Become familiar with audit process.

Attend opening and closing audit conferences and stay involved in the audit process.

Assume a proactive approach with oversight of the program in their functional areas.

Reach agreement on early alerts and discussion drafts.

Identify and help coordinate cross-functional issues outside their functional areas.

Review responses to draft audit reports before signature by Commissioners/Deputy Commissioners.

Provide oversight of the audit process.

Be the initial point of contact for GAO/TIGTA research projects and audit notifications.

Be the liaison between management and GAO/TIGTA on resolution of problems encountered during the course of the audits.

Provide guidance to the business units and other functional areas on the audit process.

Identify audit stakeholders and assign audits as appropriate.

Issue memoranda transmitting audit notification letters and draft/final audit reports to the appropriate offices.

Review management responses to audit reports.

Monitoring the audits to make sure the responses are sent in a timely fashion.

Schedule and coordinate GAO opening and exit conferences.

Responsible for delivering signed agency response to GAO and mailing 60-day response to Congress.

Become familiar with programs and high-risk issues covered in audit reports.

Attend opening and closing audit conferences and stay involved in the audit process.

Answer auditors' inquiries and provide documents as requested during the course of the audit.

Identify opportunities to address or clarify issues before the audit is completed.

Stay in touch with the auditors during the course of the audit to ensure the audit is progressing smoothly and request immediate alerts from auditors on any important findings.

Reach agreement on early alerts and discussion drafts.

Prepare responses to audit reports and review for accuracy comments and statistical/financial data provided.

Ensure timely responses to audit reports; develop as much of the response as possible during the course of the audit to ensure the due date is met.

Identify and coordinate cross-functional issues within and outside their functional areas during the audit process to ensure adequate coordination in developing the responses to the audit reports.

Develop realistic corrective action plans for audit recommendations, including setting realistic completion dates.

Provide periodic status updates on the progress of open audits to the Audit Liaison.

Bring audit concerns to the attention of the Audit Liaison and to the appropriate executives.

Identify a contact within the office for each audit to coordinate the audit.

The Office of Management Controls administers the Service's Internal Management Control Program for the Chief Financial Officer who is Treasury's designated Bureau Internal Control Officer (BICO). The Office ensures compliance with the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (FMFIA), the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA), GAO Standards for Internal Controls, the CFO Act, and relevant OMB Circulars, and Treasury Directives.

The Office of Management Controls servers as the liaison between IRS operational components and the Treasury Department in implementing the IRS Management Control Program. Besides the duties listed below, the Office of Management Controls develops and issues IRM program directives, maintains a web site devoted to the program, and conducts periodic conferences and training classes throughout the year for functional program coordinators.

The GAO/TIGTA Liaison/Representative is responsible for managing and coordinating with pertinent functional areas along with the Office of Legislative Affairs, the open audit inventory from the General Accountability Office (GAO) and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) audits or research projects. The liaison/representative will:

To notify the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of a new audit, General Accountability Office (GAO) issues a letter addressed to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue from the GAO Director of Tax Issues, regardless of which GAO team will do the audit work. The letter is known as the " engagement or notification letter" . The letter is sent electronically to the Office of Legislative Affairs, Legislation and Reports Branch, which has responsibility for the coordination of the GAO audit program.

The General Accountability Office (GAO) protocols provide that an agency will attempt to arrange for its personnel to be available for an opening conference no later than 14 calendar days after receiving a request for a meeting. An executive or his/her designee from the lead stakeholder organization must be present at the opening conference. At the opening conference, GAO outlines the scope of their audit, locations to be visited, anticipated date of completion, the names of auditors working on the job, and background information. Headquarters or local office work should not begin until the opening conference has occurred.

According to its protocol, General Accountability Office (GAO) notifies the IRS regarding subsequent activity on an open audit (i.e., expansion of audit sites, access to taxpayer information, and change in scope, or closing of an audit prior to the issuance of a report).

Site visits take place after the opening conference. General Accountability Office (GAO) auditors who have been authorized to have access to tax information are listed on one of two authorization lists -- "List of GAO Personnel Designated to Have Access to Returns and Return Information," and/or "List of GAO Employees Designated as Agents of the Joint Committee on Taxation, Senate Committee on Finance and/or the House Committee on Ways and Means Authorized to Have Access to Tax Return and Return Information. "

These lists are provided to the IRS semiannually, with monthly updates as necessary. The lists can be found on the IRS intranet at: http://www.hq.irs.gov/la. Once in the Office of Legislative Affairs Home Page, click on GAO/TIGTA located in the yellow dialog box on the left side of the page. Then click on -- "List of GAO Personnel Designated to Have Access to Returns and Return Information" . Both documents are under that listing.

