The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) (October 2004–October 2013) was created as the successor to the Coalition Provisional Authority Office of Inspector General (CPA-IG). SIGIR was an independent government agency created by the Congress to provide oversight of the use (or misuse) of the $52 billion U.S. reconstruction program in Iraq. Stuart W. Bowen Jr. was appointed to the position of CPA-IG on January 20, 2004 and served until its closure in October 2013. SIGIR reported directly to Congress, the secretary of state, and the secretary of defense.
SIGIR's mission was to provide independent and objective oversight of U.S.-funded Iraq reconstruction policies, programs, and operations through comprehensive audits, inspections, and investigations. As of July 2009, SIGIR had issued twenty-two quarterly reports to Congress, 303 audits and inspections, 386 recommendations, and four "lessons learned" reports. SIGIR representatives have also testified before Congress on twenty-seven separate occasions.
In February 2009, SIGIR issued its fourth lessons learned report, Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience. Hard Lessons provides the first comprehensive account of the U.S. reconstruction effort in Iraq, chronicling the myriad challenges that confronted the rebuilding program, and concludes with thirteen lessons drawn from the reconstruction experience.