Summary

In the three-year period ending September 1992, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) executives were relocated 122 times at a cost of $60,000 for each relocation. IRS procedures require consideration of lower cost alternatives for long-term travel associated with temporary duty assignments exceeding two months. GAO reviewed long-term travel assignments made at four IRS offices during fiscal year 1992. In these cases, officials who authorized the travel said that less costly alternatives were considered. GAO's sample of 67 meetings and conferences held at nongovernmental facilities during fiscal year 1992 showed that site selections generally met federal requirements. In 1993, IRS reviewed its procedures on selection of meeting and conference sites to restrict the use of nongovernmental facilities for these activities. The revisions responded to the Treasury Department Inspector General's conclusion that IRS was not adequately managing the selection of nongovernmental facilities for such activities. IRS has encouraged the use of modern technology to cut travel costs and estimated that IRS saved nearly $3 million in travel expenses from January to July 1993 by using videoconferencing. IRS officials said that IRS continues to assess its strategies to take advantage of emerging telecommunications technology.

GAO found that: (1) between 1990 and 1992, there were 122 IRS executive relocations, which cost about $60,000 each; (2) IRS executive assignments and relocation decisions are made by the IRS Commissioner to meet immediate management needs and to develop a qualified executives corps to fulfill future requirements; (3) IRS needs to consider lower-cost alternatives for long-term travel associated with temporary duty assignments exceeding 2 months; (4) IRS does not centrally track long-term travel data, and the authority to approve assignments is dispersed among many IRS units; (5) at the IRS offices reviewed, officials stated that they have considered less costly travel alternatives and complied with applicable federal regulations in selecting meeting and conference sites; (6) in response to Department of the Treasury criticism, IRS revised its procedures for selecting meeting and conference sites and restricted the use of nongovernmental facilities for conference activities; (7) IRS saved nearly $3 million in travel expenses in 1993 by using modern technologies, such as videoconferencing; and (8) IRS needs to continue to promote the use of modern technologies to reduce travel costs and assess its strategies to take full advantage of emerging telecommunications technologies.