The Hearings Division conducts informal conferences and issues Decision and Orders regarding certain Departmental actions contested by taxpayers. This metric measures the average number of days it takes from the date an informal conference request is acknowledged (informal conference request was received, it was timely filed, it has been entered in the Hearings Tracking System (HTS) and an acknowledgment letter is generated to be sent to the taxpayer indicating that we received their request), to the date the Decision and Order is mailed. A lower number represents a decrease in time it takes to conclude a matter resulting in more timely processing and better customer service. (Q4 - changed target from 180 to 160).