to the CPB Board of Directors.  Our public reports also appear on Oversight.gov.

Yes, CPB grantees, contractors and all CPB employees are required to cooperate with OIG personnel during any OIG audit, investigation, or other inquiry.  This includes providing IG officials with all requested documentation and information relating to CPB funding.  You may also be asked to respond to a survey, or be interviewed regarding a specific CPB program, or other matter of official concern to the OIG.  You should do your best to cooperate with these requests in a timely manner and to the fullest extent possible.

The Inspector General Act grants the OIG access to all documents relating to CPB programs, grants, and operations.  All grantee, contractor and CPB documents must be made available to OIG personnel at his/her request.