FTA
21st ANNUAL
TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION
Papers and Presentations
Hyatt Regency • Columbus, Ohio • August 7-10, 2005
Schedule for Monday, August 8, 2005
8:30 a.m. –
9:45 a.m. General Session – Delaware
Introduction
Federation of Tax Administrators
Welcome to Ohio
William Wilkins, Tax Commissioner, Ohio Dept. of Taxation
Keynote - The Re-emergence of the Tax
Gap and Noncompliance Issues; the Pendulum is Swinging Back: How the States
are Reacting
Laurie McGrath, John Vranna and Paul Panariello, CGI-AMS
For those involved in tax administration for many years the recent spat of articles
and studies outlining a concern about the trend to higher levels of noncompliance
has a familiar ring. Tax administrators are constantly attempting to find the
right balance in their policies and practices to bring taxpayers into compliance;
yet do so in a manner that is not perceived as overly intrusive and heavy-handed.
This presentation would provide a historical perspective on the trends in non
compliance and discuss the many innovate initiatives states are undertaking
to improve compliance. The creative and effective use of technology investments
to support compliance inititiatives will also be outlined.
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
Modernizing the Neglected IT Department
Ted Hartley, Oklahoma
After the hard economic times many IT departments are struggling with how to
get up to speed with current technology. Management, budget, personnel, environment,
disaster recover and resource tracking have all been affected. How to get back
on track and keep things moving.
SESSION 2 Morrow
Latest Developments in Internet & IT Security Law
Ben Wright, Attorney At Law
As information technology and e-commerce become more deeply ingrained in our
personal and business lives, the law is changing.
Legal authorities are assigning accountability and liability in new ways. The
rules on data security are dramatically different today compared to just two
years ago. And rulings are emerging on how tax preparation software affects
taxpayer legal responsibility. Mr. Wright will survey developments, put them
in perspective and offer some suggestions for the future.
SESSION 3 Madison
Document Imaging and Data Harvesting
Eddie Whichard and Tony Pino, Bank of America
The purpose of the proposed presentation is to provide information related to
services available that are related to document processing and how those services
can improve tax processing. These services use traditional paper forms as input,
convert them to electronic images, provide a basis for extracting data from
the image, and facilitate quick retrieval of the document when review is needed.
Paper document storage and destruction services are also available depending
upon need.
Document Imaging - Review document receipt, preparation, scan/image, and document
inventory management.
Data Harvesting - Discuss form design and review how data can be extracted from
images by using technology, 1D and 2D barcode, ICR, OCR and, data key/verify.
Client Rules and Rule Repair - Discuss client rules used to identify data errors
and repair functionality.
Image Archive - Document images may be accumulated for long periods of time
and made available to concurrent users via the Web or other secure medium.
Document Disposition - Paper documents may be returned, destroyed, stored for
destruction, stored in semi-permanent archive for periodic recall.
SESSION 4 Marion
Compliance Data Warehousing – Moving Towards a Multi-State, Revenue
Agency Data Warehouse
Paul Panariello, Revenue Solutions
In today’s economy through advances in the internet, telecommunications,
package delivery and airline transportation, state borders have blurred. This
borderless society provides tax evaders a benefit to avoid full compliance with
state tax laws. Now, more than ever, revenue agencies must share data to fight
tax non-compliance. This presentation will introduce a new, thought provocative
concept – a tax clearinghouse – to assist revenue agencies in this
combat against non-resident tax evaders. The presentation will present the business
problem; evolution and current state of multi-state efforts; and, present a
proposed solution – a tax clearinghouse, its benefits and challenges.
A similar program in another government vertical will also be shown as a working
model. Working together, states will have a better chance at finding non-filers,
under-reporters and fraud, as well as, support collection initiatives –
taxpayer location, refund offsets, etc.
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
Case Study: IRS Tax Map - A New Subject-Based
Tax Law Research Tool
David Brown, IRS
IRS Tax Map is a new electronic research tool developed by IRS for Customer
Accounts Services (CAS). Tax Map integrates over 600 IRS forms and instructions,
95 taxpayer information publications, over 800 tax law frequently asked questions,
and the IRS Tele-Tax Topics into one research system. IRS Tax Map provides users
with the ability to pick a form or publication from a list or research a subject
of interest. Tax Map enables discovery and provides new ways for taxpayers to
find information.