If the auditor is not on the list, the GAO Business Unit liaison/representative will notify the Legislative Affairs Officer identified in the engagement letter immediately and must not allow access to tax information. If the audit is not tax return or return information-related, the auditor may proceed with the audit with proper government identification.

GAO sometimes contracts out audit services, and their contractors accompany them at local sites. In this instance, an IRS employee must accompany the group during the entire visit to ensure that the contractor is not allowed access to tax information.

As appropriate, after conducting work at a local site, General Accountability Office (GAO) staff will hold a closeout meeting with agency officials who are responsible for the operations of the local site(s). The purpose of the closeout meeting is to ensure that GAO staff has a full understanding of the information they have gathered at a local site and its relevance to the objectives in the engagement letter . At the closeout meeting, GAO staff may discuss the implications of the information gathered at that local site. Such discussions may identify additional relevant information and thus lead to further data gathering at the location. GAO’s preliminary conclusions or recommendations are not discussed at the closeout meeting.

An exit conference is held at the end of an audit to verify that all information gathered is accurate. The exit conference is normally held at IRS' Headquarters. This ends the information gathering phase. This is also an opportunity for both sides to review the findings, discuss and clarify issues, and come to consensus. However, no information or agreement is provided in writing. An executive or designee must be present at all exit conferences. After the exit conference is completed, GAO uses the information gathered to compile the draft report.

At the conclusion of the information gathering, General Accountability Office (GAO) produces a draft audit report and requests a formal IRS response on the GAO findings and recommendations. GAO forwards an electronic copy of the draft report and cover letter to the IRS GAO Program Manager and Program Support Staff. The cover letter specifies a date for GAO to receive the IRS response. The Office of Legislative Affairs cover memorandum will also indicate the date the response is due in the Commissioner’s office for review and signature. The response must be in the Commissioner’s office five days prior to the date the response is due to GAO. GAO determines the response due date which can be from 7 to 30 days, depending on the urgency surrounding the issuance of the report.

General Accountability Office (GAO) publishes the IRS’ response to the draft report in its final report (commonly called a " blue book" ). If the IRS’ response is not received on time, GAO issues the final report without it.

GAO final reports are delivered to the Office of Legislative Affairs for distribution. The GAO Program Support Staff will deliver final reports to the Headquarters office of the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioners, all Business Unit Heads of Office, the Business Unit GAO liaison/representative stakeholders, and the Office of Assistance and Review under the Chief Financial Officer.

If the GAO final report does not contain the IRS response letter, the GAO Program Support Staff will forward a copy of the response letter to the Office of Assistance and Review for the audit record.

If the final report contains recommendations to the IRS Commissioner, the Commissioner must submit an update on the planned corrective actions that address the recommendations, along with estimated completion dates. The updated statement is sent to the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, the House Committee on Government Reform, and the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, within 60 days of the report’s issuance date. This is called the 60-day letter. These letters are due in the Commissioner’s office five days prior to the date the response is due to the congressional committee office.

Sometimes a General Accountability Office (GAO) report is limited to internal and Congressional distribution because of its sensitivity. Examples are computer systems security, physical security, and compliance activities involving the Law Enforcement Manual (LEM). In these instances, GAO issues a Limited Official Use (LOU) report. These reports contain highly sensitive information and must be safeguarded in accordance with IRM Part 1.16.13, Information Protection, Minimum Protection Standards.

At the conclusion of their audit work, GAO classifies sensitive draft reports as LOUs. These draft reports are issued directly to the lead stakeholder for comment. The GAO Program Support Staff does not receive or distribute a copy of the report but is notified by GAO that a LOU report has been issued.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) sometimes engages in pre-audit activities that do not warrant a formal audit notification letter. These situations can include audit planning and research activities (surveys, information gathering, etc.), and integrity projects. In these instances, a TIGTA staff person sends an electronically addressed letter to the Director, Office of Legislative Affairs and to the TIGTA Program Manager. The E-mail indicates the audit number, the scope of the work and the anticipated time frames. The Office of Legislative Affairs will provide a copy of this electronically to the Business Unit. An example of a pre-audit notification electronically can be found at the Office of Legislative Affairs web site www.hq.irs.gov/la/. Once in the site, click on Audit Resource Center, then Open Program Audit Desk Guide, then Pre-Audit phase.

Legislative Affairs Officers and TIGTA liaisons/representatives and appropriate IRS officials must cooperate and provide TIGTA with requested information on pre-audit activities in the same manner as in a formal audit.

To notify the IRS of a new audit, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) electronically issues a memorandum addressed to the applicable Business Unit Head of Office from the Deputy Inspector General for Audit. The memorandum is known as the "engagement letter. " The engagement letter is also sent electronically to the TIGTA Program Manager and Support Staff, which has responsibility for the coordination of TIGTA audits within the IRS.

