Lone Star State tackling taxing problem

The Texas State Comptroller's Office wanted its accounts examiners to have fingertip access to taxpayer returns. While 51% of the agency's annual 13.1 million documents were available on a FileNet imaging system, the remaining 49% were being microfilmed on the fly, with such poor results sometimes that the documents had to be refilmed.

The agency worked with Radian Systems to install a new Integrated Image Management System (IIMS), which consists of Radian's WorldScan and WSDOM software, as well as the FileNet system. Kodak and Scan Optics scanners produce image files from which the WSDOM software creates microfilm.

The IIMS has provided many benefits, according to Kim Blazich, systems analyst with the Comptroller's Office.

"All of the documents received from taxpayers are now available for our accounts examiners to review on the FileNet image system," said Blazich. "This has reduced the amount of time it takes to review an account, because the examiner does not have to find the document in the retention files or on microfilm. The microfilm quality has increased tremendously. Very few documents have to be re-microfilmed."

The Comptroller's Office is currently working with Radian to replace its key-from-paper system, which is not Y2K compliant, with a key-from-image system, which will be integrated into the IIMS