United States General Accounting Office

GAO Testimony

Before the Subcommittee on Government Management,

Information and Technology, Committee on Government

Reform and Oversight, House of Representatives

For Release

on Delivery

Expected at

10:00a.m. EDT

Monday, April 14, 1997

IRS MANAGEMENT

Improvement Needed in

High-Risk Areas

Statement of Lynda D. Willis, Director, Tax Policy and

Administration Issues, General Government Division

GAO/T-GGD-97-79

Statement 

IRS Management: Improvement Needed in

High-Risk Areas

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

We are pleased to be here today to assist the Subcommittee in its review of

the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) efforts to improve the management

and operation of its high-risk areas. A key factor in understanding IRS’

ongoing difficulties in the high-risk areas is the realization that its major

processes and systems were developed and implemented decades ago and

were not designed to address the critical needs and vulnerabilities that

confront IRS in the 1990s. In addition, the problems IRS faces in

attempting to eliminate its high-risk vulnerabilities are compounded by the

interdependency of the high-risk areas. For example, IRS’ success in

addressing the weaknesses in its program areas is clearly linked to its

success in modernizing its business processes and information systems.

However, without a comprehensive strategy or detailed business plan to

guide its modernization efforts, IRS cannot hope to successfully modernize

its outdated processes and systems or to, ultimately, resolve the problems

in its high-risk areas.

Overview In February 1997, we issued our third series of reports on the status of

high-risk areas across the government.1

 One report in the series discussed

the four long-standing high-risk areas at IRS: tax systems modernization,

financial management, accounts receivable, and filing fraud.2

 Another

report in the series designated five new high-risk areas, two of which have

governmentwide implications and directly affect IRS’ operations:

information security and the computer-related year 2000 problem.3

Today, we will briefly discuss the problems IRS faces in these six high-risk

areas, the progress IRS has made recently in addressing these problems,

and the measures IRS must take to resolve the problems in its high-risk

areas. This testimony is based on our prior reports, which are listed in

Appendix I, and recent information obtained from IRS.

IRS’ High-Risk Areas For years we have chronicled IRS’ struggle to modernize and manage its

operations, especially in the high-risk areas, and have made scores of

recommendations to improve IRS’ systems, processes, and procedures. It

is clear that in order to achieve its business vision of reducing the volume

1

GAO/HR-97-20SET.

2

IRS Management (GAO/HR-97-8, Feb. 1997).

3

Information Management and Technology (GAO/HR-97-9, Feb. 1997).

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IRS Management: Improvement Needed in

High-Risk Areas

of paper tax returns, providing better customer service, and improving

compliance with the nation’s tax laws, IRS must successfully modernize its

systems and operations. To accomplish this modernization, however, IRS

needs to develop comprehensive business strategies to ensure that its new

and revised processes drive systems development and acquisition. Solving

the problems in the high-risk areas is not an insurmountable task, but it

requires sustained management commitment, accurate information

systems, and reliable performance measures to track IRS’ progress and

provide the data necessary to make informed management decisions.

Tax Systems

Modernization

Over the last decade, IRS has been attempting to overhaul its timeworn,

paper-intensive approach to tax return processing. At stake is the over

$3 billion that IRS has spent or obligated on this modernization since 1986,

as well as any additional funds that IRS plans to spend on the

modernization.

In July 1995, we reported that IRS (1) did not have a comprehensive

business strategy to cost effectively reduce paper tax return filings; (2) had

not yet fully developed and put in place the requisite management,

software development, and technical infrastructure necessary to

successfully implement its ambitious, world-class modernization; and

(3) lacked an overall systems architecture, or blueprint, to guide the

modernization’s development and evolution.4

 At that time, we made over a

dozen recommendations to the IRS Commissioner to address these

weaknesses.

Pursuant to subsequent congressional direction, we assessed IRS’ actions

to correct its management and technical weaknesses. We reported in June

and September 1996 that IRS had initiated many activities to improve its

modernization efforts but had not yet fully implemented any of our

recommendations.5

 We also suggested to Congress that it consider limiting

modernization funding exclusively to cost-effective efforts that (1) support

ongoing operations and maintenance; (2) correct IRS’ pervasive

management and technical weaknesses; (3) are small, represent low

technical risk, and can be delivered quickly; and (4) involve deploying

already developed and fully tested systems that have proven business

4

Tax Systems Modernization: Management and Technical Weaknesses Must Be Corrected If

Modernization Is to Succeed (GAO/AIMD-95-156, July 26, 1995).

