Andersen Consulting Awarded IRS Contract.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 1995--In support of ongoing efforts to modernize its services, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has awarded Andersen Consulting one of 14 contracts under the Treasury Information Processing Support Services (TIPSS) procurement to provide support services for the Department of the Treasury.

Under the terms of the contract, Andersen Consulting -- the global management and technology consulting organization -- is eligible to provide up to $200 million in professional consulting services over the next five years.

"This is a major win for Andersen Consulting in the federal arena. The evaluation criteria used by the IRS to select the winning vendors placed much greater emphasis on corporate capability and past performance than the typical procurement. Our selection indicates that federal organizations like the IRS recognize Andersen Consulting's record for success and view us as a critical partner in their efforts to improve service to citizens," said Stephen Smith, managing partner of federal services in Andersen Consulting's Government industry practice based in Washington, D.C.

"This agreement is part of the IRS' overall efforts to increase voluntary compliance and responsiveness through better service to taxpayers. To this end, it is an opportunity for Andersen Consulting to help create solutions that work for the federal government," said Smith.

Andersen Consulting's Government Industry practice helps public service organizations worldwide create strategies, improve processes, implement technologies and manage organizational change. For example, in the area of finance and revenue, the firm has broad experience partnering with agencies to increase their revenue collection, enhance voluntary compliance, streamline information systems and make it easier for the public to do business with the government.

Under terms of the TIPSS contract, vendors will provide a broad range of professional services in the areas of information systems support, information engineering, acquisition support, telecommunications and security, financial systems support, socio-technical services and imaging support.

All selected firms received a one-year contract with four one-year options. Each contract has a ceiling of $200 million, and task orders will be awarded based on a company's performance on earlier TIPSS task orders. These are the first contracts the IRS has awarded that integrate past performance evaluation criteria into the contract on an ongoing basis, a concept in line with Vice President Gore's National Performance Review. While the IRS is expected to be the primary user of the contracts, the services will also be available to other bureaus within the Department of the Treasury.

"Andersen Consulting's goal is to provide citizen-centered services using our global resources and proven solutions," said Smith. "This model will be extremely useful in our relationship with the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury."

Andersen Consulting is a $3.45 billion global management and technology consulting organization whose mission is to help its clients change to be more successful. The organization works with clients from a wide range of industries to link their people, processes and technologies to their strategies. Andersen Consulting has more than 32,000 people in 152 offices and 47 countries.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Andersen Consulting is not a division of accounting firm Arthur Andersen.

CONTACT: Andersen Consulting, Chicago

Joanne A. Gordon, 312/507-6629