CIG Ethics & Professionalism 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An IG identifies potential criminal conduct during an audit. Under GAGAS and DOJ referral protocols, the IG should:
- Ignore it if it falls outside audit objectives
- Immediately arrest the individual using IG law enforcement authority
- Refer the matter to appropriate law enforcement and adjust audit procedures accordingly (Correct answer)
- Complete the audit first and include criminal findings in the final report
Correct answer: Refer the matter to appropriate law enforcement and adjust audit procedures accordingly
Discovered criminal conduct must be referred to appropriate law enforcement while audit procedures are adjusted to avoid compromising any criminal investigation.
Question 2: The ethical obligation of 'proportionality' in IG investigations means that:
- Penalties recommended should match the severity of misconduct
- Investigative resources should be proportional to the public interest and evidence (Correct answer)
- Senior officials should face harsher scrutiny than junior employees
- Large financial losses always require full-scale investigations
Correct answer: Investigative resources should be proportional to the public interest and evidence
Proportionality requires calibrating investigative resources and effort to the credibility of allegations and the public interest at stake, avoiding both under- and over-investigation.
Question 3: Which of the following is a key distinction between an IG administrative investigation and an IG criminal investigation?
- Administrative investigations use higher evidence standards than criminal ones
- Criminal investigations require referral authority and coordination with prosecutors (Correct answer)
- Administrative investigations can result in imprisonment
- Criminal investigations do not require Miranda warnings
Correct answer: Criminal investigations require referral authority and coordination with prosecutors
Criminal investigations require coordination with prosecutors, proper legal authorities, and specific procedural protections that administrative investigations do not require.
Question 4: When an IG's report is disputed by agency management before issuance, the IG should:
- Withdraw the report if management objects
- Include management's written response alongside the report (Correct answer)
- Delay issuance indefinitely pending resolution
- Remove all disputed findings from the final report
Correct answer: Include management's written response alongside the report
Standard IG practice and professional standards require including management responses in final reports, allowing readers to assess both the findings and the agency's position.
Question 5: A staff member in an IG office discovers that a colleague has fabricated interview notes. The discovering employee is ethically obligated to:
- Confront the colleague privately and give them a chance to correct it
- Ignore it to avoid damaging the team's cohesion
- Report the misconduct through appropriate channels immediately (Correct answer)
- Document it personally in case it becomes relevant later
Correct answer: Report the misconduct through appropriate channels immediately
Fabricating evidence is a serious ethical and potentially criminal violation that must be reported immediately through proper channels to protect investigative integrity.
Question 6: The Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 strengthened IG independence primarily by:
- Giving IGs arrest authority over agency employees
- Requiring 30-day advance notice to Congress before an IG can be removed (Correct answer)
- Allowing IGs to approve their own budgets
- Prohibiting agency heads from communicating with IGs
Correct answer: Requiring 30-day advance notice to Congress before an IG can be removed
The 2008 Reform Act requires the President to notify Congress 30 days before removing a federal IG, creating a buffer that protects IGs from politically motivated dismissal.
Question 7: Which ethical concept prohibits an IG from using their official position to personally benefit family members?
- Conflict of interest and nepotism prohibitions (Correct answer)
- The Hatch Act
- The Federal Records Act
- The Sunshine Act
Correct answer: Conflict of interest and nepotism prohibitions
Conflict of interest rules and anti-nepotism statutes prohibit public officials from using their authority to confer benefits on family members or personal associates.
CIG Ethics & Professionalism 5
An IG identifies potential criminal conduct during an audit.
Under GAGAS and DOJ referral protocols, the IG should: