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
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