The IRS did a poor job of keeping its own books last year, the General Accounting Office said in a report to Congress Monday, the Associated Press reported.
The GAO told the House Government Reform Government Management, Information and Technology Subcommittee the IRS experienced "serious internal control and financial management issues" that resulted in millions of dollars in fraudulent refunds, substandard computer security controls, and failure to keep track of assets.
IRS officials took responsibility for the problems, which they said were rooted in the agency's antiquated computer systems.
"I am deeply disappointed that we failed to meet our obligations," said IRS chief financial officer Donna Cunninghame.
The problems were found in the agency's administration of an $8.1 billion annual budget. Many of the problems are chronic, and Cunninghame said the new management team at IRS is redoubling efforts to eliminate them.
NEXT STORY: GAO says HCFA will fix Y2K bug in time