Page 101 - IRS Plan
P. 101
Initiative 4.5 Maximize data utility
The IRS will improve the storage and management of data to support improved taxpayer services
and enforcement
Where we are heading Key projects
The IRS’s data is not uniformly accessible in an 1. Make appropriate data available and
organized, digital format. Data is stored across a accessible to users. Make data from legacy
range of legacy systems, and most taxpayer-facing and modernized systems—including mission
staff have limited access to data sources. To bring and support data—digitally available and readily
data together that is now distributed across legacy accessible to approved users as necessary
systems, we will need to upgrade our foundational and appropriate to deliver effective tax
enterprise capabilities such as data standards, administration and a high-quality taxpayer
metadata standards and data stewardship. experience.
This unified approach to data management 2. Develop a process for proactively
will not only facilitate quality control and data identifying gaps in data. Continually evaluate
organization but will also strengthen data security.
the completeness and accuracy of the data the
IRS collects and generates to identify any gaps
We will organize and improve the availability
and completeness of high-quality and timely affecting key use cases of the IRS mission.
data to support access for appropriate purposes, 3. Develop a process to regularly evaluate
including operational needs, analytics, business opportunities to leverage external data.
intelligence reporting, and research. To achieve Develop a governance process for
this, we will identify which data are needed for appropriately using external and commercial
business purposes, ingest the right data in timely data sets to improve tax administration.
ways, ensure that it is complete and accurate, 4. Establish comprehensive data platforms.
and put mechanisms in place to allow appropriate Create enterprise-wide platforms and
access to data while protecting taxpayer privacy. supporting tools to efficiently bring together
We also need the infrastructure to allow data, improve organization and streamline
the dissemination of data to support IRS dissemination.
operations across the enterprise while
preserving data security and taxpayer privacy. 5. Reinforce enterprise-wide data governance.
Transform data governance at the enterprise
level to facilitate effective application of data
What success would look like to mission goals. Create enterprise data and
meta-data standards. Create an enterprise-
Success for this initiative would include having wide data catalog and taxonomy. Implement
high-quality, complete data for strategic decision- an enterprise-level data stewardship program.
making. Data would be available for analytics to Develop policies to ensure that all data access
help clarify taxpayer needs, better identify complies with privacy and security standards.
emerging compliance issues, increase operational
effectiveness and innovation, and ensure fair and Milestones
equitable treatment of taxpayers. IRS employees
would be able to access appropriate data in a
usable format to fulfill their responsibilities and 1 FY 2023
serve taxpayers. Enterprise data platforms would Process created for establishing
expand taxpayers’ access to their own data. enterprise data and meta-data standards
94 IRS IRA Strategic Operating Plan
Part II: Objectives and Initiatives
