The current audit assignment process at the State of Colorado Department of Revenue is based on seniority. While no standardized process is currently in place, the most common process allows the auditors to request audits and are assigned them based on the auditors seniority level and if the auditor is suited for the audit.
The problem with the current system is that auditors are selecting their audits based on location first and foremost and then based on type of audit and how qualified they are for it. Of the 11 responses to the surveys sent to the auditors at the Colorado Department of Revenue, 9 auditors have said they choose their audit based on the location. This is causing the most experienced and qualified auditors to get the audits that are in the best location and not the audits they are most qualified for. As a result of this, the lower level auditors are being stuck with audits that they are not qualified for and may not have all of the skills to complete as efficiently as possible.
Based on the responses to the surveys, higher level auditors and thus agents with more seniority like the current process because they get their first choice of audits and get to go the locations of their choice. However, lower level auditors have said that they either do not think it is fair or just go along with it because that is the way it is done.
For in state audits it makes sense to allow the auditor to choose their audits based on location because it reduces the travel time for an auditor and reduces the amount of money spent by the Department of Revenue in travel costs. Also it makes sense for an auditor in Denver to perform and audit in the Denver area and not in places far away such as Telluride or Pitkin County. The problem with the in state assignment process is that auditors are still not being assigned to the audits they are most qualified for which may be in the same city they are performing the audit they have chosen. To solve this problem a new process must be created for in state audits.
For out of state audits the current process of seniority does not work. Because the auditors are choosing based on location, higher level auditors are potentially getting audits that they are over qualified for and lower level auditors are potentially getting audits they do not have the skills to complete. An example of this is when an auditor with more seniority chooses the audit in Miami, the easier audit that is perfect for a lower level auditor, over Wichita, the more difficult audit that the higher level auditor has the skill set to complete, because he or she wants to get out of the cold and be in warm Miami by the beach. This creates the obvious problem of the lower level auditor getting the more difficult audit that he or she may not be able to complete as efficiently as the higher level auditor would have been able to.
While it would be ideal for the auditors to keep the current process and choose their audits based on their skill sets and the requirements of the audits, it is not possible to ensure this happens without a change in the process. The audit assignment process needs to change in order to enable to Colorado Department of Revenue to perform at top efficiency and generate all of the revenue owed to the state.