In the June 2023 edition of the Guidehouse Transportation Account Newsletter, I was interviewed to highlight the work our NASA account team was advancing through Integrated Management System and Internal Control (IMSIC) Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (ICOFR) services.
Here is that conversation.
What does a normal week look like for your team?
The NASA team is a well-oiled machine. Each week, we tag up on all our different workstreams: Statement of Assurance, A-123 Assessment, Risk Management, Fraud, Payment Integrity Information Act (PIIA), and more. We also draft an agenda with key items to discuss with the client for our Tuesday status calls.
After meeting with the client, we assess the feedback on our respective workstreams and get to work. Our team understands that efficiency is best achieved when empowering each other to take ownership of our own tasks. We work together to get the job done and we do it well.
Federal agencies have a strong sense of tradition and continuing with familiar processes. Since NASA gets comfortable with what they know and like, our challenge is to spearhead new ideas by leveraging our trust with them to achieve project wins.
What has been going well thus far?
We've made a lot of strides towards innovation within our project. For example, we've increased IT testing, designed and created multiple portals to help transition away from clunky systems and applications, and introduced the use of R to automate and check for expiring policies.
Each of these changes helped increase our efficiency in serving the client while also improving their overall experience in managing and organizing their internal processes.
Is consulting for NASA as cool and interesting as it sounds?
It is a cool job! I think the most exciting part is being a part of this project while seeing NASA make the news in real time. Our team was invited to the Artemis-I launch party last year which was a great honor and very exciting to see history being made, knowing that behind the scenes, we're the ones partnering with the Agency to keep its internal processes in shape.
In order for NASA to get to the moon, Guidehouse helps keep the important things grounded.
We're not launching rockets, but we're keeping NASA organized - and that is important work.
The Bigger Picture
This interview captured what I value most about consulting for federal agencies: the intersection of rigorous process work and meaningful mission impact. At NASA, every internal control we test, every risk framework we strengthen, and every policy we refine contributes to an organization that inspires the world.
The work isn't glamorous on paper. Statement of Assurance cycles, A-123 assessments, fraud risk reports - these sound technical and procedural. But when you understand that these systems are what allow NASA to maintain public trust, manage billions in taxpayer funding, and focus on pushing the boundaries of human exploration, the purpose becomes clear.
I'm proud to have led multiple workstreams on this engagement, from authoring NASA's first-ever Fraud Risk Assessment Report to training over 50 stakeholders on the Statement of Assurance process. This work earned perfect score CPARs and reinforced Guidehouse's relationship with the agency.
Interested in discussing enterprise risk management or internal controls for your organization?
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