The purpose of this model is to create a consistent methodology for approaching our major stakeholder groups. While practitioner outreach and outreach to industry/business stakeholders encompass similar activities, there are differences between the approach and level of activities with these groups. Practitioners universally seek interaction and information from the IRS and view SL activities as a major channel interaction. Industry/business stakeholders’ expectations may be based on previous interactions with the IRS and more specifically with SL.

In building and maintaining any relationship, it is critical to ensure each party understands the purpose of the relationship, and carefully balances and meets the needs of both parties. This involves researching and getting to know your stakeholders, understanding what is important to them, listening to their concerns (listening is essential in developing and maintaining a healthy liaison relationship), and identifying areas of mutual interest. SL, as the lead for relationship management with SB/SE taxpayers, must also ensure their stakeholders understand the needs and concerns of internal IRS stakeholders and include this in relationship responsibilities.

Delivering pertinent information can take very few resources if coordinated through leveraged activities. It is important to maintain relationships so these channels will be available to deliver key messages developed in accordance with SB/SE strategic compliance objectives and the CLD Program Letter. It is also important to begin establishing new relationships in line with key messages planned for future delivery.

SL program goals will flow from the IRS Strategic Goals and the CLD Program Letter. Our SRM program goals will be organized into action plans that will be coordinated with those action plans developed by compliance functions. These goals will range from broadly disseminating information to improving compliance through specific key messages thus changing taxpayer behavior.

We will accomplish our action plans through outreach campaigns with a target audience, a defined set of steps to accomplish a goal and preferably a way to measure the impact on the target audience behavior. These campaigns will be developed in collaboration with CLD Communications. SL will work with CLD, PSP staff to ensure all actions support the IRS Strategic Goals and the CLD Program Letter.

We will deliver most campaigns through our established stakeholders. The outreach campaigns targeted to industry/business stakeholders will also be coordinated with the practitioner community to concentrate communication and to maximize interplay between the two stakeholder groups.

Emphasis will be placed on building and maintaining partnerships with stakeholders by identifying, tracking, researching and resolving significant stakeholder issues. SL, at all levels, will identify key issues which can and should be resolved by the Service using the IMRS. CLD, PSP will track and analyze issues on the IMRS, thus identifying filing and compliance trends taking place around the country. This data will be transmitted to the compliance and CAS functions’ leadership on a regular basis as a feedback mechanism for their programs. CLD, PSP will contact compliance and Wage and Investment (W&I), Customer Account Services (CAS) functions for input as needed to resolve stakeholder issues within their organizations, ensuring proper collaboration with CLD, Communications and SL.

We will closely monitor progress on resolving issues to assure timely resolution of stakeholder issues. The status of issues or resolution of the issue will be shared with stakeholders through planned outreach activities which will be collaborated with CLD, Communications. Where appropriate, SL Field will deliver these messages to their stakeholders.

Overview:The SB/SE Outreach Initiative database contains a consolidated summary of all SB/SE external communication activities and related products.

This application is primarily designed for SB/SE Stakeholder Liaison (SL) and Governmental Liaison (GL) employees involved in conducting outreach but may also be useful for other SB/SE employees and managers to ensure consistent messages are used with all external audiences regarding SB/SE programs.

General Use & Information:This online database allows users several selection methods to reach the information and product links as needed.

As appropriate, supplemental instructions may also be provided directly to outreach employees with regard to timing, audience, reporting requirements, etc. for the materials created.

How the process works:SB/SE Communication Analysts work with SB/SE Compliance and Burden Reduction program owners to determine outreach initiative needs.

Communications add the topics to the database:

As the initiative evolves, the assigned communicator is responsible for updating the database information. For example, adding links to products as they become available and specifying target delivery dates as they are determined with business owners.

Key messages and educational information will be delivered through outreach campaigns. CLD, Communications will develop these campaigns in collaboration with SL and appropriate subject matter experts. This collaborative effort will ensure complete and consistent messages. Campaign packages will include a complete implementation package or toolkit containing key messages, PowerPoint presentations, and articles with recommended stakeholders and audiences.

Emphasis will be on nationwide rollout of key campaigns during a specified time frame. This will provide a unified program activity across SL to maximize and leverage the impact of our messages. The depth of implementation of a campaign will be dependent upon the resources within the geographic area and may be adjusted accordingly.

CLD, Communications will develop all messages and related products addressing our outreach strategies. These messages will be produced, printed, and/or posted on the Internet. This will ensure proper consistency and coordination with all key internal functions, both inside and outside SB/SE. SL Headquarters will engage SL Field in the campaign development to ensure its validity in the field prior to nationwide implementation.