SESSION 2 Morrow
IT Change Management: Things to Consider From a Leadership Perspective
When Contemplating an Enterprise Wide Technological Change
Boris Slogar, Ohio
Ohio is in the midst of preparing to release an RFP to replace our aging taxation
technical infrastructure. The presentation is geared towards providing and discussing
change management as it relates to technical change at a revenue/taxation agency.
These sorts of large scale changes are usually done as the result of a burning
platform and because of this, we tend to ram things through without taking the
time to properly plan the impact that a large scale technological change can
have on an organization and its people. Told from an administrator's point of
view, we will share lessons we have learned (and those we should have) in taking
on a project of such large magnitude. The presentation would include a practical
mix of our experiences in Ohio as well as results from research recently completed
in the area of technological change management.
SESSION 3 Madison
Cooperative Development Process for Fed-State
1120/1065/1040 E-File
Joan Barr, IRS, and Terry Garber, South Carolina
Fed/State 1120 (Corporate) e-file is on track for January 2006, to be followed
by Fed/State 1065 (Partnership) in 2007 and a new, improved Fed/State 1040 in
2009. Come hear how development on the Modernized e-File (MeF) platform is progressing,
and what it means for your systems. This session includes an overview of MeF
security, XML development, and web services usage. You will also hear what you
need to do to get involved in the process and make sure that your state’s
needs are met.
This session will be followed at 2:45 pm by a panel of states providing more
detail on how they are preparing for Fed/State MeF.
SESSION 4 Marion
The Five R’s of Collections: Strategies
to Achieve the Next Level of Performance in Collections
Ted London, CGI-AMS, Stefan Becker, CGI-AMS
State Tax Departments will always have more delinquent collection cases than
they have resources to work effectively pursue them. Therefore, it is critical
to assign the Right account to the Right resource, at the Right time, with the
Right tools, to achieve the Right result. This presentation will discuss the
opportunities and strategies that Tax Departments are using today to dramatically
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their collection staff. Advanced
tools in data mining, decision analytics, and artificial intelligence integrated
with a flexible management system can dramatically improve a revenue agencies
ability to manage the collection of debt.
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
Independent Validation and Verification Services
Doug Barbee, CorTechs
Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) services assist clients in
insuring that their software products are designed and implemented in line with
actual requirements. IV&V services cover the full System Development Life
Cycle from Program Management through Testing and Implementation, fulfilling
a role of providing in-depth technical oversight and insuring clients that their
software vendor is on target, on schedule, on budget and the interests of the
client are protected.
SESSION 2 Morrow
Adding Value: Growth in State Participation in Standards Setting
Stephen Bouchard, Maryland, ASC X12 Government Sbcmte. Chair, and Board
Member, Data Interchange Standards Association, and Catherine McDonald, Data
Interchange Standards Association
For revenue agencies, understanding and helping to develop XML and other standards
are and will be key to working jointly with the IRS on e-file programs of all
types, and in rapid implementation of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project. The
TIGERS group that develops these standards is a part of the ANSI ASC X12 organization,
meeting six times yearly, and there are great financial and other benefits (including
discounted membership rates) to becoming an agency member of X12. Thirteen of
your fellow FTA members have already done so! Come and hear how involvement
in these initiatives and other state-supported standards efforts can energize
and propel your e-programs to success.
SESSION 3 Madison
Modernized Fed-State E-File “101”
Gary Centlivre, Kansas; Scott Mueller, Wisconsin; Donna Muccilli, Arizona;
Stephen Bouchard, Maryland; Terry Garber, South Carolina; Joan Barr, IRS
This session will review the steps necessary to implement Modernized Fed-State
E-File. Basically there are six major tasks, or sub-projects, that a state has
to accomplish:
1. Build the communications gateway with IRS, according to the Concept of Operations,
Interface Control Document, and Security documents published by IRS, including
analysis of receipt pattern and size (performance issues).
2. Add the state's Corporate data to the TIGERS-maintained master spreadsheet,
using existing elements and State Agreed Names wherever possible, and highlighting
all additions to the master spreadsheet/schema. Work with TIGERS to obtain approval
of all changes/additions to the master spreadsheet/schema.
