TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION
SYSTEM
UPDATES AND CONTROL IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED TO ENSURE CONTACT RECORDING WILL
PROVIDE AN ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE QUALITY
Issued on July 9, 2007
Highlights
Highlights of
Report Number: 2007-40-115 to the
Internal Revenue Service Commissioner for the Wage and Investment Division.
IMPACT ON TAXPAYERS
The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Taxpayer
Assistance Centers provide taxpayers with face-to-face assistance on tax
matters. The IRS is implementing at the
Taxpayer Assistance Centers a standardized quality measurement system that
records taxpayers’ interactions to measure the quality of service it provides them. System updates and control improvements are
needed to ensure the Contact Recording System is providing reliable data that
can be used to accurately measure the quality of assistance provided to
taxpayers.
WHY TIGTA DID THE AUDIT
Contact
Recording is an innovative approach to quality control for face‑to‑face
interactions between assistors and taxpayers. Its implementation addresses many
concerns raised by TIGTA on the accuracy of tax law answers and the need
for a quality measurement system with which to set goals and measure progress
toward achieving those goals. This
review was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the Contact Recording
System to determine whether it is functioning as intended.
WHAT
TIGTA FOUND
In Fiscal
Years 2006 and 2007, the IRS implemented the Contact Recording System in 126 of
its 401 Taxpayer Assistance Centers. As
of December 31, 2006, managers had reviewed 1,554 recordings to evaluate
employee performance, and Centralized Quality Review System Office reviewers had
reviewed 1,635 recordings to evaluate the accuracy of the responses to tax law
and tax account questions.
However, challenges remain before the Contact
Recording System can be installed in the remaining 275 Taxpayer Assistance
Centers. In Fiscal Year 2007, the Field
Assistance Office lost funding needed to continue implementation. The IRS had begun developing the Taxpayer
Assistance Blueprint, a 5‑year plan for preferred service delivery to
individual taxpayers within available resources, and did not want to commit
funds to install the Contact Recording System in the remaining Taxpayer
Assistance Centers until the Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint report was issued.
System patches are needed to ensure the
Contact Recording System will produce quality results. System software is prematurely deleting
recordings, a database problem is preventing the automatic uploading of
recordings, and flaws prevent all recordings from having an equal chance of
being selected for quality review. The IRS agreed these issues could affect the quality
results if patches are not installed but believes oversampling by at least 5
percent minimizes the problems.
Internal controls also need to be
improved to ensure the Contact Recording System is operating as intended and providing
quality results. There is insufficient monitoring
to ensure assistors are not opting out of recordings to avoid having the
contacts selected for review, the System is not periodically validated to
ensure all taxpayer interactions are being recorded, and the System was not designed
to generate scheduled management information reports that could be used to
monitor its operation.
WHAT TIGTA RECOMMENDED
The Commissioner, Wage and
Investment Division, should evaluate and ensure funding for modernizing the
Taxpayer Assistance Centers is sufficient to continue installation, after
considering the Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint results; implement systemic
changes and install patches to ensure the System is operating effectively; ensure
all desktop computers have sufficient capacity and all recordings are included
in the sampled population; conduct periodic validations of Contact Recording System
data to ensure taxpayer and assistor interactions are recorded; and develop reports
and procedures to monitor and identify anomalies and errors.
In their response to the
report, IRS officials agreed with all recommendations. They have taken or plan to take appropriate
corrective actions.
READ THE
FULL REPORT
To view the report, including
the scope, methodology, and full IRS response, go to:
http://www.treas.gov/tigta/auditreports/2007reports/200740115fr.html.
Email
Address: Bonnie.Heald@tigta.treas.gov
Phone Number: 202-927-7037
Web Site:
http://www.tigta.gov