TREASURY
INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION
Improvements to the E‑Help Desk Are Needed to Support Expanding Electronic Products and Services
January 30, 2007
Reference Number: 2007-40-026
This
report has cleared the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
disclosure review process and information determined to be restricted from
public release has been redacted from this document.
Phone Number |
202-927-7037
Email Address | Bonnie.Heald@tigta.treas.gov
Web Site | http://www.tigta.gov
January 30, 2007
MEMORANDUM FOR COMMISSIONER, WAGE AND INVESTMENT DIVISION
FROM: Michael R. Phillips
Deputy Inspector General for Audit
SUBJECT: Final Audit Report – Improvements to the E-Help Desk Are Needed to Support Expanding Electronic Products and Services (Audit # 200640032)
This report presents the results of our review to determine whether the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) E-Help Desk Program is providing quality customer service.
Impact on the Taxpayer
The E-Help Desk Program provides assistance to users of IRS electronic products and services (e-services). Improvements to the E-Help Desk Program are needed to support the IRS’ expanding e-services. Ensuring the Program provides quality customer service is essential because the number of taxpayers who are electronically filing their tax returns is increasing, and the IRS is continuing to offer more e-services.
Synopsis
Improvements
are needed to ensure the E-Help Desk Program provides effective customer
service.
The IRS recognizes the need to provide customers of its e-services with the ability to obtain the assistance they may need to successfully use these products. Since the inception of the E‑Help Desk in 2002, the IRS has continued to identify ways to improve Program efficiency and customer service. However, continued expansion in the availability and use of e-services requires that improvements are made to ensure the Program can continue to provide effective customer service. We have the following concerns about the Program:
· Customer satisfaction is not being measured.
· Quality measures and procedures have not been fully established and developed. The Program has no measure to evaluate the accuracy of the responses the E-Help Desk assistors are providing to their customers.
· Call monitoring and electronic case (e-case[1]) reviews are currently not being used to evaluate the quality of the Program. Review of a random sample of 97 e‑cases found 4 e‑cases (4 percent) in which the customers received incorrect answers (i.e., the solutions did not address the customer questions). For 7 e-cases (7 percent), the assistors did not adequately document the e-cases, and we were unable to determine if customers received the correct answers.
· Processes and procedures have not been developed to ensure predefined solutions[2] are accurate and current or to ensure management information is accurate and reliable. Information contained in the E-Help Support System[3] is inaccurate and incomplete. The indicator used to show that an e‑case was closed on the first contact was sometimes inaccurate. Assistors are not creating or updating e‑cases for all calls. In addition, Business Strategy and Business Architect office management stated they do not review e-cases closed with general solutions to determine if new predefined solutions should be created to address the specific issues raised by customers.
· Processes have not been developed to ensure employees complete required training. Review of a random sample of 19 assistors determined that none had completed all required training for Fiscal Year 2006.
To adequately support the growth of electronic filing and e-services, the IRS must ensure its E-Help Desk Program is operating efficiently and effectively and is meeting the needs of its customers and the IRS.
Recommendations
The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop (1) a process to ensure customer satisfaction is timely measured; (2) quality measures as well as a process to assess progress towards achieving the measures; (3) processes and procedures to ensure predefined solutions are accurately developed, timely monitored, and appropriately approved; (4) processes and procedures to ensure management information is complete and accurate; and (5) a process to ensure assistors complete required training; and (6) should realign E-Help Desk Program assistors under the Business Strategy and Business Architect office.
Response
IRS management agreed with all of our recommendations. Management:
1) Is considering administering a customer satisfaction survey focused specifically on the E-Help Desk.
2) Is working to establish quality measures and procedures with plans to add the E-Help Desk Program to the Embedded Quality process and implement Contact Recording.
3) Has revised the solutions development process to require documentation of the source or origin of solutions, approval before a solution can be placed into production, and an annual review of solutions.
4) Will require weekly e-case reviews and develop programming to automatically uncheck the Resolved on First Contact field when an e-case is reopened.
5) Has developed a process to ensure assistors have completed required training.
6) Will realign E-Help Desk assistors with the office that establishes policies and procedures.
Management’s complete response to
the draft report is included as Appendix VII.
Please contact me at (202) 622-6510 if you have questions or Michael McKenney, Assistant Inspector General for Audit (Wage and Investment Income Programs), at (202) 622-5916.
Improvements to
the E-Help Desk Are Needed to Support Expanding Electronic Products and Services
Appendices
Appendix
I – Detailed Objective, Scope, and Methodology
Appendix
II – Major Contributors to This Report
Appendix
III – Report Distribution List
Appendix
IV – Outcome Measures
Appendix
V – Customers of the E-Help Desk
Appendix
VI – Electronic Products Supported by the E-Help Desk
Appendix
VII – Management’s Response to the Draft Report
Abbreviations
|
BSBA |
Business Strategy and
Business Architect |
|
e-case |
Electronic case |
|
e-file |
Electronically file(d) |
|
e-filing |
Electronic filing |
|
e-services |
Electronic products and services |
|
EFTPS |
Electronic Federal Tax Payment System |
|
EHSS |
E-Help Support System |
|
IRS |
Internal Revenue Service |
|
|
|
E-services is
a suite of web-based products that allows tax professionals and payers
to conduct business with the IRS electronically. These services are available 24 hours a day,
7 days a week from almost any computer with an Internet connection.
The Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) provides multiple electronic products and services (e‑services)
to tax professionals and payers to allow them to conduct business with the IRS
electronically.[4] In
Fiscal Year 2006, this allowed over 74 million individual tax returns and
over 8 million business tax returns to be electronically filed (e‑file). In addition, over 48 million payments
were made using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).[5] The
EFTPS allows taxpayers and tax professionals to use the telephone, personal
computer software, or the Internet to initiate tax payments.
In 2002, the IRS established the E-Help Desk Program to assist
customers with electronic filing (e-filing)
and e‑services. There are four
E-Help Desk sites located at the following IRS Submission Processing Sites:
Figure 1: Incoming
Calls by E-Help Desk Site
|
E-Help Desk Site |
Fiscal Year 2004 |
Fiscal Year 2005 |
Fiscal Year 2006 |
|
|
200,305 |
169,329 |
160,166 |
|
|
29,241 |
29,861 |
33,346 |
|
|
234,307 |
183,945 |
167,032 |
|
|
35,845 |
56,982 |
64,466 |
Source: IRS
Toll-Free Telephone Reports for Fiscal Years 2004, 2005, and 2006.[7]
Customers contacting the E-Help Desk may be experiencing difficulty registering for e-services, transmitting an e-file tax return, or applying to be an Electronic Return Originator. Customers of the Program include agents enrolled with the IRS to file tax returns and make payments, certified public accountants, and tax software developers with nonaccount-related questions and issues concerning electronic products. Appendix V provides a list of E-Help Desk customers. Electronic products supported by the E‑Help Desk include e-file and e-services, such as the EFTPS and the Central Contractor Registration.[8] Appendix VI provides a breakdown of the specific electronic products supported within each of the four broad product categories.
Enrolled
agents, certified public accountants, and tax software developers are customers
who use the E-Help Desk.
To obtain assistance, customers within the
E-Help Desk assistors enter information about the caller, the nature of the call, and the resolution into an electronic case (e-case). Calls that cannot be answered on the first contact are left open and tracked in the computer system. The e-case serves as the official record of customer contact and includes information regarding customer type, product type, problem type, and e-case resolution (e.g., an identification number of the solution used to resolve the e‑case). The data are used to provide formal tracking and reporting of all issues and call types in a common database. Management reviews system reports to determine types of problems and ways to improve service. The EHSS is used to standardize processes and procedures.
Oversight of the
Program is the responsibility of the IRS Wage and Investment Division Customer
Account Services function. Within the Customer
Account Services function, the Director, Business Strategy and Business Architect
(BSBA), is responsible for providing strategic planning, technical problem
solving, and daily management oversight to the E-Help Desk call sites. The Customer Account Services Submission
Processing function is responsible for the E‑Help Desk assistors. The Wage and Investment Division Electronic
Tax Administration office is responsible for all electronic mechanisms used by
taxpayers, preparers, and practitioners to file tax returns; make payments;
exchange correspondence; and retrieve forms, publications, and other information.
This review was performed at the BSBA office in
Improvements to the E-Help Desk Are Needed to Support Expanding Electronic Products and Services
The IRS recognizes the need to provide customers of
its e-services with the ability to obtain the assistance they may need to
successfully use these products. Since the
inception of the E‑Help Desk in 2002, the IRS has continued to identify ways
to improve Program efficiency and customer service. For example, the IRS:
·
Consolidated the six e-file Help Desk sites, which
assisted callers with different products and activities and used different telephone
numbers, into a single Program. The Program
currently consists of four call sites and one centralized toll-free telephone
number. Since the consolidation, emphasis
has been placed on improving the telephone system, implementing tools to manage
contacts, and providing multichannel capabilities (telephone, email, and fax).
·
Implemented the EHSS, which is a tool used for
customer interaction and tracking. The
EHSS documents the history of customers’ contacts with the E-Help Desk. Prior to the implementation of this System,
the Program did not have a way to record, track, and identify problems and
trends for e-file or e-service products.
·
Obtained Next Available Technology, which seeks to
improve the overall level of service by sending calls to the next available
assistor, enterprise-wide, that has the necessary skills to answer the customer’s
question. The necessary technology has
been installed and is ready for use.
However, the Next Available Technology cannot be implemented until the BSBA
office negotiates a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Treasury
Employees Union.
Taxpayers are continuing to elect to e-file, and the IRS is continuing to offer more e-services. Since 2002, the IRS has added e-services such
as online registration for e-services and transcript delivery service, which
allows eligible tax professionals to request and receive account transcripts,
wage and income documents, and tax return transcripts. The IRS has also added electronic account
resolution, which allows tax professionals to electronically inquire about
individual or business account problems, refunds, installment agreements, and missing
payments or notices. In Fiscal Year
2007, the IRS plans to offer additional electronic products, including e-services
for Reporting Agents[10] and income verification express services, which provide 2-business day
processing and delivery of return transcripts.
Customers having difficulty using these new products will be supported by
the E-Help Desk Program.
With this continued expansion in the availability
and use of e-services, improvements are needed to ensure the Program can continue
to provide effective customer service. Figure
2 provides Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006 volumes associated with the categories of
electronic products supported by the E-Help Desk.
Figure 2: Volumes
of Electronic Products Supported by the E-Help Desk
(in millions)
|
Product Category |
Fiscal Year 2005 Volumes |
Fiscal Year 2006[11] Volumes |
|
E-file |
68 |
72 |
|
EFTPS |
78 |
82 |
|
E-Services |
55 |
90 |
|
Central Contractor Registration |
Not applicable |
.003 |
|
Totals |
201 |
244[12] |
Sources: Websites IRS.gov,
eta.hq.irs.gov, and ccr.gov and presentation provided by the IRS.
