Summary: Pursuant to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) request, GAO provided information on certain time and attendance (T&A) requirements in the GAO Policy and Procedures Manual for Federal Agencies. GAO noted that: (1) the proposed recording of IRS employees' arrival and departure times is not necessary as long as adequate controls and supervisory reviews are in place; (2) IRS should retain supervisory review and approval of premium time, leave, and allowances charges to ensure data accuracy; (3) if IRS employees maintain their own T&A data, supervisors must closely monitor employees' attendance and recording of exceptions to preapproved work schedules; (4) proposed IRS guidance on employees' maintenance of leave documentation would adequately ensure that those documents are retained for review or audit; (5) the proposed IRS automated signature system should ensure that each electronic signature is unique and verifiable, and invalidate signatures when data changes occur; and (6) the automated signature generation and validation process should comply with National Institute of Standards and Technology standards for such systems.
