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Accountability and oversight play a central role in a democratic system. Accountability is concerned with good governance and how federal agencies function. Public confidence is diminished when there is misuse or abuse of public funds. With the downsizing of government in recent years, its ability to achieve proper accountability and compliance has diminished. The public perception is that the federal government is not sufficiently accountable for incidents of abuse of power, revelations of wrong doing, or reported incidents of mismanagement. This is a study of inspector generals (IG) who are supposed to properly monitor and oversee how these government agencies perform. IGs monitor and try to detect any wrong doing and deter public officials from engaging in corrupt practices. Studies have shown that there is a direct relationship between the rate of convictions for corrupt practices. The main mission of the OIG for many federal agencies has been to monitor waste, abuse, and corrupt practices. This study tries to test that assumption.

Inspector general, accountability, oversight, abuse of power.