To adequately support the growth of e-filing and e-services, the IRS must
ensure its Program is operating efficiently and effectively and is meeting the
needs of its customers and the IRS. This
requires developing a measurement system to assess the quality and
effectiveness of the Program and ensuring the management information system
produces accurate and complete data with which to monitor the Program. In
addition, the present organizational alignment of the Program creates a situation in
which the BSBA office, which establishes the policies and procedures, does not
have control over the personnel responsible for carrying out these policies and
procedures.
During the course of the audit, we brought our concerns to the attention of
BSBA office management. Management indicated
that they have already begun to take actions to address our concerns.
A quality measurement system is needed to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the E‑Help Desk Program
The E-Help Desk Program does not currently measure Customer Satisfaction or the Accuracy of Responses to Customers.
Modern management practices and various statutory and regulatory provisions require the IRS to set performance goals for organizational units and to measure the progress towards achieving those goals. To fulfill these requirements, the IRS has established a balanced performance measurement system designed to align with the IRS’ mission and goals at all levels of the organization. The balanced measures encompass three components: Customer Satisfaction, Employee Satisfaction, and Business Results. The Business Results Measures consist of numerical scores determined under the Quality Measures and the Quantity Measures. The Program has not fully established quality measures or goals or developed processes and procedures to measure the progress towards achieving those goals.
Customer satisfaction is not being
measured
Although Program guidelines detail specific actions to be taken to measure customer satisfaction, either these actions were not taken or there is no documentation to support the actions that were taken. Guidelines indicate that customer satisfaction will be measured from feedback obtained from:
o
The Nationwide Tax Forums. The last time formal feedback was
obtained was via the 2003 Nationwide Tax Forum.
BSBA office management stated they have not held additional focus groups
since 2003 because they wanted to address the recommendations from the 2003 Nationwide
Tax Forum before obtaining new feedback.
BSBA office management stated they are planning to obtain feedback during
the 2007 Nationwide Tax Forum.
o
The Software Developers
Conference. BSBA
office management stated they have attended these conferences annually. However, the BSBA office did not maintain documentation
to support the feedback it received at these conferences.
o
The Council for Electronic
Revenue Communication Advancement. BSBA office management stated they have
attended these conferences annually, except for the 2006 conference. However, the BSBA office did not maintain documentation
to support the feedback it received at these conferences.
The BSBA office submitted a narrative justification
to Wage and Investment Division management for approval to establish an E-Help
Customer Satisfaction Project. The
request was submitted on June 19, 2006.
The purpose of this Project is to survey E-Help Desk customers to
determine their satisfaction with E-Help Desk services.
Quality measures
and procedures have not been fully established and developed
The Program has three quality measures and goals: Resolved on First Contact (95 percent), Level of Service (85 percent), and Percentage of E-Cases Opened Versus Incoming Calls (85 percent). However, the Program has no measure to evaluate the accuracy of the responses the E‑Help Desk assistors are providing to their customers.
Although E-Help Desk guidelines implemented in March 2006 require managers to monitor a minimum of two calls, review a minimum of two e-cases for each assistor each month, and document the results, there are no procedures in place to ensure these reviews are being completed. Calls are currently not being monitored because the BSBA office is in negotiations with the National Treasury Employees Union on aspects of the monitoring process. Review of a random sample of 20 of 168 employees (5 employees from each E-Help Desk site) determined that e-case reviews either were not performed or the results of the e-case reviews were not maintained for the months of May and June 2006.
We estimate that 16,101 customers received incorrect answers and another 28,178 e-cases do not have adequate documentation to assess the accuracy of the responses provided.
Also, neither the call monitoring nor the case reviews are currently being used to evaluate the quality of the Program. Our review of a random sample of 97 e‑cases found that in 4 e-cases (4 percent) the customers received incorrect answers (i.e., the solutions did not address the customer questions). For 7 e-cases (7 percent), the assistors did not adequately document the e-cases, and we were unable to determine if the customers received the correct answers. Projecting our results over the universe of 390,461 e‑cases closed with solutions, there is a potential that 16,101 customers received incorrect answers and that another 28,178 e-cases have inadequate documentation to assess the accuracy of the responses provided to the customers.
Without an accuracy measure and procedures and processes in place to monitor the quality of the Program, the effectiveness of the Program cannot be determined. The BSBA office plans to implement Contact Recording, which is an automated quality monitoring system that captures voice elements of customers’ contacts and employees’ corresponding computer desktop activities. Contact Recording is used in the IRS Toll-Free Telephone Program to both monitor employee performance and measure program quality. However, the benefit of Contact Recording will not be fully realized without implementation of an operational quality review system.
Processes and procedures have not been developed to ensure predefined solutions are accurate
To ensure the consistency of responses provided to customers, the E-Help Desk uses a set of predefined solutions for common problems. The predefined solutions allow assistors to resolve customer problems quickly and efficiently. Additionally, the BSBA office is exploring the option of posting these solutions on the IRS public website, IRS.gov, as a self-assistance option for customers.
However, there are no requirements to document the steps taken to create the predefined solutions and ensure they are accurate. Although our review of 15 solutions identified only 1 partially inaccurate solution, as the Program grows and new solutions are added, it is essential that all steps are taken to ensure the solutions are accurate, including managerial reviews and approvals.
