United States Government Accountability Office GAO November 2004 Report to the Secretary of the Treasury _part3 doc

Management Discussion and Analysis Page 31 GAO-05-103 IRS’s Fiscal Years 2004 and 2003 Financial Statements INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE Management Discussion and Analysis For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2004 17 4. Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) Closure to Receipt Ratio Description: Measure of effectiveness in resolving at least the number of cases received in order to decrease TAS’ open inventory. The result is a division of the number of closed cases by the number of receipts. FY 2004 Performance: Target Achieved . The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) automated its process to request assistance from the IRS operating/functional divisions (O/FDs) in resolving taxpayers’ problems. The new procedure provides data to TAS and the O/FDs for tracking and analyzing such requests. Taxpayer Advocate Service Closure to Receipt Ratio Plan Actual 97.6% 108% 108% 100% 101% FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 Future Plans: For FY 2005, TAS will continue to have a closure to receipt ratio goal of 100%. To achieve this goal TAS will continue to closely monitor receipts and closures and to review case processing procedures. TAS plans to continue partnering with the Operating Divisions and functional units to reduce the number of systemic hardship cases received. TAS will also maintain and improve the service level agreements in anticipation of increases in receipts due to economic fluctuations, changes in tax laws, and the expected increases in compliance and enforcement activities. Telephone Services This is the relative success rate of taxpayers calling for assistance and seeking services from a Customer Service Representative. Part of the calculation of results for this measure includes the percentage of call attempts made by taxpayers compared to the number of calls answered by IRS. Toll-Free Customer Service Representative (CSR) Level of Service Description: Reported as a percentage, the relative success rate of taxpayers calling for assistance and seeking services from a Customer Service Representative (CSR). Factors used to arrive at the level of service include: callers selecting an automated application; callers receiving a busy signal; or callers abandoning while in queue waiting for an assistor. This is a new measure as of FY 2003. FY 2004 Performance: Target Achieved. An exceptional IRS filing season with increased productivity performance, as well as a reduction in calls received, yielded a higher assistor calls answered percentage. Toll-Free Customer Service Representative (CSR) Level of Service Plan Actual 56.4% 68% 80% 83% 87% FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 This is trial version www.adultpdf.com . Closure to Receipt Ratio Description: Measure of effectiveness in resolving at least the number of cases received in order to decrease TAS’ open inventory. The result is a division of the number of. compared to the number of calls answered by IRS. Toll-Free Customer Service Representative (CSR) Level of Service Description: Reported as a percentage, the relative success rate of taxpayers. 2003 FY 2004 Future Plans: For FY 2005, TAS will continue to have a closure to receipt ratio goal of 100%. To achieve this goal TAS will continue to closely monitor receipts and closures and to review