3. Define state Business Rules. Use them to derive the state schema from the
master schema. Document state schema and Business Rules in a specifications
document for industry, following the format developed by TIGERS. Analyze what
to allow regarding PDF attachments.
4. Develop a backend system to receive submissions from the gateway, parse them,
move the data into their back-end Corporate processing system, and create the
acknowledgements to send back through the gateway.
5. Develop a viewing system for in-house users to see the Corporate returns,
preferably in the image of a paper return, for state returns and for federal
data as required.
6. Administrative issues (e.g., review and sign the MOU, apply for system ID,
etc.)
SESSION 4 Marion
Building A Data Warehouse to Meet Your Needs
Alison Torres, Teradata
It is always good to understand what the bottom line is on any subject. In data
warehousing, it is the ability to provide the business with timely accessibility
to data in order to ask a variety of questions which will allow the business
to run more intelligently; it is providing the business executive with certainty
their data will be not only be accessible, but also reliable, timely and can
withstand disasters; and it is IT being able to address those business needs
and concerns through technology.
In this session, you will be guided through the steps to ensure your data warehouse
is built to meet your needs.
Presentation Agenda:
1. How technology responds to business concerns.
2. Challenges between business and IT.
3. Understanding the business impact if data is unavailable and who is responsible.
4. Selecting data warehouse technology to meet your needs.
5. Resolving data ownership issues.
6. Creating a data warehouse environment that meets expectations.
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 pm CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
Tax Research Tools on the Internet
Ray Philen, Washington
The presentation will cover Washington Department of Revenue's recently improved
tools available to the public for researching tax information. These tools are
on the Dept.'s Internet site and make it possible for persons to find historical
and recent information about tax rates, tax collections, tax disbursements and
other information. This information in the past was not available or was only
in paper form. These new reporting tools have greatly reduced the number of
telephone calls and special requests for information thereby reducing costs
to taxpayers.
SESSION 2 Morrow
Risk and Scope Management: Nevada Unified Tax System
Pauline England, Nevada, and George Love, Accenture
Integrated tax implementation timelines are becoming shorter. Solution providers
and their clients must find creative ways to manage scope and risk as taxing
authorities face increasing pressure to modernize more quickly and cheaply.
This session outlines the implementation strategy used for the first release
of the Nevada Unified Tax System (UTS) project. The presentation provides practical
lessons and experiences on how the State of Nevada Department of Taxation and
Accenture worked together to design, develop and implement a robust tax solution
at “high-speed” while closely managing scope and risks. The presentation
also highlights the pressures that agency personnel face in working with vendors
instructed to work at “high-speed.”
SESSION 3 Madison
Compliance Case Management
Eli Castro, ADEA Solutions
Selecting cases for audit, compliance or enforcement visits can take field officers
5 or more hours each week. Cases are generally grouped only by zip code or county,
spanning dozens of miles, and field workers often make several trips to the
same area to visit taxpayers.
Using an intelligent case assignment tool, agents no longer have this problem.
They can easily view all their assigned taxpayers on an electronic map. They
can view map details, create routes between visits, and see key taxpayer data
right on the map. Managers can see at a glance which taxpayers are being visited,
and can assign high priority cases to field workers for immediate action. This
capability enables auditors or enforcement agents to regain hours of productive
time each week, and gives managers the ability to monitor the case load at any
time.
Case selection is a good first step toward a comprehensive mobile tax application
enabling field agents to work with taxpayer data from anywhere, spending less
time at their desks and more time with taxpayers.
Our presentation will cover this new method of case selection, including a live
demonstration of the application and a review of the technologies used to achieve
the final result.
SESSION 4 Marion
Growth Continues in 2-D Barcoding Implementations
Donna Muccilli, Arizona, (Moderator), Lewis Koenig, Maryland; Dawn Glazier,
Idaho; Mitzi Crump, Missouri; Carlos Gonzalez, DataIntro; and Geoff Baum, Adobe
This session will review recent state experience with barcoding and outline
considerations in implementation to help assure successful use.