In some instances we will pilot a campaign in an identified area in order to determine its effectiveness prior to national implementation. We will also test messages with national stakeholder organizations. We will collaborate with Learning and Education to develop training to ensure employees have the tools required to roll out each campaign in a consistent and timely manner. One key to a successful national approach to outreach is to evaluate the program for best practices and lessons learned. This will be done through operational reviews and visitations to local offices for on-site discussions. We will also use other appropriate means of information gathering to ensure accountability in delivering key messages and accomplishing strategic objectives. CLD, PSP will monitor and measure the extent to which these initiatives support the IRS Strategic Goals and CLD Program Letter.

Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM) is an integral toll in changing the compliance behavior of SB/SE taxpayers. SL plays a key role in promoting voluntary compliance through outreach and educational activities. SRM provides a vehicle to deliver our key messages and tax information. In general, our role in SRM is:

The role of SL Field offices is to:

The role of SL Headquarters office is to:

The role of other SB/SE components is to:

The practitioner community plays an important role in any efforts to influence the compliance behavior of SB/SE taxpayers since the majority of these taxpayers rely on them to prepare their tax returns. The tax professional plays a key role in helping to ensure voluntary compliance. Therefore, it is critical that the relationship manager understand the value of their role, understand their organizations, their communication methods, and their needs. Building an on-going relationship, providing a continuing forum for the tax professional to bring issues of concern to the IRS, providing the forum for other internal stakeholders to share issues and concerns, and, perhaps most importantly, listening to and responding to those concerns and issues, is paramount.

In general, the role of practitioner SRM includes liaison activities, educational outreach, and internal stakeholders’ involvement, as appropriate. It requires the use of leveraged resources by involving critical stakeholders in tax compliance activities. Many of the specific details to our role in practitioner liaison are listed above. Educational outreach includes practitioner institutes, symposiums and other delivery methods such as Tax Talk Today and practitioner telephone forums. The mechanics of how to get that impressive task list accomplished are detailed in the Practitioner SRM Toolkit, presented in Exhibit 11.53.5-1.

SB/SE recognizes the need to improve compliance by providing education and communication through industry and business stakeholder organizations. SL will directly interact with a very small core of stakeholders. This group of stakeholders has been stratified into three tiers to identify the type of relationship we will maintain with each of them. SL will build a better understanding of this stakeholder base according to the role they play in our outreach activities.

SL will promote the development and maintenance of these relationships with industry/business stakeholders in the small business community. The activities involve liaison, education, and coordination with internal stakeholders. While the liaison activities mirror those with practitioners, the educational activities may vary both in substance and method of delivery. For example, delivery of small business tax workshops can be accomplished through practitioner and Tier I stakeholders by using their members as instructors, or they may handle speaking engagements that provide customized tax education, and participation in various types of small business forums. See Exhibit 11.53.5-2. for the Industry/Business SRM toolkit and See Exhibit 11.53.5-3. for the Tier I and II Stakeholders Relationship toolkit.

The National SRM Council created SRM Local Councils (SRMLCs) because the field’s role is critical to the successful implementation any new Servicewide strategy. While the National SRM Council will continue to develop policy, SRMLCs will be able to focus on operational issues and ensure that key organizational messages, quality products and events are conveyed to a cross-functional/multi-state external stakeholder audience with consistency.

SRMLCs should serve as a coordination point among Operating and Functional Divisions (OD/FDs) within a local area to address the needs of local external stakeholders. SRMLC members should work together to identify internal and external partnership networks and develop local area strategies for enhancing communication networks with other Relationship Managers and key IRS staff. These efforts should also achieve effective internal cross-functional coordination, and minimize a duplication of effort, products and services, thus conserving limited resources.

SRMLCs work. Pilot Councils in DC/Baltimore, Delaware and the Carolinas have been actively identifying and resolving issues, and communicating with each other about their stakeholder activities for over a year. Right now, we are in the process of rolling out 53 new SRMLCs across the country. The National SRM Council expects each SRMLC to hold their first meeting by November 2001. NTEU has agreed to participate on the SRMLCs, providing representation for each SRMLC, wherever possible. For more information on SRMLCs, SL Headquarters and SL Field Employees can go to the National Public Liaison's Web site on the Intranet or use the following link: http://cl.no.irs.gov/npl/srm/srm_local_council.htm.

Tax Practitioner Institutes (TPI) are conducted in cooperation with educational institutions. These events are often sponsored by major state universities, colleges and in some states, community colleges. If an outreach program does not involve an educational institution, it generally is not considered a TPI.