Also, processes and procedures have not been developed to ensure existing solutions are periodically reviewed to ensure they are current and accurate. Solutions can become obsolete or inaccurate as e‑services change. For example, one solution we reviewed related to the IRS TeleFile Program,[13] which was discontinued as of August 2005. However, the solution was not declared to be expired (no longer valid) until January 2006. A solution review team was created in March 2006, and as a result of its review, 81 (15 percent) of 542 of the predefined solutions were expired or superseded (modifications needed to be made to the solutions).[14] Procedures are needed to ensure periodic reviews are completed, including documenting the specific reasons the solutions were expired or superseded. This will help ensure the solutions remain accurate.
Processes and procedures need to be developed to ensure management information is accurate and reliable
Information contained in the EHSS is inaccurate and incomplete. An analysis of EHSS data determined the information relating to e‑cases closed on the first contact was inaccurate. In addition, there are indications that the EHSS is incomplete because assistors are not creating or updating e-cases when calls are handled. Furthermore, BSBA office management stated they do not review e-cases with general solutions to determine if new predefined solutions should be created to address the specific issues raised by customers.
The Resolved on First Contact indicator is not reliable
IRS customers expect accurate assistance from the IRS, preferably on their first contact. Resolving a customer’s issue on the first contact saves both the customer and the IRS the need to expend time and resources on subsequent contacts to resolve the same issue. Program guidelines require assistors to input a Resolved on First Contact indicator on the e-case in the EHSS. If a customer calls back with the same issue, the assistor is to remove the indicator. The indicator is not reliable because assistors are not always able to identify previously created e-cases for a customer calling back with the same issue and the assistors are not correctly inputting the indicator.
EHSS guidelines do not require assistors to enter identifying customer information into e-cases; therefore, the e-cases do not always contain sufficient information to identify customers. As a result, assistors are not always able to identify and retrieve the previous e-case and remove the Resolved on First Contact indicator, even though the customer has called back with the same issue. An analysis of 543,515 e-cases[15] identified that 378,381 (70 percent) did not contain identifying customer information.
In addition, an analysis of the 543,515 e-cases showed 538,298 (99 percent) of the contacts contained a Resolved on First Contact indicator. However, 18,945 (4 percent) of these e-cases were not closed on the date the call was received, which could indicate these cases were not resolved on first contact. BSBA office management indicated they have made a system change that will allow an assistor who did not create the e-case to uncheck the Resolved on First Contact indicator if the e-case is reopened.
E-case data are incomplete
Assistors are not creating e-cases for all calls or are using general solutions to close e-cases. Program guidelines require each customer contact to be documented as a new or existing e-case. However, a review of key Program statistics identified that e-cases are not being created or updated for every call. For example, for Fiscal Year 2006, the E-Help Desk sites answered 358,786 calls. However, e-cases created totaled only 261,909, with 96,877 calls (27 percent) being answered without an e-case being created. We recognize that some of these calls may be related to a previous contact. However, because customer information is not always maintained, it is impossible to determine the number of these 96,877 calls that would not result in an e-case being created.
The BSBA office continually stresses the need to create e‑cases. However, Figure 3 shows that assistors created e-cases for only about 72 percent of answered calls for Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006.
Figure 3: Percentage of E-Cases Opened Versus Calls Answered
|
E-Help Desk Site |
Fiscal Year |
Fiscal Year |
|
|
51% |
68% |
|
|
77% |
76% |
|
|
78% |
66% |
|
|
83% |
82% |
|
Program Average |
72% |
73% |
Source: IRS Toll-Free Telephone Reports for Fiscal
Years 2005 and 2006.[16]
EHSS downtime also affects the creation of e-cases. System downtime occurs when assistors are unable to access the EHSS to add or update e-cases. Procedures require assistors to handwrite information relating to the calls during the period the EHSS is down. If it is down for fewer than 4 hours, the assistors are instructed to go back and enter the information into the EHSS. However, assistors advised us that there were times when the System was down for fewer than 4 hours, but they did not update the EHSS.
BSBA office management believes EHSS downtime is minimal. However, an analysis of System downtime shows the EHSS was down 34.4 hours during the period August 21 through September 15, 2006. Figure 4 presents EHSS downtime results.
Figure 4: EHSS Downtime
|
E-Help Desk Site |
Days When System Downtime
Was Experienced |
Total Hours System Was Down |
|
|
1 |
2.58 |
|
|
4 |
8.15 |
|
|
5 |
5.02 |
|
|
3 |
18.65 |
|
Totals |
13 |
34.40 |
Source: Information obtained from the four E-Help Desk
sites for the period August 21 through September 15, 2006.
General solutions are solutions used when a predefined solution does not address the customer’s inquiry. Of the 533,417[17] e-cases, 72,205 (14 percent) e-cases used general solutions. BSBA office management stated they do not review the e-cases for which general solutions were used to determine if new predefined solutions should have been created to address the specific issues raised by the customers. Figure 5 provides a breakdown by business unit of the number of times general solutions were used.
Figure 5: General Solutions Used, by Business Unit
|
Business Unit |
Total Solutions Used |
Total General Solutions
Used |
Percentage of General
Solutions Used |
|
Business |
45,419 |
5,054 |
11% |
|
Electronic Services |
225,968 |
21,701 |
10% |
|
Employment |
32,069 |
4,523 |
14% |
|
Individual |
229,961 |
40,927 |
18% |
|
Totals: |
533,417 |
72,205 |
14% |
Source: E-Help Desk Solutions Database from May 2004
to July 2006.
