Financial Audit: Actions Needed to Improve IRS Financial Management

GAO discussed its financial audits of the Internal Revenue Service for fiscal years 1992 through 1995. GAO noted that: (1) IRS relied on alternative sources to obtain revenue totals by type of tax for its financial statements; (2) IRS financial statements include various discrepancies that cannot be explained because of weaknesses in IRS information and collection systems; (3) the validity of IRS accounts receivable and collectible accounts receivable can not be verified; (4) many uncollected compliance assessments and financial receivables are uncollectible; (5) IRS has been unable to accurately account and report its total inventory of accounts receivable; (6) while IRS has made some improvements in accounting and reporting on its operating costs, significant problems remain; (7) IRS can not confirm when and if goods and services were received; and (8) the accuracy of the IRS Fund Balance with Treasury accounts cannot be verified.