Summary: GAO investigated the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) procurement of leadership and management courses taught by the firm of Miller & Friends. In fiscal years 1990 through 1993, NTSB employees attended at least 18 courses provided by Miller & Friends at a total cost of $167,000, exclusive of travel and per diem expenses. NTSB kept incomplete records on the training courses obtained from Miller & Friends. Available records indicate that NTSB did not seek competition for the Miller & Friends training courses and did not provide any justification for not seeking competition. Available records also show that the total billing for one of the training courses was split between several purchase orders. Further, NTSB officials did not investigate questions about Mr. Miller's qualifications. Although some NTSB employees objected to attending courses and to the training techniques used by Miller & Friends, other described the courses positively. In one instance, Mr. Timothy Forte, the Director of Aviation Safety, failed to properly report reimbursement that he had received for travel expenses from an NTSB vendor.
