The Department is accountable for a large inventory of real property made up of owned, leased, and government-controlled property. The Office of Human Resources and Administration and the Office of Field Management are responsible for the Department`s real property leasing program. These two offices, in conjunction with the Operations Offices in the field, procure space or authorize the procurement of space by contractors. Departmental records from Fiscal Year 1996 showed that approximately $136 million was spent on leased facilities. Of this amount, $60 million was for leases in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and $76 million for leased facilities in the field. The policies governing leasing require that all real property holdings be managed efficiently and economically. The objective of the audit was to determine if the Department was using good business practices to manage its leased space.