Background
OPTiMO Information Technology served as the prime contractor for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), supporting the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The scope of work focused on delivering financial analytics, reporting automation, and business process enhancements to support ICE’s Business Management Office (BMO) and the Office of Budget and Program Performance (OBPP). The project was rooted in the goal of helping ICE optimize its financial operations while ensuring accuracy, compliance, and improved decision-making through modernized data and reporting tools.
The Challenge:
The ICE OCFO faced several critical challenges, including:
- Manual, error-prone reporting processes that extended reporting cycles and limited data reliability
- Lack of real-time insights into key financial indicators like encumbrances, obligations, and expenditures
- Inconsistent or unverified data across reports due to the limited internal bandwidth for secondary verification and validation (V&V)
- Disconnected systems and data sources (e.g., TOPS, FFMS, PRISM), making cross-system reconciliation labor-intensive and prone to errors
- A growing need to standardize complex and urgent reports, many of which served as a matter of public record
- Stakeholder demand for high-visibility reports, such as budget execution summaries, staffing forecasts, and onboarding metrics, all requiring fast turnaround and accuracy
The Solution:
OPTiMO implemented a multi-pronged solution grounded in Agile principles, automation, and client-centric engagement. The team’s approach included:
Advanced Automation & Tools
- Leveraged Microsoft Power Platform, Tableau, and Excel VBA to replace manual workflows
- Created automated dashboards for real-time insights, variance analysis, and payroll projections
- Developed custom scripts and macros for data validation and error detection
Robust Reporting Infrastructure
- Standardized high-value recurring and ad hoc reports (e.g., biweekly onboarding status, ERO bed reports, Fair Act reporting)
- Supported development and versioning of dynamic linked organizational charts (D-LOC) and cross-funding reports
- Established a modular reporting framework for rapid response to stakeholder requests
Verification & Validation (V&V)
- Performed independent verification of ICE’s financial and budget reports
- Built and validated models for forecasting, scenario planning, and annual reporting cycles
- Applied statistical checks and formula audits to ensure integrity in payroll and staffing projections
Data Analysis & Process Optimization
- Applied ETL best practices to extract, transform, and load data from disparate systems (TOPS, FFMS, PRISM)
- Created a library of over 20 documented SOPs to ensure consistency across financial analysis tasks
- Utilized Microsoft Lists + Power BI integration to manage 20-50 tasks per 2-week sprint and generate performance dashboards
Staffing & Knowledge Management
- Rapidly onboarded and scaled qualified staff through a streamlined HR approval process
- Deployed cross-functional teams trained in knowledge transfer and shadowing to ensure project continuity
- Actively addressed performance feedback from ICE to refine PML agendas and enhance planning transparency
The Impact:
The results of OPTiMO’s engagement with ICE OCFO were transformational:
- Reduced reporting lifecycle times by 35%, accelerating the delivery of mission-critical financial insights
- Improved data accuracy and transparency across budget execution and position management reports
- Enabled real-time decision-making by integrating variance analysis tools and dynamic dashboards
- Ensured report integrity and compliance through robust V&V practices and cross-system reconciliation
- Strengthened ICE’s capacity to make empirically defensible decisions on staffing, hiring, and budgeting