GAO review clears way for IRS accounting project
GAO review clears way for IRS accounting project
By Preeti Vasishtha
GCN Staff
MARCH 23—The General Accounting Office has given the IRS the green light to continue with its $150 million Custodial Accounting Project.
The IRS has justified its investment in CAP and has implemented management controls for integrating it into the agency's business systems modernization program, the GAO said in a report, IRS' Custodial Accounting Project, released yesterday.
The Senate and House subcommittees that oversee Treasury Department appropriations last September directed the IRS to limit further spending on CAP until it provided a compelling business case.
CAP, which the IRS plans to deploy in spring 2003, will provide a single data repository for taxpayer accounts and payments. It will automatically reconcile accounts and payments, post updates to the general ledger and produce revenue accounting reports.
The IRS expects to spend $150 million to acquire, operate and maintain the system over its 10-year life.
The GAO recommended the agency continue to produce cost-effectiveness analyses to justify system investments