Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 20 February 2014

Public Accounts Committee

2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Chapter 23 - Revenue Collection
Chapter 24 - Management of Revenue Debt
Chapter 25 - Taxpayer Compliance
Chapter 26 - Corporation Tax Losses
Chapter 27 - Tax Audit Settlements

11:10 am

Ms Josephine Feehily:

I am quite sure we are still getting some of them wrong. I can tell the Deputy that for certain. One of the quality assurance measures we have introduced - it took us a while to retool the IT system that came in with effect from last July - is that, on a random basis, 2% of all audit settlements, irrespective of who approves them, will come to one or other of the commissioners for a final sign-off. Principally, what we are looking at is quality and asking questions. I have disapproved of a couple on the grounds that they should not have been audits. They should have been something else and there was money collected. One is trying to change an organisation and people who recorded things in a certain way in the past. It is a matter of giving them tools, guidance and a framework. This is important, but it is equally important that the staff get out and undertake audits in order to provide assurance across the system that those who are non-compliant will be challenged.