To whom it may concern
We are some of the accounting students from the Leeds School of Business at CU-Boulder. We are doing a semester-long project for the Colorado Department Revenue, focusingon the efficiency of the current audit assignment and employee review processes. Tammy L. Sorensen, a senior revenue agent,has been our liason for this project.
At the end of the semester, we will present our recommendations based on the information that we gather. We think that it is very useful to get some input from Colorado Department of Revenue agents regarding what they think about the current processes and what kind of changes they want to see at the Colorado Department of Revenue.
We have created the following survey to gather input from agents and we will make some of our recommendations to the Department based on your answers. We would really appreciate if you could email your responses for the survey questionnaires or o maintain the anonymity of the survey,
Let us know if you have any further questions about the project.
Thank you.
Bishop Bhandari
Brandon Dyer
Daniel Deshe
Torrence White
1.What level auditor are you?
-Senior
2.How long have you been with the Colorado Department of Revenue?
-10 years
3.How do you feel about a seniority-based audit assignment process?
-I feel it is fair
4.How do you choose your preferences when selecting an audit(location, type of industry, etc.)?
-location, type of industry, knowledge of the taxpayer
5.Do you think a skill-based audit assignment process would work in your group?
-it would work but it would prevent exposure to areas outside our skill set
6.How effective do you think the performance evaluation process is currently in communicating responsibilities to employees?
-not effective at all. When the manager gives a performance evaluation, it is based on bias and interpretation (or misinterpretation) of a single situation. The evaluation is designed to be fair but it is far from fair. The standardization of review must be established as it currently allows for favoritism of one employee and bullying of another.
7.Does the performance evaluation process motivate you to do your best?
-Not at all. There is no raise incentive, no movement in position, no change or relief of duties, no encouragement, no positive reinforcement, etc.
8.What are some of the criteria that you feel should be used as a basis to evaluate your performance?
-Job knowledge based on the total process. A question presented to the manager is not a lack of knowledge but a process of clarification, establishing a solid path to complete the assignment. Preparation of files has been scrutinized to the level of intimidation, preventing a normal learning process which would lead to increased job knowledge.
9.If you see the assignment process changed, would that motivate you or would you lose your motivation?
-The assignment process should allow auditors to choose who they want to work with and not allow management to dictate the audit partner. The motivation to work with who I choose is highly rated. To be prevented from working with a particular auditor, being forced to work on an undesirable audit, or having the manager dictate all aspects of the audit would cause extreme loss of motivation.
10.Do you think it would be better to have a different process for in-state and out-of-state audit assignments?
-Indifferent.
11.What motivates you to go above and beyond your job responsibilities?
-When I believe my manager has my back, both with the taxpayer and with those in the office.
12.How do you feel about working in an environment where you are motivated by intrinsic motivational techniques?( For example: just receiving a certificate of appreciation)
-If it is true, and not for formality purposes, then I would be motivated to EARN the “reward”. However, if it is understood that the manager would never consider me for such “reward”, then it would not be motivated.
13.Is your skill set best matched to the audits that you perform?
-No
14.How do you feel about the current second auditor assignment process?
-See #9 above.
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