Tax Talk Today is a monthly program about current tax issues and policies sponsored in part by the IRS. It provides insight and information about current tax and business issues critical to tax professionals. All of the programs feature a panel discussion, questions and answers from viewers, current tax news stories, and tax teasers. The format allows viewers to ask questions via e-mail, fax or telephone. Viewers can earn one Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit by watching each Tax Talk Today via live Web cast or archived Web cast. All state boards that accept National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) sponsors of continuing professional education, accept credit for the live Web cast. NASBA has also approved credit for viewing the archived Web cast or VHS videotape which qualifies as a non-interactive self-study program. This program is not approved for some states requiring Quality Assurance Service (Florida, Tennessee) for archived viewing or viewing VHS programs for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit. Oregon now accepts the archived or VHS programs for CPE credit. For additional information and a state-by-state listing, visit the web site at www.taxtalktoday.tv.

The IRS Nationwide Tax Forums originally started as an effort to bring together three essential elements of electronic filing that would encourage the electronic exchange of information and ideas for encouraging electronic filing among tax professionals. The three essential elements are:

Recognizing the opportunity to advance Internal Revenue Service (IRS) policies and programs in addition to electronic filing, the forums have expanded their scope to include seminars on Compliance initiatives and IRS services. Tax professionals who attend these forums are eligible to receive CPE credit.

The SB/SE Payroll and Practitioner Forum is an extension of the National Public Liaison (NPL) Forum. The focus of the bi-monthly forum is to discuss SB/SE related issues which impact our national payroll and practitioner organizations. It also provides an excellent opportunity to identify burden reduction issues that could be referred for further consideration to the Office of Taxpayer Burden Reduction (OTBR). Recognizing opportunities to reduce burden is an important benefit SL HQ brings to the stakeholder relationship. The forum also provides an opportunity for SB/SE and other business operating unit subject matter experts (SMEs) to share, address and work through important SB/SE issues. Representatives from the national payroll and practitioner organizations attend the forums.

The Reporting Agent Forum (RAF) is held on a quarterly basis and is co-sponsored by SB/SE CLD-SL HQ, Counsel, W&I CAS and ETA (National Account Manager- Payroll Industry). These quarterly working sessions are conducted with representatives from the payroll community. The working group sessions address Compliance, Accounts Management, Customer Service and taxpayer burden reduction issues. These regularly scheduled sessions are normally one or two days, depending on topics, assigned responsibilities, etc. Below is a breakdown on how these Reporting Agent Forums are conducted:

Purpose: Offer an SL Field local forum where tax professionals and IRS can raise tax related issues/concerns that can be resolved through joint efforts. This includes dealing with the professional responsibilities of both practitioners and IRS. The meeting is a joint effort involving both internal and external stakeholders. Since concerns will vary because of different perspectives, it is important to include issues from all participants.

Overview:

Preparation:

Initial Meeting(s): The initial meetings need to be devoted to developing an issue list. This list should include a variety of issues that when resolved will help practitioners and IRS work together better . The external representatives should canvas their members to determine what problems and concerns they want to surface. Examples of common issues are:

An effective way to develop the list is to involve the whole group by using techniques such as brainstorming, multi-voting and group discussion. Depending on the length of the meeting, developing the list may take two or three sessions. Experienced facilitators can be very helpful in developing and prioritizing the issues. Once this list is completed and prioritized, it is used to set the agendas for subsequent meetings. The list is a on-going document and items can be added or deleted at any time, as the group deems necessary.

Subsequent Meetings: Once the issue is complete, the subsequent meetings are a forum for discussing the problems and determining if there is a feasible resolution at the Area level. The agenda should also include time for emerging issues or concerns that have surfaced since the last meeting and need immediate attention.

Frequency and Type of Meeting: Meetings are scheduled to meet the needs of the group. For the forums to be productive, external participants must be in attendance. Therefore, they must be involved in determining how often they can or want to meet. The type of meeting is based on the progress of the group and the information developed to share with the practitioner community as a whole (see "Communicating Resolutions" below).

Written Summary of Meetings: A written summary of the meetings should be provided to the attendees. If possible, include the date, time, place and agenda for the next meeting. The summary should be in a format that can easily be passed to the general membership of groups represented- See Exhibit 11.53.5-4.. These meeting summaries are posted to the Intranet via Content Publishing Request (CPR).

Forum resolutions needs to be coordinated thru Issue Management Resolution System (IMRS) and Communication and communicated to the payroll and practitioner community as a whole. Below are some of the options that can be used to share the information.

