3.29 We interviewed the contract managers at the Inland Revenue and Accenture. Both told us that they considered the relationship between the parties had improved since the introduction and operation of the new arrangements. Accenture told us that, whereas the relationship had previously been confrontational, it was now very positive. The Inland Revenue's contract management team understood their objectives, listened to their views, and resolved issues without the need to resort to formal contract escalation procedures. The Inland Revenue rated their relationship with Accenture as very good following the introduction of new incentives and joint working, and user satisfaction with the system had improved substantially.
3.30 At the time of our examination there had been two software releases under the contract extension. The projects covered by these releases, which included changes required for pensions sharing on divorce, bereavement, incapacity and the restructuring of national insurance contributions, were completed on schedule. Development required to support the introduction of stakeholder pensions was scheduled for implementation in two stages in October 2001 and April 2002. The Inland Revenue reported that the quality of software had improved significantly, compared with the earliest releases and that they had also benefited from cost and productivity improvements under the new profit and productivity sharing arrangements.