GAO issues 17 recommendations to improve IT Dashboard risk ratings

The Government Accountability Office evaluated 53 major IT investments reported in FY 2025 budget data and compared its own risk assessments with the Chief Information Officer (CIO) ratings displayed on the Federal IT Dashboard. GAO's assessments matched the CIO ratings 27 times, identified more risk in 24 cases, and identified less risk in two cases. The review found that 21 of the 53 CIO ratings were not updated in a timely manner, and two agencies used rating processes that extended beyond OMB's quarterly guidance.

In April 2026, the Office of Management and Budget announced plans to sunset the IT Dashboard and replace it with a streamlined system, but did not provide a release timeframe. Until the new system is operational, GAO stresses that the agencies it reviewed must address deficiencies in the quality and frequency of their CIO ratings to ensure that high-risk investments receive appropriate oversight.

GAO issued 17 recommendations to nine agencies - Commerce, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Transportation, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and the General Services Administration - directing department CIOs to ensure ratings accurately reflect investment risk and to update ratings promptly in line with agency processes. Five agencies agreed with the recommendations, one agency agreed with one recommendation and disagreed with another, two agencies disagreed, and one agency did not state its position. OMB did not comment on the recommendations.

GAO warns that outdated or inaccurate risk ratings can mask emerging problems, allowing troubled IT projects to proceed unchecked and increasing the likelihood of cost overruns, schedule delays, and failed outcomes. The agency's prior recommendation for OMB to strengthen oversight of troubled investments remains unimplemented, underscoring the urgency of improving rating practices before the Dashboard is retired.