5

Tax Systems Modernization: Actions Underway But IRS Has Not Yet Corrected Management and

Technical Weaknesses (GAO/AIMD-96-106, June 7, 1996); and Tax Systems Modernization: Actions

Underway But Management and Technical Weaknesses Not Yet Corrected (GAO/T-AIMD-95-165, Sept.

10, 1996).

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IRS Management: Improvement Needed in

High-Risk Areas

value and are not premature given the lack of a completed systems

architecture.

IRS has taken steps to address our recommendations and respond to

congressional direction. For example, IRS hired a new Chief Information

Officer. It also created an investment review board to select, control, and

evaluate its information technology investments. Thus far, the board has

reevaluated and terminated several major modernization development

projects that were not found to be cost-effective. In addition, IRS has

developed a plan for shifting modernization development and deployment

to outside contractors. IRS reports that the percentage of contractor

employees, as opposed to IRS employees, working on tax systems

modernization has increased from 40 to 64 percent over the last 2 years.

IRS is also finalizing a comprehensive strategy to maximize electronic

filing. It is also updating its system development life-cycle methodology

and is working across various IRS organizations to define disciplined

processes for software requirements management, quality assurance,

configuration management, and project planning and tracking.

Additionally, IRS is developing a systems architecture and project

sequencing plan for the modernization and intends to provide this to

Congress by May 15, 1997.

Although we recognize IRS’ actions, we remain concerned because much

remains to be done to fully implement essential improvements. Increasing

the use of contractors, for example, will not automatically increase the

likelihood of successful modernization because IRS does not have the

technical capability needed to manage all of its current contractors. To

successfully implement the essential improvements, IRS must also

continue to make a concerted, sustained effort to fully implement our

recommendations and respond effectively to the requirements outlined by

Congress. It will take both management commitment and technical

discipline for IRS to accomplish these tasks.

Furthermore, despite persisting weaknesses in both software development

and acquisition capabilities, IRS continues to request hundreds of millions

of dollars for systems modernization efforts. Specifically, in its fiscal year

1998 budget request, IRS is seeking $131 million for system development

initiatives. However, the request does not include a credible, verifiable

justification and states that IRS does not know how it plans to spend these

funds because its modernization architecture and deployment plan have

not yet been completed. In addition, the Administration is proposing to

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IRS Management: Improvement Needed in

High-Risk Areas

establish an Information Technology Investments Account to fund future

modernization investments at IRS. It is seeking $500 million in each of the

next two fiscal years ($1 billion in total) for “yet-to-be-specified”

modernization efforts. This request is also not based on analytical data or

derived using formal cost estimating techniques. Accordingly, Congress

should consider not funding either the $131 million request for system

development or the $1 billion capital account until the management and

technical weaknesses in IRS’ modernization program are resolved and

justifications completed.

Financial Management Our audits of IRS’ financial statements have outlined the substantial

improvements needed in IRS’ accounting and reporting in order for IRS to

comply fully with the requirements of the Chief Financial Officers Act of

1990 (CFO Act). The audits for fiscal years 1992 through 1995 have

described IRS’ difficulties in (1) properly accounting for its tax revenues,

in total and by reported type of tax; (2) reliably determining the amount of

accounts receivable owed for unpaid taxes; (3) regularly reconciling its

Fund Balance With Treasury accounts; and (4) either routinely providing

support for receipt of the goods and services it purchases or, where

supported, accurately recording the purchased item in the proper period.

IRS has made progress in addressing problems in these areas and has

developed an action plan, with specific timetables and deliverables, to

address the issues our financial statement audits have identified. In the

administrative accounting area, for example, IRS reported that it has

identified substantially all of the reconciling items for its Fund Balance

With Treasury accounts, except for certain amounts IRS has deemed not

to be cost-beneficial to research further. It also has successfully

transferred its payroll processing to the Department of Agriculture’s

National Finance Center and has begun designing both a short-term and a

long-term strategy to fix the problems that contribute to its nonpayroll

expenses being unsupported or reported in the wrong period.

