This Annual Plan presents the major initiatives and priorities the U.S. Department of Education (Department) Office of Inspector General (OIG) intends to undertake to assist the Department in fulfilling its responsibilities to America's taxpayers and students. The Department continues to face a significant number of challenges in FY 2013 that impact its ability to effectively achieve its mission of promoting student achievement and preparing for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. These include long-standing areas identified as management challenges that include improper payments, information technology security, oversight and monitoring, and data quality and reporting. This Annual Plan aligns the OIG's work and resources to achieve their mission, to meet the goals of their Strategic Plan, and to focus attention across challenge areas to the Department. To these ends, OIG's planned and ongoing work involves Department programs and operations at all levels--Federal, State, and local.