Iowa State University


Inside Iowa State
August 23, 1996

IRS coming to campus

by Diana Pounds
The IRS is coming to campus for an audit that's expected to last at least a year.

The Internal Revenue Service is conducting audits in a number of universities, and Iowa State was selected, said Johnny Pickett, assistant vice president for business and finance.

"The IRS will conduct a comprehensive audit to ensure that we're complying with all tax regulations," Pickett said. "Auditors will look at all kinds of things, from what we withhold from graduate students' pay-checks to our agreements with independent contractors."

The agents have requested office space on campus for 12 to 18 months, Pickett said. "We may have as many as six to eight agents here starting in October."

Stephanie Fox, manager of accounting services, will coordinate IRS requests for information and will contact faculty and staff if information is needed from their departments, Pickett added.

The IRS auditors will prepare a preliminary report with their findings, and Iowa State officials will have a chance to respond. That's usually followed by a negotiation process if there are areas of disagreement, Pickett said.

"There are many ambiguities in the tax code and we may have some differences of interpretation," Pickett said. "That has been the case at a number of other universities where the audit has been conducted. However, we're not anticipating any substantial problems. We have been attentive to tax compliance issues and we are prepared for the audit."

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