In the revenue accounting area, IRS’ problems are especially affected and

complicated by automated data processing systems that were

implemented many years ago and thus not designed to support the new

financial reporting requirements imposed by the CFO Act. Therefore, IRS

has designed an interim solution to capture the detailed support for

revenue and accounts receivable until longer term solutions can be

identified and implemented. Some of the longer term actions include

(1) implementing software, hardware, and procedural changes needed to

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IRS Management: Improvement Needed in

High-Risk Areas

create reliable subsidiary accounts receivable and revenue records that

are fully integrated with the general ledger; and (2) implementing software

changes that allow the detailed taxes reported to be maintained separately

from the results of compliance efforts that would not be valid financial

reporting transactions in the masterfile, other related revenue accounting

feeder systems, and the general ledger.

Over the past 4 years, we have made numerous recommendations to

improve IRS’ financial management systems and reporting, and IRS has

been working to position itself to have more reliable financial statements

for fiscal year 1997 and thereafter. To accomplish this, especially in

accounting for revenue and the related accounts receivables, IRS will need

to institute long-term solutions involving reprogramming software for IRS’

antiquated systems and developing new systems as required.

Follow-through to complete necessary corrective measures is essential if

IRS is to ensure that its corrective actions are carried out and effectively

solve its financial management problems. Solving these problems is

fundamental to providing reliable financial information and ensuring

taxpayers that the government can properly account for their federal tax

dollars. The accuracy of IRS’ financial statements is vital to both IRS and

Congress for (1) ensuring adequate accountability for IRS programs;

(2) assessing the impact of tax policies; and (3) measuring IRS’

performance and cost effectiveness in carrying out its numerous tax

enforcement, customer service, and collection activities.

Accounts Receivable IRS routinely collects over a trillion dollars annually in taxes, but many

taxpayers are unable or unwilling to pay their taxes when due. As a result,

IRS estimates that its accounts receivable amounts to tens of billions of

dollars. Unfortunately, IRS’ ability to effectively address its accounts

receivable problems is seriously hampered by its outdated equipment and

processes, a lack of the complete information needed to better target

collection efforts, and the absence of a comprehensive strategy and

detailed plan to address the systemic nature of the underlying problems.

IRS’ collection efforts have also been hampered by the age of the

delinquent tax accounts. Because of the outdated equipment and

processes used to match tax returns and related information documents, it

can take IRS several years to identify potential delinquencies and then

initiate collection actions. In addition, according to IRS, the 10 year

statutory collection period generally precludes it from writing off

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uncollectible receivables until that period has expired. As a result, the

receivables inventory includes many relatively old accounts that will never

be collected because the taxpayers are deceased or the companies

defunct.

This is not to say, however, that IRS has not been trying to overcome its

deficiencies. In the last 2 years, IRS has undertaken initiatives to correct

errors in its masterfile records of tax receivables, develop profiles of

delinquent taxpayers, and study the effectiveness of various collection

techniques. It has also streamlined its collection process, placed additional

emphasis on contacting repeat delinquents, made its collection notices

more readable, and targeted compliance-generated delinquencies for

earlier intervention.

IRS reported that as a result of taking these actions, its collection

employees took in more money in 1996 than they classified as “currently

not collectible” and that the amount of money collected immediately

following the revision of its collection notices increased by almost 25

percent over a comparable period in 1995. In addition, IRS reported

collecting more in delinquent taxes in fiscal year 1996 than it ever has,

almost $30 billion.

Despite these positive results, IRS needs to continue the development of

information databases and performance measures to afford its managers

the data needed to determine which actions or improvements generate the

desired changes in IRS’ programs and operations. And, this should not be

looked upon as a short-term commitment. It will still take IRS a number of

years to identify the root causes of delinquencies and to develop, test, and

implement courses of action to deal with the causes. Furthermore, once

the analyses and planning are completed, it will still be some time before

full results of the new initiatives are realized.