The Office of Governmental Liaison (GL) Works with Stakeholder Liaison by providing customer service support for Tax Practitioner Institutes (TPIs), IRS Nationwide Tax Forums (NTFs), SB/SE Payroll and Practitioner Forums (extension of National Public Liaison meetings), Reporting Agent Forum (RAF), Local Payroll and Practitioner meetings and other partner related activities. This includes dealings with the professional responsibilities of both practitioners and the IRS. These meetings are a joint effort involving both internal and external shareholders. Since concerns vary because of different perspectives, it is important to include issues from all participants.

Background: The National Disaster Assistance Coordinator (NDAC) is the IRS program manager that has overall responsibility for the Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief Program. IRM 25.16.1 contains the guidelines and operating procedures for responding to Presidentially declared federal disasters. IRS has entered into partnership agreements with several professional practitioner organizations. These organizations augment IRS resources to provide tax information and assistance to disaster victims at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster recovery centers and other disaster locations. The Chief, Payroll and Practitioner Liaison in Stakeholder Liaison HQ has program responsibility for negotiating, obtaining and coordinating the process for securing sponsor agreements between IRS and practitioner organizations nationwide.

Securing Agreement: To provide program support in response to Presidentially declared federal disasters, the Chief, Payroll and Practitioner Liaison:

To provide program support in response to signed national MOUs, SL Field representatives:

SL Field Coordination with State FEMA Sites: When volunteer practitioners provide support at the FEMA Disaster recovery Center or other disaster assistance locations, SL Field representatives:

Reporting Requirements: To provide program support and coordination, the SL Field representative adheres to the following reporting requirements:

The Circular 230, Regulations Governing the Practice of Attorneys, Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Actuaries, and Appraisers before the Internal Revenue Service, provides general guidance for CPE credits for enrolled agents.

CPE Credits are granted to an enrolled agent when:

Qualifying programs:
- Require attendance with the sponsor providing a certificate of attendance.
- Must be conducted by a qualifying instructor, discussion leader or speaker.
- Provides or requires a written outline, textbook or suitable electronic educational materials.

Steps required before providing CPE for stakeholder Liaison programs:

Determine if the program is a qualifying program for CPE credits using the following guidelines (all questions must be answered yes):

If all questions in Step 5 are answered "yes" , then the attendee qualifies for CPE credit.

Prepare a Certificate of Attendance (MS Word) with sponsor number or a Letter with the Area Manager's Signature (MS Word- items in CAPITAL LETTERS should be filled in as appropriate for the event) and provide to the attendee at the completion of the program- See Exhibit 11.53.5-5..

For programs where CPE Credits are granted, the following records must be kept for three years following the date each program is presented:

For SL Field, the required records, as mentioned in # 8 above, are to be kept in the office where the Area Manager is located.

For SL Headquarters, the required records, as mentioned in # 7 above, are to be kept in the office of the Director, SL Headquarters.

The SL Field Technical Advisor will be responsible for providing all records to a requesting office such as Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) or Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) when they request supporting documents for sponsored programs where SL Field issued a certificate or letter for CPE credits.

In order to facilitate incorporation of links to the Small Business web site, the Tax Center Template was developed to assist SL HQ and SL Field employees. This document incorporates links to the major areas of the SB/SE website. Along with the links, the Tax Center Template also gives SL HQ and SL Field employees a brief description or abstract of the information contained at each location- See Exhibit 11.53.5-6.

The Tax Center Template:

The Tax Center Template word document can be downloaded from the SL Intranet site (under Outreach) at http://sbse.web.irs.gov/cl2/s/outreach.htm .

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 contained an administrative recommendation that the IRS establish a federal advisory committee to discuss improvement to the Information Reporting Program (IRP). As a result, the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC) was established in 1991.

The IRPAC is administered by the National Public Liaison (NPL) Office under the direction of the Chief, Communications and Liaison. The IRPAC is composed of seventeen members who represent various segments of the IRP community, from major national professional and trade associations to state tax agencies. The committee is divided into four subcommittees that align with the IRS Operating Divisions and industry segments.

The IRPAC advises the IRS on information reporting issues of mutual concern to the private sector and the federal government. The committee works with the Commissioner and other IRS executives to provide recommendations on a wide range of information reporting administration issues.

SL HQ partners directly with NPL Office for coordination of all SB/SE related issues. The Chief, Payroll and Practitioner Liaison is responsible for coordinating all SB/SE related issues with the Director, NPL Office.

