The chairman of a state legislature's nance committee has charged that the Division of Taxation's computer systems

The chairman of a state legislature's finance committee has charged that the Division of Taxation's computer systems are in chaos and, as a consequence, the state is failing to collect hundreds of millions in income taxes to which it is entitled. According to the chairman, the system was improperly designed and many of its component computers, software programs, and peripheral items of equipment have failed to perform as promised.
The overall system had been designed three years earlier by an outside consulting firm. The component computers, software programs, and peripheral items of equipment were purchased by the state from numerous different vendors.
The chairman has charged that the new system, costing $50 million, was a fiscal disaster and demanded that the State Auditor determine the reasons for the failure.
Suppose that you are a senior-level auditor in the State Auditor's Office. You are asked by the State Auditor to head a team to assess whether, in fact, the systems are not working as intended and, if not, why not and who is responsible.
1. Indicate in general terms how you might determine what was intended of the system.
2. Assume that you concluded that the system was not operating as intended. Indicate your general approach to discerning the reason for the failures and to pinpointing responsibility.