Open Recommendations

The Chief Procurement Officer, should ensure that contracting officers include language that requires vendors to fully address IPv6 compliance in requirement documents for acquisitions that will use internet protocol.

The Chief Information Officer should ensure that OneSDLC guidance provides specific policies and procedures to review and analyze artifacts during the independent verification and validation process.

The Chief Information Officer and the Chief, Direct File, should ensure that Direct File OneSDLC artifacts are completed and signed prior to future deployments.

The Chief Information Officer and the Chief, Direct File, should update existing MOUs to include security and technical details for managing the exchange of taxpayer data, and ensure the security and technical details are included in future agreements with participating States.

The Chief Information Officer and the Chief, Direct File, should ensure that the Direct File requirements repository contains traceability and automatic reporting capabilities.

The Chief Information Officer and the Chief, Direct File, should ensure that Direct File developers document their test plan with traceability to test types, test cases, and test results.

The Chief Information Officer and the Chief, Direct File, should standardize and document procedures on how to use the Direct File requirements repository for consistency and traceability among all users.

The Director, Collection Policy, SB/SE Division, should remind revenue officers of IRM procedures related to processing and documenting timely CDP hearings requests.

Remind revenue officers and managers on how to appropriately address installment agreements that are made solely to delay collection action.

Review each of the three case files to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted for failure to follow proper procedures, resulting in potential violations of taxpayer rights. Additionally, consider these errors when evaluating each employee’s performance in accordance with RRA 98 § 1204(b).

The Director, Collection Policy, SB/SE Division, should remind revenue officers of their obligation to comply with I.R.C. § 6103, ensuring that they follow the proper Oral Disclosure Consent procedures to prevent unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer return information and avoid any potential violation of a taxpayer’s rights under I.R.C. § 6103.

The Director, Field Collection, SB/SE Division, should refer ***1*** to the OPR based on the available facts, *********************************************************** **********************************************************************************************.

The Director, Collection Policy, SB/SE Division, should remind revenue officers that when they suspect practitioner misconduct, they are required to initiate a referral to the OPR.

The Chief, Taxpayer Services, should ensure that the seven violations of RRA 98 § 1204(a) identified by TIGTA are discussed with the responsible employees and their managers to ensure that they understand the guidelines related to the use of ROTERs.

The Chief, Taxpayer Services, should ensure that the six instances of self-assessment ROTER noncompliance are discussed with the responsible employees and their managers to ensure that they understand the prohibition of ROTER usage in self-assessments.

The Commissioner, LB&I Division, and the Chief, Taxpayer Services, should ensure that the 30 instances of noncompliance with RRA 98 § 1204(b) are discussed with the responsible managers to ensure that they understand the retention standard documentation requirements.

The Chief Human Capital Officer should ensure that the 28 instances of RRA 98 § 1204(c) noncompliance are discussed with the responsible managers to ensure that they understand the requirements of the Section 1204 certification process.

The Chief Human Capital Officer should create and implement a systemic fix to ensure that Section 1204 managers completing their quarterly certifications are automatically routed to the appropriate SharePoint page(s) when their responses necessitate additional information reporting about potential ROTER violations.

The Chief Human Capital Officer should perform an annual reconciliation to ensure that: 1) all Section 1204 employees assigned the yearly Section 1204 mandatory briefing are accounted for in the yearly Section 1204 population and 2) the entire Section 1204 population has been assigned the annual Section 1204 mandatory briefing.

Develop and implement formal procedures that monitor nondepository institution participants and address at-risk and unresolved collateral.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require FDOE, inconsultation with the Governor of Florida, to— Obtain a revised ARP EANS application from the 73 nonpublic schools thatused proportionality data (in whole or in part) to estimate its low-income student count and ensure that the schoolsinclude a revised low-income student count that is based on a proper data source. FDOE should use the revised countsto reassess the eligibility of the 73 schools and any EANS funds used to provide services to ineligible nonpublic schoolsmust be reverted to Florida’s Governor to be used for…

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require FDOE, inconsultation with the Governor of Florida, to— Formally document its expenditure review and approval procedures to guideFDOE personnel through the expenditure review and approval processes. The procedures should be designed to ensurecompliance with applicable requirements, including those pertaining to EANS in both CRRSA and ARP EANS as well asthe regulations at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (Uniform Guidance).

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require FDOE, inconsultation with the Governor of Florida, to— Retroactively obtain prior written approval from the Department for the 5equipment expenditures or return the $187,660 expended for those equipment purchases and perform a review of theremaining equipment expenditures to determine whether there are additional purchases that require prior written approval.FDOE should also incorporate into its grants management policies and procedures a step to determine whether it isrequired to obtain prior approval from the Department for certain expenditures related to any Department grants, orwhether it can provide…

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require FDOE, inconsultation with the Governor of Florida, to— Develop a process to track and periodically check on the use ofEANS-funded supply purchases with a unit cost under $5,000 to ensure that all supplies are accounted for and used forallowable purposes.

Develop a means of identifying and documenting acquisition-specific team members from the Program Offices, Division of Administration Acquisition Services Branch, Legal Division, and Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.