Therefore, IRS must take deliberate action to ensure that its

problem-solving efforts are on the right track. Specifically, it needs to

implement a comprehensive strategy that involves all aspects of IRS’

operations and that sets priorities; accelerates the modernization of

outdated equipment and processes; and establishes realistic goals, specific

timetables, and a system to measure progress.

Filing Fraud When we first identified filing fraud as a high-risk area in February 1995,

the amount of filing fraud being detected by IRS was on an upward spiral.

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Since then, IRS has introduced new controls and expanded existing

controls in an attempt to reduce its exposure to filing fraud. Those

controls are directed toward either (1) preventing the filing of fraudulent

returns or (2) identifying questionable returns after they have been filed.

To deter the filing of fraudulent returns, IRS (1) expanded the number of

up-front filters in the electronic filing system designed to screen electronic

submissions for selected problems in order to prevent returns with those

problems from being filed electronically and (2) strengthened the process

for checking the suitability of persons applying to participate in the

electronic filing program as return preparers or transmitters by requiring

fingerprint and credit checks.

To better identify fraudulent returns once they have been filed, IRS placed

an increased emphasis in 1995 on validating Social Security Numbers

(SSN) on filed paper returns and delayed any related refunds to allow staff

time to do those validations and to check for possible fraud. IRS also

revised the computerized formulas it used to score all tax returns on their

fraud potential and upgraded the research capabilities of its fraud

detection staff.

IRS’ efforts produced some positive results. For example, the number of

SSN problems identified by the electronic filing filters quadrupled between

1994 and 1995, and about 350 persons who applied to participate in the

electronic filing program for 1995 were rejected because they failed the

new fingerprint and credit checks. IRS’ efforts to validate SSNs on paper

returns produced over $800 million in reduced refunds or additional taxes.

Unfortunately, IRS identified many more SSN problems than it was able to

deal with and released about 2 million refunds without resolving the

problems.

IRS identified over 65 percent fewer fraudulent returns in 1996 than during

a comparable period in 1995. IRS believes this decrease is attributable to a

31-percent reduction in its fraud detection staff and the resulting

underutilization of its Electronic Fraud Detection System, which enhances

the identification of fraudulent returns and lessens the probability of

improperly deleting accurate refunds. However, IRS does not have the

information it needs to (1) verify that the decline was the result of staff

reductions or (2) determine the extent to which the downward trend may

have been affected by changes in the program’s operating and reporting

procedures or by a general decline in the incidence of fraud.

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High-Risk Areas

Given the decrease in fraud detection staff, it is critically important for IRS

to (1) optimize the electronic controls that are intended to prevent the

filing of fraudulent returns and (2) maximize the effectiveness of available

staff. Modernization is the key to achieving these objectives, and

electronic filing is the cornerstone of that modernization. Officials at the

Department of the Treasury estimate that 19.2 million Americans will file

their returns electronically in 1997, a 63-percent increase over the number

who filed electronically in 1995. But even at this rate of increase, IRS will

fall far short of its goal to have 80 million electronically filed returns in

2001. To achieve its goal, IRS must first identify those groups of taxpayers

who offer the greatest opportunity to reduce IRS’ paper-processing

workload and operating costs if they were to file electronically. IRS must

then develop strategies that focus its resources on eliminating or lessening

impediments that inhibit those groups from participating in the program.

Information Security Malicious attacks on computer systems are an increasing threat to our

national welfare. The federal government now relies heavily on

interconnected systems to control critical functions that, if compromised,

place billions of dollars worth of assets at risk of loss and vast amounts of

sensitive data at risk of unauthorized disclosure. Increasing reliance on

networked systems and electronic records has elevated our concerns

about the possibility of serious disruption to critical federal operations.

As a result of our recent work at IRS, we believe that the vulnerabilities of

IRS’ computer systems may affect the confidentiality and accuracy of

taxpayer data and may allow unauthorized access, modification, or

destruction of taxpayer information by IRS employees.6

 The overriding

problem at IRS is that information security issues are addressed on a

reactive basis. IRS does not have a proactive, independent information

security group that systematically reviews the adequacy and consistency

of security over IRS’ computer operations. In addition, computer security

management has not completed a formal risk assessment of its systems to

determine system sensitivity and vulnerability. As a result, IRS cannot

effectively prevent or detect unauthorized browsing of taxpayer

information by its employees and cannot ensure that taxpayer data is not

being improperly manipulated for personal gain.

