Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : IRS Flunks an Audit--but It Has Excuse

The General Accounting Office, in its first-ever audit of the Internal Revenue Service, found “fundamental deficiencies”--including double payment for some services--in IRS management of its $6.7-billion budget in 1992. According to the GAO, an arm of Congress, the IRS system for administering its own money was so bad that auditors were unable even to review 64% of the agency’s budget. However, the audit was performed while the IRS was in the midst of replacing its accounting system. “In some ways this is old news,” said IRS Chief Financial Officer Morgan Kinghorn. “We now have . . . (the new system) in place. It’s nearly 90% complete and it will, over time, eliminate every problem” cited by the GAO. The IRS is the nation’s largest revenue collector, expecting to process tax returns from 117 million Americans this year.