Audit Identifies Barriers to Access in Operational Services Division
Boston — Today, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s Office released an audit of the Operational Services Division (OSD) within the Executive Office for Administration and Finance, which reviewed the period of July 1, 2021, through December 31, 2022.
Our audit examined the accessibility of OSD’s public-facing website, hyperlinks within contract user guides, both language tags and correction suggestions in COMMBUYS (a web-based procurement platform for Commonwealth agencies), security incident response plans and procedures, and their business continuity and disaster recovery plans to determine potential areas for OSD to make improvements.
We found that OSD’s public-facing website was not fully accessible to all residents. Based on this finding, we recommended that OSD review all webpages to ensure hyperlinks provide equitable access to information and services offered online. In addition, OSD did not have language tags on all of its contract forms, which could mean readers who are visually impaired may be unable to use screen readers. OSD should establish criteria and user guides that include accessibility requirements.
Our office also identified that COMMBUYS did not provide correction suggestions, which means that users may not be able to complete the posting process to get bid solicitations from vendors. We recommended that all fields on its webpages properly identify errors when a user inputs incorrect data.
In addition, our office recommended OSD update its security incident response plan and procedures to comply with the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) Information Security Incident Management Standard. We also recommended that OSD develop, document, and test business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
“Equitable access to all information and services for every resident across the Commonwealth is paramount, especially when it comes to accessing various procurement processes,” said Auditor DiZoglio. “When resources and platforms are fully accessible, we can help ensure everyone has an opportunity to the same information. Based on OSD’s response to our findings, I’m hopeful that they are working to make necessary improvements and implement changes.”
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