Inaccurate and incomplete management information contained in the EHSS affects the ability of the BSBA office to accurately report business results. If the above cited issues are not addressed, the IRS is unlikely to able to accurately measure progress towards meeting Program goals.
Processes have not been developed to ensure employees complete required training
Review of a random sample of 19 assistors determined
that none had completed all the Fiscal Year 2006 required
training. In addition, the BSBA office did
not maintain documentation to support assistors’ training. Although the BSBA office obtained training plans,
it did not have a process to ensure the training was completed.
Guidelines state that training is critical to
the accomplishment of the goals and objectives of the Program. The Program curriculum is designed to provide
assistors with the skills needed to perform their jobs. Training includes refresher courses in
writing and the use of various software programs (email, spreadsheet,
etc.). However, the additional required courses
are designed to provide specific training on those technical areas in which assistors
will be providing support to customers. Figure
6 identifies some of the required technical training, the number of assistors
that were required to take the training, and the number of assistors that
completed the training.
Figure 6: Required
Technical Training for 19 Assistors Sampled
|
Training Course |
Assistors
Required to Complete Course |
Assistors
Who Completed the Course |
Percentage
of Assistors Who Completed the Required Course |
|
|
IRS e-file for
Submission Processing |
10 |
4 |
40% |
|
|
Business Master File,[18] Form 1065, |
5 |
0 |
0% |
|
|
Business Master File, |
4 |
2 |
50% |
|
|
E-Help Refresher Training |
19 |
7 |
37% |
|
|
Using the E-Help Support System |
19 |
6 |
32% |
|
Source: Our analysis of information provided by the
IRS relating to E-Help Desk assistor training.
Ensuring assistors complete required training will be of greater importance as the IRS moves forward with implementation of the Next Available Technology. This will require all assistors to have training on all e-services supported by the Program. Currently, assistors specialize in specific electronic products.
With the current organizational alignment, the BSBA office creates policies and procedures but does not have control over the assistors responsible for carrying out these policies and procedures.
The BSBA office noted that the inability to ensure required
training is completed is an example of a problem with the organizational
alignment of the Program. The BSBA office
establishes the policies and
procedures for the Program; however, it does not have control over the
personnel responsible for carrying out these policies and procedures. The BSBA office develops the policies and
procedures relating to the necessary training E-Help Desk assistors are
required to complete, but the assistors are assigned to the Submission
Processing function.
The mission of the Program is to provide superior help desk support for IRS e‑government programs by using multichannel communication and case management tools. Realigning the assistors under the control of the BSBA office would ensure the organization that establishes the policies and procedures for the Program is also the organization responsible for the assistors who carry out these policies and procedures.
To ensure the Program is providing superior customer service, it is essential that assistors complete required training and quality performance measures are established. Processes to measure progress towards meeting those performance measures also need to be developed. These improvements are needed to ensure results from measures are accurately communicated to customers, stakeholders, and other interested parties.
Recommendations
The Commissioner, Wage
and Investment Division, should:
Recommendation 1: Develop a process to ensure customer satisfaction is timely measured.
Management’s Response: IRS management agreed with the recommendation. Management is considering administering a Fiscal Year 2007 E-Help Desk customer satisfaction survey and a focus group for the 2007 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums.
Recommendation 2: Develop quality measures as well as a process to assess progress towards achieving the measures. This should include a measure of the accuracy of responses provided to customers.
Management’s Response: IRS management agreed with the recommendation. Management is working to establish quality measures and procedures with plans to add the E-Help Desk Program to the Embedded Quality process. In addition, Contact Recording will be implemented in the E-Help Desk sites.
Recommendation 3: Develop processes and procedures to ensure predefined
solutions are accurately developed, timely monitored, and appropriately
approved.
Management’s Response: IRS management agreed with the recommendation. Management has reviewed and revised the solutions development process. The new process requires documentation of the source or origin of solutions, approval before a solution can be placed into production, and an annual review of solutions.
Recommendation 4: Develop processes and procedures to ensure management information is complete and accurate. This should include (a) ensuring accuracy of Resolved on First Contact indicator, (b) ensuring customer information is included in the e-case to enable an assistor to identify previous customer contacts, (c) ensuring e-cases are created or updated for all incoming calls, (d) monitoring and assessing the effect that EHSS downtime may have on the creation of e‑cases, and (e) reviewing the use of general solutions to determine if a new solution should have been proposed to address the specific issue raised by the customer.
Management’s Response: IRS management agreed with the recommendation. Management will require weekly e-case reviews, with reports of findings to be provided to the Program Office and site managers for feedback and coaching purposes. Programming will be developed to automatically uncheck the Resolved on First Contact field when an e-case is reopened. Implementation of the Computer Telephony Integration will help ensure e-cases are created or updated for all incoming calls. In addition, the Program Office will monitor system downtime, and the use of general solutions has been removed.
Recommendation 5: Develop a process to ensure assistors complete required training.
Management’s Response: IRS management agreed with the recommendation. Management has developed a process to ensure assistors have completed required training. The Program Office will monitor training plans to completion and will review random samples of employees to ensure training has been conducted.
Recommendation 6: Realign the E-Help Desk Program assistors under the BSBA office.
Management’s Response: IRS management agreed with the recommendation. Management will realign E-Help Desk assistors with the office that establishes policies and procedures.
Appendix I
Detailed Objective, Scope, and Methodology
Our overall
objective was to determine whether the IRS E-Help Desk Program is providing
quality customer service. To accomplish
this objective, we:
I.