Schedule for Tuesday, August 9, 2005
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
FTA-IRS Tactical Advisory Group: Update
on E-Services and Compliance Cooperation Activities
TAG Member(s)
TAG has assumed an important role in coordinating the rollout of Modernized
E-Services and in providing useful information on state practices to the IRS
leading to better decision-making in our efforts to serve taxpayers together.
The areas that TAG monitors include development of Fed-State 1120/1065, EFTPS
Joint Fed-State Pilot, update of IRS Pub. 1075 on Security, cooperation on ERO
Registration, IRS FedState Data Exchange/IRS Enterprise Architecture, Consolidating
IRS Extensions, Fed-State Marketing.
SESSION 2 Morrow
2-D Data Capture
Geoff Baum, Adobe
Government agencies are embracing digital workflows to increase the efficiency
of both internal processes and citizen services. But for several reasons—equal
access mandates and legacy systems among them—paper still plays a crucial
role in document processes, including forms-based workflows. Therefore, agencies
need help to bridge the gap between traditional paper-based processes and fully
electronic workflows. In this presentation, attendees will learn how:
2D barcode-enabled forms help reduce costs, improve citizen service, and eliminate
errors inherent in manual data entry or OCR-based forms processing The IRS and
other government organizations are leveraging standards-based technology to
address the paper-to-digital gap today.
SESSION 3 Madison
The Tax Agency of the Future: Opening the Kimono – Allowing Taxpayers
to Manage Their Tax Accounts
Phil Brand, CGI-AMS
Historically the workings of a tax department have been a mystery to the tax
public. Once returns are filed, the taxpayer has no knowledge on if or how it
was processed. In the future tax agencies will provide the type of capabilities
taxpayers expect from their financial institutions. Through the Internet, taxpayers
will file returns, view previous transactions, enter into installment agreements,
make payments, transfer payments between accounts, view department correspondence
and provide information related to audits. Employees and the public will have
access to the same information. These capabilities will fundamentally change
the relationship between the tax department and the public, increasing voluntary
compliance, and reducing the cost of operations.
SESSION 4 Marion
Taxpayer Access Points (TAP) - E-access for Business Accounts
Dawn Bankston and Kent LaPlace, Louisiana
The Louisiana Department of Revenue unveils a new tool that will give the taxpayer
the ability to manage on-line their accounts. This service allows the taxpayer
access at anytime to: A. View and change certain account registration information;
B. View historical account activity; C. File returns electronically; D. Schedule
electronic payments for future dates; E. View and amend recent returns filed
electronically. This is a system that is currently functioning, tax types will
be added in the future, and is a system that can be accessed through the Louisiana
Department of Revenue web site.
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
EFTPS Fed-State Joint Payment Pilot
Project
Kevin Richards, Illinois, Orlando Evans, Bank of America, and Larry Faulkner,
IRS
This session will provide an overview of the new fed/state payment
option incorporated into the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System
(EFTPS). This new program will provide taxpayers the ability to make their federal
and state withholding income tax payments through EFTPS. The state of Illinois
and South Carolina are the lead states in the pilot. The states of Virginia,
Kansas, Arizona and New York are acting in an advisory capacity. Other members
of the pilot team include the IRS, FMS, Bank of America and First Data Government
Solutions. The pilot program is targeted for implementation in 2006. The panel
will be providing an overview of the pilot offerings and will answer and address
questions.
SESSION 2 Morrow
Compliance Data Warehousing – Moving Towards a Multi-State, Revenue
Agency Data Warehouse
Aaron
Stibel, Revenue Solutions, Inc.
This presentation will focus on the use of data warehousing tools and techniques
to support a wide variety of critical functions of the modern revenue agency
from identifying non-compliance, to tracking key agency-wide performance metrics
to assessing the impact of tax changes, to measuring the “compliance gap”,
to supporting other processing-intensive data analyses that are not suited to
the agency’s OLTP environment. With the proper investments in data currency,
accuracy, and accessibility, data warehouses that start as revenue-generating
projects to identify and recover uncollected revenue from non-compliant taxpayers
(i.e., non-registrants, non-filers and under-reporters) using tax discovery
and advanced audit selection methods, can quickly evolve towards full revenue
agency-wide data warehouses used by all departments to improve voluntary compliance,
analyze revenue trends, support management reporting and increase operational
efficiency.
