On March 3, 2017, KPMG and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) held a joint webcast presentation regarding the Large Business & International’s (LB&I) new “Campaign” examination process.  The IRS speakers for the presentation were Tina Meaux (Assistant Deputy Commissioner Compliance Integration) and Kathy Robbins, Director (Enterprise Activities Practice Area). On February 1, 2017, we blogged about this new IRS program.

The IRS explained that Campaigns are a fundamental change in the way the IRS will conduct examinations in the future, and are the result of the IRS’s ever-shrinking resources.  The Campaigns reflect the LB&I Division’s need to focus on risks, drive compliance objectives, and efficiently and effectively respond with a variety of work streams.

The general principles that guide the Campaign program are:

• Flexible and well-trained work force.  Because of funding cuts, the IRS has not been able to hire examiners in recent years.  In connection with the Campaigns, the IRS will implement additional training, including “just-in-time” training, to help the IRS react to a dynamic examination environment.
• Better selection of work.  The IRS is using data analytics and internal and external feedback to assist in shaping Campaigns.
• Tailored treatment.  The IRS is developing an integrated process to identify compliance risks, and identify the work streams needed to address those risks.
• Integrate feedback loop.  This is the cornerstone of the Campaign program.  The IRS admitted that it cannot implement an effective and efficient process without feedback from both internal and external stakeholders.  To be successful the feedback needs to be “just-in-time,” not merely post-audit.

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