Determined
whether the IRS has established effective measures and goals for the
E-Help Desk Program by obtaining reports used to track Program measures and goals,
interviewing IRS management, and assessing management’s ability to monitor
Program performance.
II.
Determined
whether the IRS has a quality assurance plan for the Program by interviewing
Program management and surveying IRS management at the four E-Help Desk call
sites.
III.
Determined
whether the assistors for the Program are properly trained.
A. Reviewed the Internal Revenue Manual to identify
training classes that are required for E-Help Desk assistors.
B.
Contacted IRS management at each of the four
E-Help Desks call sites to determine whether they have any locally required
training classes.
C.
Randomly selected 20 of 90 assistors (5 assistors
from each of the 4 E‑Help Desk call sites). We determined whether they had received the
required training. Because we found that
19 assistors had not received all of the required training (1 assistor was
not working during the time period of our review), this would be a 100 percent
error rate. With a 100 percent error
rate, 90 percent confidence level, and +5 percent precision rate, a
sample size of zero is produced. We did
not perform further testing in this area.
D. When we determined the E-Help Desk assistors
were not properly trained, attempted to determine the effect on the E-Help Desk
customers and the clients they serve.
IV.
Determined
the accuracy of the solutions and the accuracy and reliability of the
management information system used in the Program.
A. Analyzed the EHSS. The EHSS extract covered the period July 9,
2004, through June 1, 2006. We validated
the file by verifying five e-cases on the file to the actual e-cases on the
system. However, although we were able
to validate the data, we determined the EHSS data are incomplete (e-cases were
not always created) and the field relating to Resolved on First Contact was
inaccurate. Many anomalies exist in the
data, but these were the best data available from the IRS. To obtain statistics for e‑cases that
were resolved on first contact, we selected the e-cases that were in both of the
IRS-provided files: auditmainrec and
casemainrec. These files were an extract
of the EHSS. This produced 543,515 unique
e-cases; 390,393 of these e-cases had a solution.
B.
Determined whether the IRS validates the
information on the EHSS.
C.
Analyzed the solutions database from the EHSS. The solutions database contained 542
solutions and covered the time period May 2004 to July 2006.
D. Determined whether solutions included in the
EHSS are accurate through a stop or go sampling plan. Stop or go sampling involves sampling
a universe in increments and examining each incremental sample before deciding
when to stop. To select the sample, we put the solutions in
order by solution identification number and, using a random number generator,
selected our sample. We reviewed the
first 15 solutions selected from the 542 solutions. Because
we found only 1 of the first 15 solutions to be incorrect, we decided not to review
an additional 32 solutions to project an error rate. We did not pursue this issue further.
E.
Determined whether information captured in
the EHSS accurately reflects the results of the Program by selecting a random sample
of 97 questions and associated solutions.
We determined whether the solutions matched the questions. This would
allow us to achieve a precision rate of +5 percent given an estimated
error rate of 10 percent and a confidence level of 90 percent. To select the sample, we queried the 543,850
unique e-cases (from the IRS-provided extract of the EHSS: auditmainrec file) to obtain the unique
e-cases that had an associated solution.
We put the resulting 390,461 e-cases in order by e-case number. We then used a random number generator to
select our sample.
F.
When we determined the E-Help Desk management
information system was not accurate and reliable, attempted to determine the
effect on the E‑Help Desk customers, on the taxpayer clients they serve, and
on IRS management’s ability to monitor the measures and goals of the Program.
V.
Determined
whether the IRS has an effective process to ensure information from the Program
is used to improve IRS processes by interviewing management and product owners
and determining what information from the Program is provided to the IRS
product owners.
Appendix II
Major Contributors to This Report
Michael
McKenney, Assistant Inspector General for Audit (Wage and Investment
Income Programs)
Augusta
R. Cook, Director
Russell
P. Martin, Audit Manager
Pamela
DeSimone, Lead Auditor
Roberta
Fuller, Auditor
Kathy
Henderson, Auditor
Mary
Keyes, Auditor
Geraldine
Vaughn, Auditor
James
Allen, Information
Technology Specialist
Appendix III
Commissioner C
Office of the
Commissioner – Attn: Chief of Staff C
Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement SE
Deputy Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division SE:W
Director, Customer Account Services, Wage and Investment Division SE:W:CAS
Director, Strategy and Finance, Wage and Investment Division SE:W:S
Chief, Performance Improvement, Wage and Investment Division SE:W:S:PI
Senior Operations Advisor, Wage and Investment Division SE:W:S
Chief Counsel CC
National Taxpayer Advocate TA
Director, Office of Legislative Affairs CL:LA
Director, Office of
Program Evaluation and Risk Analysis
RAS:O
Office of Internal
Control OS:CFO:CPIC:IC
Audit Liaison: Senior Operations Advisor, Wage and
Investment Division SE:W:S
Appendix IV
This appendix presents detailed information on the measurable effect that our recommended corrective actions will have on tax administration. These benefits will be incorporated into our Semiannual Report to Congress.
Type and Value of Outcome Measure:
· Reliability of Information – Potential; 28,178 e-cases with inadequate documentation to assess the accuracy of the responses provided to the customers (see page 4).
Methodology Used to Measure the Reported Benefit:
We reviewed a statistical sample of 97 e‑cases and
found that in 7 (7 percent) the assistors did not adequately document the
e-cases. For these seven e-cases, we
were unable to determine if the customers received the correct answers. Projecting our results over the universe of 390,461
e‑cases closed with solutions, there is a potential that 28,178 e-cases have
inadequate documentation to assess the accuracy of the responses provided to
the customers.
