TAX NEWS - June 2010

Accenture Awarded Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Contract

Accenture has reportedly won a five-year contract to design, implement and operate the Return Preparer Registration (RPR) program for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The contract will include a one-year base period and four one-year options.

Although paying tax online is an attractive proposition for users, many do not take this option because of the security concerns. Now, with Accenture providing new, secure system for on-line registration and renewal, more users can be expected to use the online tax return facilities.

With the help of RPR program, IRS can regulate and improve the quality of the paid tax return preparer community by requiring registration and mandating competency level testing and annual continuing education requirements. According to IRS, better tracking and qualification of preparers will result in increased taxpayer compliance and more uniform ethical standards of conduct for preparers.

"The RPR program is really a win-win-win situation in which the IRS will gain the ability to identify and regulate paid tax preparers, tax payers will have better information about tax preparers before selecting one, and tax return professionals will be able to differentiate themselves in this competitive market," said Lisa M. Mascolo, managing director of Accenture's U.S. Federal client service group.

The services provided by Accenture to IRS include customer service operations that include a call center, payment processing and fee accounting, and marketing assistance. The RPR program will provide the IRS with more details about paid prefessionals and a method to better identify and regulate them. The paid professionals prepare almost 60 percent of all tax returns filed in the United States.

Recently, the company was selected by the University of Michigan to conduct its first-ever comprehensive assessment of information technology at the unit and campus levels. The assessment has been scheduled as part of the first phase of NextGen Michigan, a multi-year university-wide IT transformation effort. This assessment was created with the intention of developing an authoritative view of how IT is distributed and provided across the university.