SESSION 3 Madison
Refund Denial Tools and Analytics
Timothy Gardinier, New York
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance had an overriding business
objective to improve audit case selection processes and methods for evaluating
refund requested tax returns. As part of the nightly processing cycle the Case
Identification and Selection System applies business rules and data mining techniques
(predictive models) to categorize and score returns, prioritize the ‘next
best case’ for audit selection, and trigger downstream workflow processes.
In addition, the system includes a web based information portal to support the
return screening, audit resolution, and customer service processes. Current
audit programs include: Earned Income Credits, Dependent Child Care Credits,
Itemized Deductions, Wage/Withholding, and Identity Theft.
Our presentation will explore the functionality of the system, explain the business
rules and how they were developed and implemented, present results from processing
years 2004 and 2005, and demonstrate the system by reviewing actual cases that
were selected.
SESSION 4 Marion
Next-Generation Electronic Filing Systems for Employment Taxes: Payroll
Service Provider Perspectives
Peter Isberg, ADP and National Payroll Reporting Consortium, Susan Dunn,
PayCycle; Wendy Seyfert, ADP; and Anita Gross, Ceridian
Payroll Service providers handle income tax withholding, as well as reporting
of quarterly wages, W-2s and new hires, for over one-third of the private sector
work force*. Having worked through a number of next-generation e-file
systems, these organizations have developed key background information and design
suggestions to help states develop appropriate systems for high volume filers.
This session includes recommendations regarding:
• Pre-filing features to improve accuracy
• E-Services and self-service applications
• Authorization/authentication model for Payroll Services
• Enrollments, edits, protocols and acknowledgements
The focus of the related session, Payroll Tax Electronic Reporting: Moving Toward
the Vision, is on 'do it yourself' electronic filings by individual employers.
11:00 am – Noon CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
2-D Barcodes At A Glance
Carlos Gonzalez, DataIntro
The purpose of this session is to get familiar with an incredible technology
and to unveil some of its secrets. 2-D barcodes are without a doubt the best
way of capturing data from paper forms and this technology is being used increasingly
by State Revenue Agencies. This session will explore the nature of 2-D barcodes
in a non-technical fashion. 2D barcodes will also be compared to other data
capture technologies.
SESSION 2 Morrow
Best Practices in Enterprise Content Management for Tax Agencies
Bill Cull, FileNet
As the U.S. population grows, tax agencies must implement new systems to keep
up with the associated increase in quantity of information. Tax agencies must
streamline return collection, processing, and auditing, as well as tax collection
and refund distribution. Enterprise Content Management offers tax agencies the
ability to streamline processes – increasing internal efficiencies and
improving citizen service. This session will offer attendees with no previous
knowledge insights into the value of this technology platform, as well as best
practices for implementation as evidenced through its use at the Virginia Department
of Taxation.
SESSION 3 Madison
IRS Modernization and the Need for
Updated Security Standards
George Jakabcin, IRS, and Tim Blevins, Kansas and TAG Member
Information Technology Policy
#### - State of Kansas Information Technology Security Self-Assessment
System Questionnaire
Electronic tax administration and its associated security is increasing in its
importance at a rapid pace. This presentation discusses how the IRS Mission
Assurance office assists IRS business owners in securing their applications
and should enable IRS business partners to enhance their security posture.
The Kansas Department of Revenue and Kansas State Government have adopted an
enterprise Security Assessment process taken from the Federal Government FISCAM
manual. The tools and processes that Kansas uses, including the N.I.S.T. assessment
document, will be discussed and reviewed.
SESSION 4 Marion
Strategic Planning for a Modernized Tax System
Paul Morris, Revenue Solutions
In this new millennium, many state revenue agencies are approaching a critical
crossroad - as legacy tax processing/accounting systems implemented in the 1980’s
and early 1990’s near the end of their life cycle, plans must be made
for modernization to support future business and technical needs. The information
management of a state revenue agency has grown more complex with the introduction
of multiple channels of information exchange with taxpayers, centralization
of information involving multiple agencies and the need for greater access to
critical data to support on going operations. Given the radical nature of the
technology changes, the planning for a next generation tax system must also
focus on the people and processes in the organization needed to successfully
implement and support the new system going forward. Now, more than even, it
is a critical that a sound modernization strategic plan be developed up front
that addresses agency needs, implementation approach, return on investment,
organizational impact and technical architecture to name a few. The complexity
of a tax system modernization project is at a level that has not been experienced
in the past – there are simply more pieces and options involved in today’s
environment. This presentation will highlight some of the challenges revenue
agencies are facing with their modernization planning efforts and outline some
best practices being used today.
