Elizabeth A. Coleman
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth A. Coleman was appointed Inspector General
for the Federal Reserve System
on May 6, 2007. As Inspector General she leads the Office of Inspector General (OIG), responsible for promoting economy, efficiency,and effectiveness within the FED Board programs and operations. The responsibilities of the OIG also include the prevention and detection of waste, fraud, and abuse at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The OIG is supposed to achieve its mandate through audits, evaluations, investigations, legislative reviews, while keeping the Chairman of the Board and Congress fully informed.
Ms. Coleman started at the OIG in 1989 as a senior auditor. In 1999 she was promoted to program manager, 2001 to senior program manager and 2004 to the official staff, as the Assistant Inspector General for Communications and Quality Assurance. She reportedly has worked closely with the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency, a professional organization of about thirty statutory Inspectors General who are appointed by their agency heads in certain designated federal entities, including the Board.
Prior to joining the Board's staff, she was employed by the Government Accountability Office. Ms. Coleman has a BBA
from James Madison University
and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Georgetown University
. She also attended the Federal Reserve System’s Trailblazers Leadership Conference. Ms. Coleman is a Certified Information Systems Auditor.
During the Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing of May 5 2009, Ms. Coleman was unable to answer several questions regarding trillions of dollars of increases to the balance sheet of the Federal Reserve. A viral video of the Hearing that is claimed by its distributors to show her department as incompetent was very popular. However, it could be argued that the questioner in that video (Alan Grayson) asks questions that cast some doubt as to his understanding of what it means for the Fed to increase its balance sheet, and he also challenges her to specifically address unproven allegations that he pulled from a third-party source that she clearly did not come prepared to address.
Inspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
for the Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907...
on May 6, 2007. As Inspector General she leads the Office of Inspector General (OIG), responsible for promoting economy, efficiency,and effectiveness within the FED Board programs and operations. The responsibilities of the OIG also include the prevention and detection of waste, fraud, and abuse at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The OIG is supposed to achieve its mandate through audits, evaluations, investigations, legislative reviews, while keeping the Chairman of the Board and Congress fully informed.
Ms. Coleman started at the OIG in 1989 as a senior auditor. In 1999 she was promoted to program manager, 2001 to senior program manager and 2004 to the official staff, as the Assistant Inspector General for Communications and Quality Assurance. She reportedly has worked closely with the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency, a professional organization of about thirty statutory Inspectors General who are appointed by their agency heads in certain designated federal entities, including the Board.
Prior to joining the Board's staff, she was employed by the Government Accountability Office. Ms. Coleman has a BBA
Bachelor of Business Administration
The Bachelor of Business Administration is a bachelor's degree in Commerce and business administration. In most universities, the degree is conferred upon a student after four years of full-time study in one or more areas of business concentrations; see below...
from James Madison University
James Madison University
James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the university has undergone four name changes before settling with James Madison University...
and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
. She also attended the Federal Reserve System’s Trailblazers Leadership Conference. Ms. Coleman is a Certified Information Systems Auditor.
During the Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing of May 5 2009, Ms. Coleman was unable to answer several questions regarding trillions of dollars of increases to the balance sheet of the Federal Reserve. A viral video of the Hearing that is claimed by its distributors to show her department as incompetent was very popular. However, it could be argued that the questioner in that video (Alan Grayson) asks questions that cast some doubt as to his understanding of what it means for the Fed to increase its balance sheet, and he also challenges her to specifically address unproven allegations that he pulled from a third-party source that she clearly did not come prepared to address.