Strategic BCP to Hold Teleseminar on IRS Business Continuity Standards for Collection Contracts

Plymouth Meeting, PA – Strategic BCP today announced it will hold a free teleseminar on Thursday, July 14, 2005, at 11 am (EST). The topic of discussion during the call will be the Business Continuity Planning (BCP) standards contained within guidelines published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a Federal agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce, Technology Administration. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has indicated that NIST guidelines on business continuity planning will be the authoritative standard against which potential vendors will be judged as a part of the selection process of its private collection agency (PCA) initiative.

The call will be presented by Strategic BCP President Frank Perlmutter, a nationally renowned expert on Business Continuity Planning and a former standards developer, contracting officer, risk management advisor, and auditor for the U.S. Department of Treasury?s Financial Management Service. Topics covered on this one-hour conference call will include:

• An overview of the NIST guidelines.

• The differences between Emergency Response, Disaster Recovery, and Business Resumption as the terms relate to the IRS and the NIST guidelines.

• What type of evidence will adequately demonstrate compliance with the 3 planning elements and 7 BCP development steps of the NIST guidelines.

• Comparisons between the NIST guidelines and those applied to financial institutions.

• What your next steps should be in attempting to comply with the NIST guidelines.

“From what we know about the IRS and how it will select contractors for the collection contract, it would be in the best interests of any agency serious about pursuing the contract to take advantage of this opportunity to better understand the NIST guidelines,” said Nick Bernardo, consultant to the industry. He added, “From a risk standpoint, the information is essential. However, there is also a competitive element, because agencies that show compliance will position themselves as better candidates for the IRS.”

To sign up to receive the dial in number for this free teleseminar, contact Frank Perlmutter at 215-870-4340 or via email at fperlmutter@strategicbcp.com.