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
Managing Your E-File Mandates
Cheryl Sullivan, Wisconsin, and Dick Eppleman, Vertex
This is an update and "lessons learned" since last year when this
topic was initially presented. Due to state activity since then (PA mandate
in 1/2005 and IA mandate in Q4/2005), along with others, there should be a lively
discussion.
SESSION 2 Morrow
Oklahoma's Oracle Based Fully Integrated
Tax System
Ted Hartley, Oklahoma
Income, Sales, Franchise, Gross Production, and Ad Valorem taxes all hosted
on one system. The savings in processing and the cultural changes that are involved
when moving from a mainframe based one tax one system paradigm to an open systems
architecture.
SESSION 3 Madison
The Advantages and Challenges of COTS ITS Solutions
David Boyd, Commonwealth Consulting
This presentation will cover a number of topics related to Commercial-Off-The-Shelf
(COTS) Integrated Tax System Solutions for State Tax and Revenue Agencies. These
topics include: the rise of COTS Integrated Tax System solutions in recent marketplace
history; their track record, thus far; the advantages demonstrated; and the
challenges associated with their implementation, maintenance, and upgrading.
Key considerations before, during, and after the project will also be discussed.
These considerations span project definition, re-engineering aspirations, procurement
cycle issues, project execution strategies, and the post implementation impact
on the IT and business organizations.
SESSION 4 (GOVT. ONLY) Marion
State Forms Coordinator Session
Mitzi Crump, Missouri, Moderator
The Form Coordinator Session is a working session for the states to discuss
the Substitute Forms Standards document, making any changes or additions as
requested. Feedback Reports presented to the Software Industry, Form Coordinator
Survey, and other topics include improving state and software industry relationships
will be discussed. Items that will be covered in the Wednesday NACTP/state meeting
will also be discussed, as well as 2-D barcode, forms approval process, forms
design and guidelines, and some electronic filing discussions.
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
New Mexico’s Integrated Tax System
Loretta J. Silva, New Mexico
NM worked on an in-house, integrated tax processing application for nine years
that cost the state millions of dollars. We placed two tax programs in production
and had many programming issues to resolve. Management made the difficult decision
to search for a different solution. After an RFP, a canned software solution
was selected to replace the in-house application. In just 2.5 years, for 16%
of the cost of the in-house project, we have successfully placed 22 tax programs
into production, with another five to be added in the near future We would present
both the user and technical perspectives, along with the methodology followed,
lessons learned, and future plans.
SESSION 2 Morrow
SSTP Implementation from a Certified
Service Provider Perspective
Moe Turcotte and Charles Collins, Taxware
The streamlined sales tax initiative has been ongoing for five years working
toward a modern sales tax system that is simpler, more uniform and makes more
use of technology. Included in the technology provisions is the concept of a
Certified Service Provider (CSP)that provides the sales tax compliance functions
for a seller. A csp must meet the certification standards of states and must
have a sales tax software compliance system called a Certified Automated System
(CAS)that accurately computes tax, maintains exemption information, stores transaction
information, produces the appropriate returns electronically and can submit
remittances electronically. Among the things that the CAS must use to accomplish
these functions are the state provided rate jurisdiction data bases and the
state provided schemas for returns. In addition there are numerous certification
requirements. This session will review what is required to implement SSTP from
the prespective of a potential CSP candidate.
SESSION 3 Madison
Integrated Case Management
Louis Panebianco, Florida, and Dexter McLean and Nasser Hanif, Deloitte
A joint demonstration of new web based leads management and bankruptcy case
management system. Demonstration to include case research, case creation, case
financial review and automatic claim processing.
SESSION 4 (GOVT. ONLY) Marion
State Forms Coordinator Session (contd.)
