IG Report Claims Tax Exempt Division's Inadequate Management Cost $40 million in Potential Savings

In a sharply worded December 11, 2007 report, the Treasury Department Inspector General claims that inadequate management and inefficient use of resources within the Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Division will cost taxpayers nearly $40 million in expected savings.  Here is an excerpt:

The cost of TEDS Release 2 may exceed the reduced monetary benefits delivered

TEDS Release 2 may be completed with significantly reduced system capabilities and benefits.The June 2004 TEDS Release 2 Business Case documented 16 high-level system capabilities costing $46 million that would deliver benefits of $58 million. This Business Case was updated in August 2004 to document estimated benefits of $73.1 million. However, after work began on Release 2, the TE/GE Division project team incurred delays in delivering benefits (e.g., 4 system capabilities were deleted, some system capabilities have been only partially delivered, and 5 system capabilities have been delayed by up to 2 years). An additional 8 capabilities were added, but the February 2007 TEDS Release 2 Business Case documents the System is now expected to deliver only $33.5 million (less than one-half) of the $73.1 million August 2004 expected benefits.

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