Sixty-Four Percent of the Internal Revenue Service’s Information Technology Hardware Infrastructure Is Beyond Its Useful Life

The Chief Information Officer should conduct additional coordination with the Chief Financial Officer and other business unit executives to identify the availability of additional transfers, reprogramming, and possible carryover funds earlier in the process to maximize their use and develop plans to expeditiously spend any surplus funds that might become available to aid in meeting the IRS's objective of reducing its aged information technology hardware infrastructure. To further assist in this objective, continue working with the Department of the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget to request expanded flexibility, such as transfer authority between appropriations, and higher reprogramming and multiyear authority. Absent consideration of other higher IRS spending priorities, a greater percentage of the unused funds should be spent in current or subsequent fiscal years for the purpose of replacing critical information technology hardware instead of allowing 50 percent of the unspent funds to expire at fiscal year-end.

The Chief Information Officer should Implement systemic controls to prevent erroneous incident ticket time entries to the Knowledge Incident/Problem Service Asset Management system for which the incident stop time is earlier than the incident start time.

The Chief Information Officer should develop a comprehensive guidance document that details the IRS's enterprise-wide processes, policies, and procedures as well as roles and responsibilities to effectively manage the IRS's aged information technology hardware.