Mitzi Crump, Missouri, Moderator
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
Collections, Predictive Analytics and
Taxpayer Compliance Management
John McCalden, McCalden Consulting, LLC
Risk-based approaches to collections are effective and enable new management
approaches. Predictive analytics is the key enabler of risk-based collections,
and is a gateway technology that can be utilized broadly in support of taxpayer
compliance management. Actual case studies of risk-based collections in revenue
environments will be presented, followed by a general discussion of predictive
analytics and taxpayer compliance management. The discussion will touch upon
modeling, treatment scenarios and performance improvement, and a vision of taxpayer
compliance management.
SESSION 2 Morrow
Business Intelligence and Marketing Sciences
Joe Milack, Accenture
An introduction to business intelligence directed at how it is being applied
in the private sector and how private sector applications parallel potential
uses at revenue agencies. Specific examples of applications in government revenue
agencies will focus on using business intelligence and marketing sciences to:
- better understand voluntary compliance and how compliance enforcement programs
affect voluntary compliance
- understand the demographics and behavioral patterns of taxpayers to better
target efforts to encourage electronic filing, increased use of agency websites,
and other interactive and online services
- score collection accounts to optimize the use of collection resources
- develop new methods of audit selection.
SESSION 3 Madison
DIY Payroll Tax Electronic Reporting
Arun Varshney and Jeff Zias, Intuit
The primary audience for this session is state agencies, developers of electronic
filing and payment systems and others interested in the evolution of electronic
filing and payment of payroll taxes. The session will focus on the Intuit vision
for a do-it-yourself model of electronic filing and payment for small businesses
and accountants and provide recommendations that help achieve the vision.
These recommendations are broad and generic; we believe that they will benefit
other software developers, transmitters and payroll service providers as well.
We are interested in learning from the audience about common and unique needs
in order to refine these recommendations further.
This session will cover all key building blocks of electronic filing and payment
systems; Enrollment, Filing, Payment, Acknowledgement and Notice handling. Recommendations
include 1) lowering cost by designing for industry standard protocols; 2) Increase
e-filing adoption by eliminating complex enrollment procedures; 3) Build once
& reuse - industry and joint fed/state gateway; 4) Minimize errors by building
flexible field validation rules, and; 5) Gaining confidence by faster turn around
on acknowledgements.
The focus of the related session, Next-Generation Electronic Filing Systems
for Employment Taxes, is from a payroll service provider perspective, which
Intuit is also part of.
SESSION 4 GOVT. ONLY) Marion
State Forms Coordinator Session (contd.)
Mitzi Crump, Missouri, Moderator
Schedule for Wednesday, August 10, 2005
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
Current Progress on Streamlined Sales Tax Standards and Operations Issues
Bill Boudreau, Utah; Gary Centlivre, Kansas; and Terry Garber, South Carolina
This will provide an update on XML schema changes based on business needs and
a reminder review on transmission options. As well, an overview of the SST process
flow will be presented.
SESSION 2 Morrow
Dealing with an Infectious Computer Worm:
Washington's Experience
Julian Soh, Washington
In February 2005, the Washington State Department of Revenue suffered from a
virus that brought down the network, and affected several online applications
for three days. It was the most dilapidating incident experienced by the Department,
which was covered by the local news media. In this session, DOR's Chief Information
Officer will cover:
- The details of the incident
- The methods/Tools employed to troubleshoot and ultimately resolve the problem
- Lessons learnt #1: The most significant tools/methods your organization needs
in the toolbox
- Lessons learnt #2: Weaknesses and vulnerabilities
- Lessons learnt #3: Handling the media and other non-technical issues
- Post attack evaluation and options considered/implemented
SESSION 3 Madison
INTax: Indiana's Business Filing
Portal
Karen Barthelmes, Indiana, and Julie Booth and Andrew Leohr, Accenture
Indiana has increased review and reduced costs by over $400M in the last 8 years.
This session will touch on the technical advances that have enabled the Department
to deliver improved outcomes such as Maximizing Tax Revenue and Maximizing Compliance
Rates. The session will also include discussion of the recent successful roll
out of INtax - an Internet solution for business to manage their tax obligations
with the Department of Revenue.