IRS needs to address its information security weaknesses on a continuing

basis. More specifically, IRS needs to impress upon its senior managers

6

IRS Systems Security: Tax Processing Operations and Data Still at Risk Due to Serious Weaknesses,

(GAO/T-AIMD-97-76, Apr. 10, 1997); and IRS Systems Security: Tax Processing Operations and Data

Still at Risk Due to Serious Weaknesses, (GAO/AIMD-97-49, Apr. 8, 1997).

Page 8 GAO/T-GGD-97-79
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IRS Management: Improvement Needed in

High-Risk Areas

the need to conduct regular systematic security reviews and risk

assessments of IRS’ computer systems and operations. The weaknesses

identified by these reviews and assessments then need to be corrected

expeditiously by personnel who have the technical expertise to effectively

implement, manage, and monitor the necessary security controls and

measures.

The Year 2000 Problem For the past several decades, computer systems have used two digits to

represent the year, such as “97” for 1997, in order to conserve electronic

data storage and reduce operating costs. In this format, however, the year

2000 is indistinguishable from the year 1900 because both are represented

as “00.” As a result, if not modified, computer systems and applications

that use dates or perform date- or time-sensitive calculations may generate

incorrect results beyond 1999.

For IRS, such a disruption of functions and services could jeopardize all of

its tax processing systems and administration and could result in millions

of erroneous tax notices, refunds, and bills. It could effectively halt the

processing of tax return and return-related information, the maintenance

of taxpayer account information, the assessment and collection of taxes,

the recording of obligations and expenditures, and the disbursement of

refunds. At the very least, IRS’ core business functions and mission-critical

processes are at risk of failure, as are numerous other administrative and

management processes.

To avoid the crippling effects of a multitude of computer systems

simultaneously producing inaccurate and unreliable information, IRS’

Chief Information Officer has established a year 2000 project office with

responsibility for assessing, converting, and testing IRS’ computer

systems. The project office is analyzing the potential impact of such a

systems failure and is developing appropriate renovation strategies and

contingency plans for its critical systems. However, at this point most of

the project office’s efforts are being directed at IRS’ large, mainframe

computer systems while greater numbers of personal and portable

computers are being largely ignored. Modifying IRS’ critical computer

systems, converting and testing software applications, and acquiring

additional hardware for expected capacity increases are massive

undertakings whose success or failure will, in large part, be determined by

the quality of IRS’ executive leadership and program management.

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IRS Management: Improvement Needed in

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A Comprehensive

Implementation

Strategy

IRS cannot hope to resolve the problems in its high-risk areas without a

detailed business plan and a comprehensive implementation strategy. For

example, a principal goal of IRS’ business vision is to reduce the number

of paper tax returns it must process by significantly increasing, by 2001,

the number of electronically filed tax returns. Our analysis of recent filing

trends indicates that IRS will fall far short of its goal because its electronic

filing strategy has targeted a limited portion of the taxpaying

population—those who use a third party to prepare and/or transmit simple

returns, are willing to pay a fee to file their returns electronically, and are

expecting refunds. Taxpayers who prepare their own tax returns using

personal computers, have more complicated returns, and/or owe tax

balances have been largely overlooked. IRS needs to better target its

efforts on reducing the cost to taxpayers of filing electronically and on

eliminating the impediments that discourage electronic filing by those

taxpayers who offer the greatest opportunity to reduce IRS’ paper

processing workload and processing costs.

In addition, IRS’ efforts to improve customer service and increase

taxpayer compliance depend in large measure on increasing the use of its

information systems. Not only do customer representatives need easy

access to the information necessary to answer taxpayers’ questions, but

enforcement staff also need timely access to reliable information to do

their jobs. However, IRS has not identified all the data elements that

customer service and enforcement staff need, nor has it fully defined the

business requirements for the systems that will provide this timely access

to greater amounts of on-line taxpayer data. It also does not have a

cost-effective strategy for accessing the needed data.