The opening conference includes appropriate stakeholders and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) auditors. It is imperative that an opening conference be promptly scheduled because TIGTA may begin local site work immediately after issuance of the engagement letter. An executive or his/her designee from the lead stakeholder organization must be present at the opening conference. The Legislative Affairs Officer must be notified of the scheduled opening conference, in the event that it is necessary for an analyst to participate.

At the opening conference, TIGTA provides the scope of their audit, locations to be visited, anticipated date of completion, the name of the auditors working on the review, and background information.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) may conduct local site visits after the issuance of the engagement letter. TIGTA auditors have authorized access to returns and return information as defined in 26 U.S.C. 6103(b). TIGTA personnel are authorized access to all facilities, the Oversight Board, and the Office of Chief Counsel (including computer facilities, computer rooms, electronic database and files, electronic and paper records, reports and records, as well as other material that pertains to the IRS programs and operations). See Treasury Order 115-01 on TIGTA’s web site at http://www.ustreas.gov/tigta/.

At the conclusion of local site work, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and the IRS may hold an informal closeout meeting. The purpose of the closeout meeting is to obtain local management input to the impending draft report and to obtain agreement to the facts.

After the closeout meeting or conclusion of local site work, whichever is applicable, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) usually prepares a Statement of Facts/Exit Point Sheet report summarizing the audit findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Statement of Facts/Exit Point Sheets must be shared by the lead stakeholder TIGTA Liaison/Representative with the Legislative Affairs Officer.

An exit conference may be held at the end of an audit to verify that all information gathered is accurate. The exit conference includes all IRS stakeholders and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The TIGTA audit staff discusses with IRS management the audit results, conclusions, recommendations and outcome measures.

At the conclusion of the exit conference, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) finalizes the Statement of Facts/Exit Point Sheet and prepares a formal draft report and requests a formal IRS response on the TIGTA findings and recommendations. The draft report and cover letter are forwarded electronically to the IRS TIGTA Program Manager and Support Staff. The cover letter gives a specified date for TIGTA to receive the IRS response. The IRS Commissioner and/or the lead stakeholder Business Unit Head of Office is requested to respond to the draft report within 30 calendar days. However, a shorter period may be set under certain circumstances, as determined by TIGTA.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) electronically forwards the final report to Office of Legislative Affairs for distribution. Normally, there is no additional IRS response needed to a TIGTA final report.

If TIGTA does not agree with any portion of the IRS response to their draft report, the final report will reflect the basis for disagreement. If there is significant disagreement with the IRS response, TIGTA will issue a memorandum to the Commissioner requesting a written reply to the Treasury Deputy Secretary, outlining the IRS's reasons for the lack of agreement on the report’s findings and recommendations. In these instances, Office of Legislative Affairs will issue a memorandum providing guidance.

Sometimes a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) report is limited to internal distribution because of its sensitivity. Examples are computer systems security, physical security, and compliance activities involving the Law Enforcement Manual (LEM). In these instances, TIGTA issues a Limited Official Use (LOU) report. These reports contain highly sensitive information and must be safeguarded in accordance with IRM Part 1.16.13, Information Protection, Minimum Protection Standards.

At the conclusion of their audit work, TIGTA classifies sensitive draft reports as LOUs. These draft reports are issued directly to the lead stakeholder for comment. The Office of Legislative Affairs does not receive or distribute a copy of the report but is notified of their issuance by electronically by TIGTA.

TIGTA includes the IRS response in the LOU final report. TIGTA delivers these reports directly to the IRS Commissioner and IRS stakeholders involved in the audit. Office of Legislative Affairs does not receive a copy of the response. The audit is considered closed once the final report is received.

Treasury Order 115-01 provides that, in the course of their official duties, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) personnel are authorized access to: Returns and return information as defined in 26 U.S.C. 6103(b); all IRS facilities, the IRS Oversight Board, and the IRS Office of Chief Counsel (including computer facilities, computer rooms, electronic database and files, electronic and paper records, reports and records, as well as other material that pertains to the IRS programs and operations). In addition, TIGTA personnel shall have access to similar facilities throughout the Treasury Department for matters within the jurisdiction of the TIGTA. See http://www.ustreas.gov/tigta/.

The Treasury order covers all pre-audit activity and formal audits initiated by an engagement letter.

Legislative Affairs Officers, TIGTA liaisons/representatives, and appropriate IRS officials must cooperate with TIGTA once the TIGTA auditor shows proper identification. If the TIGTA liaison/representative has questions regarding TIGTA’s presence, the liaison/ representative will consult with the Legislative Affairs Officer for resolution.