Treasury
Inspector General for Tax Administration
Office of Audit
THE ADMINISTRATION OF RECRUITMENT AND
RETENTION INCENTIVES HAS IMPROVED, BUT ADDITIONAL ACTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN
Issued on September 19, 2011
Highlights
Highlights of Report
Number: 2011-10-107 to the Internal
Revenue Service Human Capital Officer.
IMPACT ON TAXPAYERS
To
assist in its workforce planning efforts, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), like other Federal agencies, has
the flexibility to use payment compensation in the form of recruitment and
retention incentives to attract and retain a high-quality workforce. Specifically, the IRS can offer recruitment incentives to attract new
employees for positions that are difficult to fill, and retention incentives to
retain employees with unusually high or unique qualifications. Since Fiscal
Year 2008, IRS management improved their administration of the use of
recruitment and retention incentives; however, procedures were not adequate to
ensure all Federal and internal guidelines were met. Further improvements will provide assurance
that the IRS uses recruitment and retention incentives effectively and only
in circumstances where they are needed, which would prevent a potential waste
of Government funds.
WHY TIGTA DID THE AUDIT
The overall objective of this audit was to
determine whether the IRS properly administers recruitment and retention
incentives to hire qualified employees for hard‑to‑fill positions
and retain employees with unusually high or unique qualifications.
WHAT TIGTA FOUND
Since Fiscal
Year 2008, IRS management improved their administration of the use of
recruitment and retention incentives.
However, procedures were not adequate to ensure that all Federal and
internal guidelines were met (e.g., requiring documentation to justify the appropriateness of the
incentive).
Because IRS management
relied on manual controls and did not always review incentives to ensure
compliance with legal requirements until after the incentives were approved,
TIGTA found that some controls were bypassed or not followed. This resulted in some recruitment and
retention incentives not being processed in accordance with IRS guidelines
between January 2006 and February 2010.
For example, seven (25.9 percent) of the 27 retention
incentives reviewed did not contain adequate documentation to support that
employees would likely leave the IRS in the absence of the incentive, which
presents a risk that the incentives may not have been justified.
In addition, IRS management has not identified a
method to assess the impact of the use of incentives on overall workforce
planning goals. Without this assessment,
the IRS may not ensure incentives are used to help achieve workforce planning goals
of having the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
WHAT TIGTA RECOMMENDED
TIGTA
recommended that the Director, Workforce Progression and Management Division,
strengthen manual controls to ensure that Federal and internal guidelines are
met, and that the IRS Human Capital Officer develop a methodology to assess the
impact of the use of recruitment and retention incentives in helping IRS
management meet long-term workforce planning goals.
In its
response, the IRS agreed with the recommendations. The Director, Workforce Progression and
Management Division, has strengthened the approval and recertification process
and plans to revise incentive request forms, require approval when the number
of incentives is increased, and develop a methodology to assess the IRS
incentive program in meeting long-term workforce goals.
READ THE
FULL REPORT
To view the report,
including the scope, methodology, and full IRS response, go
to:
http://www.treas.gov/tigta/auditreports/2011reports/201110107fr.html.
Email Address: TIGTACommunications@tigta.treas.gov
Phone
Number: 202-622-6500
Web Site: http://www.tigta.gov