Summary Outlook For years, IRS has struggled to collect the nation’s tax revenue using

outdated processes and technology. The result has often been inefficient

and ineffective programs and operations that are vulnerable to waste,

fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. Of particular concern to us have been

IRS’ efforts to modernize its tax systems, manage its administrative and

revenue accounting systems, identify and collect taxes owed the

government, detect and prevent the filing of fraudulent tax returns, protect

the confidentiality of taxpayer information, and prevent the future

disruption of tax services due to the year 2000 computer problem.

In recent years, Congress has put into place a statutory framework that

can assist IRS in resolving the operational and technological problems it

faces. This framework includes the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990,

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the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), and the

Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996. These acts require congressional and executive

branch decisionmakers to (1) clearly articulate their agencies’ missions

and the results-oriented performance goals that measure their success in

carrying their missions; (2) establish a detailed business plan or

comprehensive implementation strategy to meet their performance goals;

and (3) develop and use accurate, reliable, and timely program

performance and cost data to evaluate their progress in achieving their

performance goals.

In addition, GPRA requires each agency to consult with Congress and to

consider Congress’ views and the views of other stakeholders when

developing its strategic plan. For IRS, these consultations provide an

important opportunity for Congress, IRS, and the Department of the

Treasury to work together to ensure that IRS’ mission is focused, its goals

are specific and results oriented, and its implementation strategies and

funding expectations are appropriate and reasonable.

In order to resolve the problems in its high-risk areas, IRS needs, at a

minimum, an implementation strategy that includes both performing

cost-benefit analyses and developing reasonable estimates of the extent,

time frames, and resources required to correct its high-risk vulnerabilities.

IRS also needs to develop performance measures that will allow its

managers, Congress, and us to track its progress. And, above all, IRS

management needs to sustain an agencywide commitment to solving the

agency’s high-risk problems.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. We will be glad to

answer any questions that you or the Members of the Subcommittee may

have.

Page 11 GAO/T-GGD-97-79
Appendix I 

Related GAO Products

Tax Systems

Modernization

Tax Systems Modernization: Actions Underway But Management and

Technical Weaknesses Not Yet Corrected (GAO/T-AIMD-96-165, Sept. 10, 1996).

IRS Operations: Critical Need to Continue Improving Core Business

Practices (GAO/T-AIMD-96-188, Sept. 10, 1996).

Internal Revenue Service: Business Operations Need Continued

Improvement (GAO/AIMD/GGD-96-152, Sept. 9, 1996).

Tax Systems Modernization: Cyberfile Project Was Poorly Planned and

Managed (GAO/AIMD-96-140, Aug. 29, 1996).

Tax Systems Modernization: Actions Underway But IRS Has Not Yet

Corrected Management and Technical Weaknesses (GAO/AIMD-96-106, June 7,

1996).

Security Weaknesses at IRS’ Cyberfile Data Center (GAO/AIMD-96-85R, May 9,

1996).

Tax Systems Modernization: Management and Technical Weaknesses Must

Be Overcome to Achieve Success (GAO/T-AIMD-96-75, Mar. 26, 1996).

Tax Systems Modernization: Management and Technical Weaknesses Must

Be Corrected If Modernization Is to Succeed (GAO/AIMD-95-156, July 26, 1995).

Financial Management Financial Management: Challenges Facing the IRS (GAO/T-AIMD-97-34, Jan. 9,

1997).

IRS Financial Audits: Status of Efforts to Resolve Financial Management

Weaknesses (GAO/T-AIMD-96-170, Sept. 19, 1996).

Financial Audit: Examination of IRS’ Fiscal Year 1995 Financial

Statements (GAO/AIMD-96-101, July 11, 1996).

Financial Audit: Actions Needed to Improve IRS Financial Management

(GAO/T-AIMD-96-96, June 6, 1996).

IRS Operations: Significant Challenges in Financial Management and

Systems Modernization (GAO/T-AIMD-96-56, Mar. 6, 1996).

Page 12 GAO/T-GGD-97-79
Appendix I 

Related GAO Products

Financial Audit: Examination of IRS’ Fiscal Year 1994 Financial

Statements (GAO/AIMD-95-141, Aug. 4, 1995).

Financial Audit: Examination of IRS’ Fiscal Year 1993 Financial

Statements (GAO/AIMD-94-120, June 15, 1994).

