The IRS has made progress in addressing recommendations of a 2013 audit finding shortcomings in its continuity of operations planning, which paid off in three recent incidents–including a fire in one building, a flood at another and testing for environmental hazards at a third–that had the potential to disrupt operations, and IG report has said.
“For all three incidents, the IRS implemented its continuity plans and was able to resume business operations promptly,” it added.
Continuity of operations is a concern at all agencies but a special one at the IRS since work disruptions there could “have a negative impact on the nation’s economy as well as taxpayer data and compliance,” said the report.
It said that in response to the earlier audit, the IRS updated its continuity planning and procedures, improved training and exercises, prepared previously missing continuity plans, and issued procedures for monitoring continuity training, among other steps. Remaining problems disclosed in the latest audit included that some training was not completed timely, and that some employees who were no longer active in continuity program duties were included in calculations used to monitor the program’s effectiveness.