TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX
ADMINISTRATION
The Account
Management Services Project Is Meeting Its Development Goals
Issued on March 3, 2008
Highlights
Highlights of
Report Number: 2008-20-053 to the Internal
Revenue Service Chief Information Officer.
IMPACT ON TAXPAYERS
The
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is continuing to modernize its databases to
provide immediate access to account data, enable real-time transaction
processing, and ensure daily account settlement to improve customer service and
business results. The Account Management
Services (AMS) project was initiated in May 2006 and has been chartered to
address these needs. The objective of
the AMS project is to provide an integrated approach to view, access, update,
and manage taxpayer accounts by providing IRS employees with the tools to
access information quickly and accurately in response to complex customer
inquiries and to update taxpayer accounts on demand.
WHY TIGTA DID THE AUDIT
This audit was initiated as part of the Treasury
Inspector General for Tax Administration’s Fiscal Year 2007 audit plan for
reviews of the IRS Business Systems Modernization efforts. The overall objective of this review was to
determine whether AMS project management and development activities are
effective in providing a sound basis for the delivery and deployment of AMS
releases.
WHAT
TIGTA FOUND
Reviews
of the initial AMS releases showed the project team successfully implemented
Enterprise Life Cycle and Modernization and Information Technology Services
organization project management processes and activities. These processes and activities included
project justification, contract management, risk management, configuration
management, performance management, and transition management.
The AMS
Project Management Plan defines the project, the scope of work to be performed,
and the planned methodology for managing project activities. The Plan also identifies the capabilities
that Release 1 must implement for it to be considered complete. The AMS project team successfully planned
work schedules, identified and addressed potential risks to project
development, and coordinated with appropriate staff to implement initial
release capabilities. Although the AMS
project team is on schedule to make the proposed processing capabilities
available, its implementation is dependent on the Modernization and Information
Technology Services organization’s abilities to integrate these project
capabilities into taxpayer account processing.
WHAT TIGTA RECOMMENDED
Because
the AMS project team effectively implemented project management practices,
TIGTA did not make any recommendations.
In
response to the report, the Chief Information Officer appreciated the comments
and observations acknowledging the successful implementation of the Enterprise
Life Cycle and the Modernization and Information Technology Services
organization project management processes for AMS Release 1.
READ THE
FULL REPORT
To view the report,
including the scope, methodology and full IRS response, go to:
http://www.treas.gov/tigta/auditreports/2008reports/200820053fr.html.
Email Address: inquiries@tigta.treas.gov
Phone Number: 202-622-6500
Web Site:
http://www.tigta.gov