Collections went up 20 percent and the IRS completed investigations more quickly and made trust fund penalty determinations faster in fiscal 2011 than in fiscal 2009 despite having fewer revenue officers, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has said.
In praising the agency’s performance over that period TIGTA also identified ways that the collection program could enhance how it monitors, measures, and reports its accomplishments.
For example it said the agency could integrate customer and employee satisfaction and business results into all performance reports to help hold managers and staff accountable for and focused on balancing service to taxpayers with enforcing the tax laws.
The IG said linking the collection program’s performance measures at the operational level to a specific operational objective and to one or more of the IRS’s strategic goals could help program managers see how daily efforts add up.
It also suggested implementing meaningful performance targets for each of the operational-level measures and recommended that the IRS ensure that customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction measures are included in all performance reports.
Management reportedly agreed with the assessment and plans to include customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction in all performance reports and plans to assess the need for new measures or changes to existing measures to ensure proper alignment with operational goals.