SESSION 4 Marion
The Portfolio Decision Board: Value
Based Selection and Prioritization
Barbara Bostian, North Carolina
Workforce capacity is not infinite. Someone within the organization will establish
priorities. Does the leadership establish the priorities? OR does it come from
the “bottom up”?
This presentation will focus on:
- How to implement a Portfolio Decision Board
- Project evaluation factors to be considered
- Ranking strategies for portfolio management
- How to get started.
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
Status of Streamlined Sales Tax Registration
System
Lou Luzynski, TaxWatch and Tim Blevins, Kansas
This session is expected to address current status of SST Registration System
development and testing, walk through the interfaces and transmission, as well
as cover the role of the national SST administrator and what each state’s
administrator will be responsible for.
SESSION 2 Morrow
Achieving Complex Distribution Through Business Intelligence
Jim Evers, Florida and Farzad Arefzadeh, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Florida Department of Revenue and Deloitte joint demonstration of distribution
of Motor Fuels Tax to Florida counties and other State funds using SAP business
warehouse. Demonstration to include distribution tax for gas, diesel, local
county tax, aviation fuel, administrative fees, etc., in an automated multiple
step process.
SESSION 3 Madison
Tax Aligned IT Initiatives
Stephen Metoyer, Deloitte
Businesses rely on information systems for process efficiency, competitive advantage
and cost reduction. So why do they overlook the tax implications of their IT
investments? By “aligning” tax efficiency into your IT implementations,
you can reduce the risk of noncompliance with critical laws and regulations.
The cost of implementation can also be substantially reduced and major structural
changes avoided as your business evolves in the years after the “go-live”
date.
SESSION 4 Marion
The Future of XML at the IRS and Building
Partnerships for Collaboration
Sol Safran and John Triplett, IRS
A discussion on how XML fits in the IRS direction towards a Service Oriented
Architecture. What impact, if any, will this have on data exchange with external
partners? The IRS Enterprise Data Management Office discusses current and planned
initiatives involving policy, practice and standards for XML and data exchanges.
The IRS intends to work collaboratively with international, national, Federal
and state standards bodies and communities of interest. Open discussion on what
the IRS can do to build stronger partnerships is invited.
11:00 a.m. – Noon CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 1 Fairfield
SSTP Implementation: Tieing It All Together - State Panel
Tim Blevins, Kansas; David
Thompson, Tennessee; Rod Erickson, Iowa
This session will review what a state needs to do to prepare for SST implementation:
registration and transmission issues; rates and boundaries services; and transaction
processing of registrations, payments, returns, and information reports.
SESSION 2 Morrow
Tax Discovery: How To Use It Effectively
Jeffrey Turrow, TMA, Inc.
Tax Discovery is a catchall phrase to define a program that identifies new/previously
unknown tax entities and then brings them into compliance. I will outline the
necessary steps to determine the need for this program, the initial data resources
available, what programs are available to help navigate, what are the downsides,
and what are the expectations. This presentation will provide a clearer path
and discuss the tools needed to develop a defined a qualified Tax Discovery
program.
SESSION 3 (GOVT. ONLY) Madison
New Progress in Modernizing the IRS-State Data
Exchange Program
Rod Sterling, IRS
There has been further progress on the program to distribute Governmental Liaison
Data Exchange Program (GLDEP) extracts electronically versus shipping data on
magnetic media tape cartridges. This session will update you on current steps
like testing and additional plans, with an overview of the system being designed
within IRS to facilitate the 2-way secure, encrypted, electronic exchange of
data.
SESSION 4 Marion
SCBOS - Business One-Stop Services
Norman Davis, South Carolina
South Carolina Business One Stop (SCBOS) is a cooperative initiative to provide
businesses with a single website for obtaining all licenses, permits, and registrations
needed to do business in South Carolina.
For several years, SCBOS was an information resource with links to over 20 state
and federal agencies, plus South Carolina counties and municipalities. In 2005,
full transactional capability has come online for new business registrations
with the Secretary of State, Department of Revenue, Employment Security Commission,
and Department of Health and Environmental Control. Come hear how innovative
technology and a unique inter-agency cooperative effort has built a business
portal that can easily be expanded to include additional state, county, and
municipal agencies and additional functionality.