Summary: The General Accounting Office has made a review of the installation of the automatic data processing (ADP) system for maintaining compensation and pension benefit payment records and statistics at the Data Processing Center, Hines, Illinois. Our review was made at the Data Processing Center and at the Central Office of the Veterans Administration (VA). Our review was made pursuant to the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921 (31 U.S.C. 53), and the Accounting and Auditing Act of 1950 (31 U.S.C. 67). We reviewed the basic laws authorizing the compensation and pension program, VA's policies, procedures, and administrative regulations applicable to selected operations of the C and P program, selected transactions processed through the ADP system, including related correspondence and other documents, and the feasibility study made prior to the installation of the ADP equipment. Also, we made a comparison of estimated performance with actual performance in certain areas.
The automatic data processing system, designed to maintain statistics and records relating to payment to about 4.5 million individuals receiving monthly financial assistance under the compensation and pension program, was ready for operations in January 1960. The Veterans Administration had planned to have the payment and statistical records at all 67 of its regional offices converted to automatic data processing in 1 year or by December 1960. However, operating difficulties arose in the early stages of the conversion which required suspension of the conversion for about 9 months beginning August 1960, and the conversion of all accounts to automatic data processing was not completed until August 31, 1962, or about 2-1/2 years after the equipment at the central location at Hines became operational. Considering the pioneering aspects and the magnitude of the undertaking and the complexity of the problems involved in converting the accounts maintained in the regional offices to automatic data processing at one central location, some difficulties were to be expected but, as shown by our review, they had been subsequently overcome. The automatic data processing system is now considered to be fully operational. This report discusses the planning and installation of the automatic data processing system including the difficulties encountered and the attendant delay in the realization of the ultimate benefits of the new system.