The sample size allowed us to achieve a
90 percent confidence level with an estimated 10 percent error rate and a
precision rate of +5 percent. To
select the sample, we queried the 543,850[21] unique e-cases (from
the IRS-provided file) to obtain the unique e-cases that had an associated
solution. We put the resulting 390,461
e-cases in order by e‑case number.
We then used a random number generator to select our sample.
Type and Value of Outcome Measure:
· Taxpayer Burden – Potential; 16,101 customers received incorrect answers (see page 4).
Methodology Used to Measure the Reported Benefit:
We reviewed a statistical sample of 97 e‑cases and
found that in 4 (4 percent) the customers received incorrect answers (i.e.,
the solutions did not address the customers’ questions). Projecting our results over the universe of
390,461 e-cases closed with solutions, there is a potential that 16,101 customers
received incorrect answers.
The sample size allowed us to achieve a
90 percent confidence level with an estimated 10 percent error rate and a
precision rate of +5 percent. To
select the sample, we queried the 543,850 unique e-cases (from the IRS-provided
file) to obtain the unique e-cases that had an associated solution. We put the resulting 390,461 e-cases in order
by e‑case number. We then used a
random number generator to select our sample.
Appendix V
Electronic
Return Originators
Electronic Return
Originators originate the electronic submission of income tax returns to the
IRS. An Electronic Return Originator may
originate the electronic submission of income tax returns that are either
prepared by the Electronic Return Originator firm or collected from a
taxpayer.
Enrolled
Agents
Enrolled agents have earned the privilege of representing
taxpayers before the IRS. Enrolled
agents, like attorneys and certified public accountants, are unrestricted as to which taxpayers they can
represent, what types of tax matters they can handle, and which IRS offices
they can practice before.
Financial Institutions
Financial
institutions act as agents that provide financial services for their clients. Financial institutions are users of the
E-Help Desk because they use the Taxpayer Identification
Number[22] Matching Program to
assist them with perfecting their payee data for purposes of filing annual
Information Returns, such as Miscellaneous Income (Form 1099-MISC) or Dividends
and Distributions (Form 1099-DIV). Because
the majority of financial institutions report payments to customers on Form
1099, the Taxpayer Identification Number Matching Program has been instrumental
in helping the financial institutions correct their payee information prior to
filing Information Returns.
Federal Government Agencies
Federal Government
agencies contract to do business with other Federal Government agencies. The Central Contractor Registration is the
primary registrant database for the Federal
Government. It collects, validates,
stores, and disseminates data in support of agency acquisition missions. Both current and potential Federal Government
registrants are required to register in the Central Contractor Registration to
be awarded contracts by the Federal Government.
The Central Contractor Registration validates the registrant information
and electronically shares the secure and encrypted data with the Federal Government
agencies’ finance offices to facilitate paperless payments through electronic
funds transfer.
Federal Government Contractors
Federal Government contractors do business with the Federal Government. The Central Contractor Registration is the primary registrant database for the Federal Government. It collects, validates, stores, and disseminates data in support of agency acquisition missions. Both current and potential Federal Government registrants are required to register in the Central Contractor Registration to be awarded contracts by the Federal Government. Registrants must update or renew their registration at least once per year to maintain an active status. In addition, entities (nonprofits, educational organizations, State and regional agencies, etc.) that apply for assistance awards from the Federal Government through Grants.gov must now register with the Central Contractor Registration. The Central Contractor Registration validates the registrant information and electronically shares the secure and encrypted data with the Federal Government agencies’ finance offices to facilitate paperless payments through electronic funds transfer.
Intermediate
Service Providers
Intermediate Service
Providers receive tax return information from Electronic Return Originators, or
from taxpayers that e-file from home
using their personal computers, either online or by using commercial tax
preparation software. Intermediate Service Providers process the tax
return information and either forward the information to a Transmitter or send
the information back to the Electronic Return Originators or taxpayers.
IRS Employees
IRS employees can e-file
their tax returns in IRS offices.
Large Corporations
Large corporations are those that, for Tax Year 2005 tax returns (due
in 2006) with total assets of $50 million or more, are required to e-file their U.S. Corporation
Income Tax Returns (Form 1120) or U.S. Income
Tax Returns for an S Corporation (Form 1120S). In addition, tax-exempt organizations with
total assets of $100 million or more were required to e-file their Tax Year 2005 Returns of Organization Exempt From
Income Tax (Form 990).
Beginning in 2007, the e-filing requirement will be expanded to
include the Tax Year 2006 tax returns of corporations and tax-exempt
organizations with $10 million or more in total assets. In addition, private foundations and
charitable trusts will be required to e-file
their Returns of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF) regardless of their asset
size.
The
e-filing requirements apply only to
entities that file at least 250 returns, including income tax, excise tax,
information, and employment tax returns, during a calendar year.
Reporting Agencies
Reporting agencies include accounting
services, franchisers, banks, or other persons that are authorized to e-file Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns (Form 941)
and Employer’s Annual Federal
Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Returns (Form 940) for a taxpayer.
Software Developers
Software developers write
the programs to IRS specifications that make IRS e-file and
Federal/State e-file possible. The
IRS and participating States require that all software pass a series of tests
each year. Once approved, this software
may be sold and used by Electronic Return Originators, Reporting Agents,[23] Intermediate Service Providers, and Transmitters.
State Tax Administration Agencies
The IRS shares
information from e-file with the
States. If there is a problem, the
States contact the E-Help Desk for resolution.