The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) provides an organized public forum for IRS officials and representatives of the public to discuss relevant tax administration issues. The council is composed of twenty two members who advise the IRS Commissioner on issues that have a significant effect on federal tax administration.

Council members represent diverse backgrounds and bring various of experience to bear on the agency's policies, program and procedures.

The council is authorized under the Federal Advisory Committee Act; Public Law No. 92-463. The group suggests operational improvements and offers constructive observations about IRS' current or proposed policies, program and procedures. It also advises the IRS on particular issues having significant effect on federal tax administration.

The IRSAC is strategically structure into subgroups that mirror three IRS operating divisions- LMSB, W&I and SB/SE (TE/GE has its own advisory committee). The IRSAC is administered by the NPL Office under the direction of the Chief, Communications and Liaison.

SL HQ partners directly with NPL to coordinate all SB/SE related issues. The Chief, Payroll and Practitioner Liaison, is responsible for coordinating all SB/SE related issues with the Director, NPL Office.

Industry Liaison communicate strategies with their stakeholders by:

Industry Liaison provides potential partnering opportunities by:

A Small Business Forum (SBF) is an open forum with Industry stakeholders that allows us to exchange ideas; gather information about emerging stakeholder issues, manage relationships, and maintain a dialogue with stakeholder groups. By engaging our local and regional small businesses, trade associations and organizations, SL is able to identify stakeholders issues, communicate strategic priorities, reduce taxpayer burden and increase compliance. SBF is a way to build and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders. They represent a beneficial alternative to ad hoc meetings. Whether it is a face-to-face or phone forum with stakeholders, forums are an efficient way to reach a diverse group of stakeholders with IRS key messages and introduce small business products and services. Forums represent a non-threatening platform for stakeholders to elevate their concerns and issues.

SBFs are for the stakeholder organizations representing the small business/self employed taxpayer. This can include the leaders and members of industry, financial, government and/or minority groups. Practitioners may also be included if they represent SB/SE taxpayers as a leader or member of an association. Similar in concept to practitioner forums, SBFs are leveraged activities that greatly increase the number of small business taxpayers SL can reach.

A forum is planned and conducted by stakeholder organizations in collaboration with IRS, SL HQ. That is a significant distinction, since " support by SL HQ" suggests a more passive role. The forum is a co-sponsored event, where SL leverage the influence of lead partners to draw other stakeholders to the event. As an example, national forums are co-sponsored by SL HQ, US Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Businesses and Small Business Legislative Council. All participants work as a team to ensure a successful forum. The vision is that forums will be recognized for their benefits to stakeholders in SL area. However, the national SBF is a model to follow.

It is important to focus on the stakeholders "interest or needs." Forums are a way for stakeholder groups to gain assistance in navigating the IRS and connect with the appropriate IRS functions. In addition, forums are powerful vehicles for raising issues; helping stakeholders provide their members with the latest federal tax law information.

In general, audiences include both internal and external stakeholders. Consider your area and identify local representatives of financial, minority, professional, trade and service organizations that represent small business taxpayers. This also includes government agencies. Examples of the Tier 1 & 2 non-practitioner stakeholders can be found within the SRM document located on the CLD/SL web site. http://sbse.web.irs.gov/srm/pdf/tierI II stakeholders.pdf. The small business Forum (SBF) toolkit also provides a reference of sponsors and stakeholders location on the CLD/SL web site: http://sbse.web.irs.gov/CL2/sl/outreach/SBF.htm .

Internal stakeholders to invite or attend as guest speakers:

Planning the Forum:

Identify lead partners:

Pick the locations:

Determine who to invite: An important point to make is that SBF are open to everyone who has interest in a small business/self employed community. The goal should be to get a cross-section of small business organizations to attend since many issues impact multiple groups.

To help build an invitation list consider the following:

Setting the forum:

Issue invitations:

Building your agenda:

Secure and Prepare Speakers:

Develop forum packets:

At the Forum:

After the Forum. There are several post meeting actions crucial to the success of a forum. Your check list could include the following actions:

Background: The SBREFA ensures that Federal regulatory agencies consider the impact of their regulations on small businesses, and provides relief to small businesses in certain cases. The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides general oversight of agency compliance with SBREFA. The SBA Office of the National Ombudsman (ONO) provides specific oversight, including the submitting of an annual report to congress.

SL HQ serves as the IRS contact point for the SBREFA program and supports this work by:

Doc. 10018 - SBREFA at a Glance - This is an internal document for educating and providing SBREFA awareness. The latest revisions of this document is October 2001.