Financial Audit: Examination of IRS’ Fiscal Year 1992 Financial

Statements (GAO/AIMD-93-2, June 30, 1993).

Accounts Receivable IRS Tax Collection Reengineering (GAO/GGD-96-161R, Sept. 24, 1996).

Tax Administration: Tax Compliance of Nonwage Earners (GAO/GGD-96-165,

Aug. 28, 1996).

Managing IRS: IRS Needs to Continue Improving Operations and Service

(GAO/T-GGD/AIMD-96-170, July 29, 1996).

Financial Audit: Examination of IRS’ Fiscal Year 1995 Financial

Statements (GAO/AIMD-96-101, July 11, 1996).

Tax Research: IRS Has Made Progress But Major Challenges Remain

(GAO/GGD-96-109, June 5, 1996).

Tax Administration: IRS Tax Debt Collection Practices (GAO/T-GGD-96-112,

Apr. 25, 1996).

Tax Administration: IRS’ Fiscal Year 1996 and 1997 Budget Issues and the

1996 Filing Season (GAO/T-GGD-96-99, Mar. 28, 1996).

Status of Tax Systems Modernization, Tax Delinquencies, and the

Potential for Return-Free Filing (GAO/T-GGD/AIMD-96-88, Mar. 14, 1996).

Financial Audit: Examination of IRS’ Fiscal Year 1994 Financial

Statements (GAO/AIMD-95-141, Aug. 4, 1995).

Taxpayer Compliance: Reducing the Income Tax Gap (GAO/T-GGD-95-176,

June 6, 1995).

Reducing the Tax Gap: Results of a GAO-Sponsored Symposium

(GAO/GGD-95-157, June 2, 1995).

Page 13 GAO/T-GGD-97-79
Appendix I 

Related GAO Products

Tax Administration: Administrative Improvements Possible in IRS’

Installment Agreement Program (GAO/GGD-95-137, May 2, 1995).

High-Risk Series: Internal Revenue Service Receivables (GAO/HR-95-6,

Feb. 1995).

Tax Administration: Tax Compliance Initiatives and Delinquent Taxes

(GAO/T-GGD-95-74, Feb. 1, 1995).

Tax Administration: Changes Needed to Reduce Volume and Improve

Processing of Undeliverable Mail (GAO/GGD-95-44, Dec. 7, 1994).

Financial Audit: Examination of IRS’ Fiscal Year 1993 Financial

Statements (GAO/AIMD-94-120, June 15, 1994).

Filing Fraud Earned Income Credit: IRS’ 1995 Controls Stopped Some Noncompliance,

But Not Without Problems (GAO/GGD-96-172, Sept. 18, 1996).

IRS Efforts to Control Fraud (GAO/GGD-96-96R, Mar. 25, 1996).

The 1995 Tax Filing Season: IRS Performance Indicators Provide

Incomplete Information About Some Problems (GAO/GGD-96-48, Dec. 29,

1995).

Tax Administration: Electronic Filing Falling Short of Expectations

(GAO/GGD-96-12, Oct. 31, 1995).

Tax Administration: Continuing Problems Affect Otherwise Successful

1994 Filing Season (GAO/GGD-95-5, Oct. 7, 1994).

Tax Administration: Electronic Filing Fraud (GAO/T-GGD-94-89, Feb. 10, 1994).

Tax Administration: Increased Fraud and Poor Taxpayer Access to IRS

Cloud 1993 Filing Season (GAO/GGD-94-65, Dec. 22, 1993).

Tax Administration: IRS Can Improve Controls Over Electronic Filing

Fraud (GAO/GGD-93-27, Dec. 30, 1992).

Information Security Financial Audit: Examination of IRS’ Fiscal Year 1995 Financial

Statements (GAO/AIMD-96-101, July 11, 1996).

Page 14 GAO/T-GGD-97-79
Appendix I 

Related GAO Products

Security Weaknesses at IRS’ Cyberfile Data Center (GAO/AIMD-96-85R, May 9,

1996).

IRS Information Systems: Weaknesses Increase Risk of Fraud and Impair

Reliability of Management Information (GAO/AIMD-93-34, Sept. 22, 1993).

(268795) Page 15 GAO/T-GGD-97-79
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