Tax Counseling for the Elderly
The Tax Counseling for
the Elderly Program provides free tax help to people age 60 and older.
Trained volunteers from nonprofit organizations provide free tax counseling and
basic income tax return preparation for senior citizens. E-filing of tax returns is also offered.
Taxpayer Assistance Centers
The Taxpayer Assistance
Centers are IRS offices that offer personal tax help when the taxpayer believes
his or her tax issue cannot be handled online or by telephone
and the taxpayer wants face-to-face tax assistance. E‑filing
of tax returns is also offered for certain taxpayers.
Transmitters
Transmitters convert the
file sent by a taxpayer into a format that meets IRS specifications and
transmit it to the IRS. Transmitters
must have software and modems that allow them to connect with IRS
computers. The IRS checks the return and
notifies the Transmitter (which then informs the taxpayer) whether the return
has been accepted or rejected.
Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance Sites
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
Program offers free tax help to low- to moderate‑income people who cannot
prepare their own tax returns. Basic tax
returns are prepared by volunteers across the country. E-filing
of tax returns is also offered.
Appendix VI
Electronic Products Supported by the E-Help Desk
E-file:[24]
·
U.S. Individual
Income Tax Return (Form 1040).
·
·
Income Tax Return
for Single and Joint Filers With No Dependents (Form 1040EZ).
·
Application for
Automatic Extension of Time To File
·
Application for
Extension of Time To File
·
Installment
Agreement Request (Form 9465).
·
Notice Concerning
Fiduciary Relationship (Form 56).
·
Self-Select Personal
Identification Number.
·
Practitioner
Personal Identification Number.
·
Combined
·
U.S. Individual
Income Tax Declaration for an IRS e-file Return
(Form 8453).
·
U.S. Individual
Income Tax Declaration for an IRS e-file
Online Return
(Form 8453-OL).
·
Employer’s
Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Form 941).
·
Employer’s Annual
Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return (Form 940).
·
·
·
Modernized e-file.
EFTPS:[26]
·
EFTPS Online.
·
EFTPS Phone.
·
EFTPS Batch
Provider.
·
EFTPS Bulk
Provider.
E-Services:[27]
·
Registration.
·
E-file
Application.
·
Disclosure
Authorization.
·
Preparer Taxpayer
Identification Number.
·
Transcript
Delivery System.
·
Electronic
Account Resolution.
·
Interactive and
Bulk Taxpayer Identification Number Matching.
Central
Contractor Registration:[28]
·
North American Industry Classification System Codes.
·
Standard Industrial Classification Codes.
·
Product Service Codes.
·
Federal Supply Classification Codes.
Appendix VII
Management’s Response to the Draft Report
The response was removed due
to its size. To see the response, please
go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.
[1] E-Help Desk assistors enter information about the callers, the nature of the calls, and the resolutions into electronic cases called e-cases.
[2] To ensure the consistency of responses provided to customers, the E-Help Desk uses a set of predefined solutions for common problems.
[3] The E-Help Support System documents the history of customers’ contacts with the E-Help Desk.
[4] E-services is
not available to the general public.
Only approved IRS business partners, such as electronic filing tax
professionals and payers, are eligible to participate in
e-services.
[5] As of August 31, 2006.
[6] Figure 1 includes only those inquiries that originated from an incoming call. These represent 99 percent of contacts to the E-Help Desk.
[7]
IRS data included in Figures 1-5 are provided
for perspective only and were not audited.
[8] Contractors doing business with the Federal Government are required to register their companies. The Central Contractor Registration is the means by which companies register.
[9] The E-Help Solutions Board establishes the procedures for submission and approval of solutions.
[10] A Reporting Agent is an accounting service, a franchiser, a bank, or other person who is authorized to prepare electronically an Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return (Form 940), Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Form 941), and Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return (Form 944).
[11] Totals
for Fiscal Year 2006 are as of September 21, 2006; September 22, 2006;
September 18, 2006; and
August 31, 2006, respectively.
[12] Total was rounded for readability.
[13] The TeleFile Program allowed taxpayers to file simple tax returns by telephone.
[14] The solutions were expired or superseded based on a March 2006 BSBA office initiative to review all solutions.
[15] The EHSS data extract included contacts for both open and resolved cases made with the E-Help Desk during the period July 9, 2004, through June 1, 2006.
[16] As of August 3, 2006.
[17] Represents e-cases included in the E-Help Desk Solutions Database from May 2004 to July 2006.
[18] The IRS database that consists of Federal tax-related transactions and accounts for businesses. These include employment taxes, income taxes on businesses, and excise taxes.
[19]
[20] Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return (Form 940) and Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Form 941).
[21] Our projections, based on the best data available, are conservative because e‑cases were not always created for incoming calls.
[22] A nine-digit number assigned to taxpayers for identification purposes. Depending upon the nature of the taxpayer, the Taxpayer Identification Number is an Employer Identification Number, a Social Security Number, or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
[23] A Reporting Agent is an accounting service, a franchiser, a bank, or other person who is authorized to prepare electronically an Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return (Form 940), Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Form 941), and Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return (Form 944).
[24] The process
of submitting tax forms over the Internet, using computers and tax preparation
software.
[25] The
[26]
The EFTPS allows taxpayers and tax professionals
to use the telephone, personal computer software, or the Internet to initiate
tax payments.
[27] The multiple e-services offered by the IRS to tax professionals and payers to allow them to conduct business with the IRS electronically.
[28] The primary registrant database for the Federal Government. The Central Contractor Registration collects, validates, stores, and disseminates data in support of agency acquisition missions.