Posted by Mark Brousseau
Business and IT collaboration is critical to the success of a data warehousing project, Alison Torres, director, Teradata Warehouse Consulting told attendees during a presentation at the FTA Technology Conference and Exposition at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead in Atlanta. “The most successful data warehouses have a team of IT and business representatives with an executive sponsor,” Torres said.
A data warehouse is a place that brings together data from disparate systems, which enables timely, accurate decision-making in support of strategic and tactical business initiatives, Torres explained.
“The only relevant measures of data warehousing success are business impact and value,” she added.
Torres said the keys to business and IT working together on a data warehousing project are:
… Building/evolving the vision together
… Appreciating IT’s challenges
… Building the business/data model together
… Championing the data warehouse together
… Creating overlapping organizations
… Establishing meaningful accountabilities and service level agreements
So how do you get started? Torres offered several suggestions:
… Assemble a cross-functional team with representation across all business units, corporate departments and IT services
… Hold weekly business data modeling sessions
… Develop consistent business definitions across all levels of the business
… Map data requirements generated from business modeling sessions
… Store the data model in a tool
… Produce detailed documentation
Additionally, IT must understand the business impact of data problems, Torres said.
“When data is unavailable, business opportunities are lost, perhaps forever,” Torres explained. “Late information is, in most cases, as good as no information. It is imperative that IT understands this.”
It’s through this type of collaboration that organizations can increase the odds of success of their data warehouse project.
What do you think?
Showing posts with label tax processing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tax processing. Show all posts
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
State Government IT: Version 2010
Posted by Mark Brousseau
As with every arm of government in today’s environment, state government chief information officers (CIOs) must do more with less. A search for lower costs will drive the agendas of many state CIOs for the next few years, as they look for ways to enhance IT performance. According to the 2010 State CIO Survey, conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and TechAmerica, two-thirds of state and territorial CIOs face budget decreases in 2011 through 2013. However, some state CIOs see a silver lining — public sector IT departments are increasing the use of shared services, reassessing contracts and leveraging economies of scale when purchasing.
Three out of four CIOs say their offices receive some form of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding. Eighty percent say other state agencies have also benefitted from ARRA money. Although additional funding undoubtedly helps cash-strapped IT departments, it’s not always easy to determine the impact on performance — one-third of CIOs say they do not formally measure how IT contributes to agency missions and strategies.
At a time when government and citizens are demanding increased transparency, CIOs must find ways to demonstrate the efficiency and value of IT, Grant Thornton concludes.
What do you think?
As with every arm of government in today’s environment, state government chief information officers (CIOs) must do more with less. A search for lower costs will drive the agendas of many state CIOs for the next few years, as they look for ways to enhance IT performance. According to the 2010 State CIO Survey, conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and TechAmerica, two-thirds of state and territorial CIOs face budget decreases in 2011 through 2013. However, some state CIOs see a silver lining — public sector IT departments are increasing the use of shared services, reassessing contracts and leveraging economies of scale when purchasing.
Three out of four CIOs say their offices receive some form of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding. Eighty percent say other state agencies have also benefitted from ARRA money. Although additional funding undoubtedly helps cash-strapped IT departments, it’s not always easy to determine the impact on performance — one-third of CIOs say they do not formally measure how IT contributes to agency missions and strategies.
At a time when government and citizens are demanding increased transparency, CIOs must find ways to demonstrate the efficiency and value of IT, Grant Thornton concludes.
What do you think?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Paper is still king in government operations
Check out this article by Government Technology magazine on the results of IAPP-TAWPI's 2010 Government Payments and Document Processing Study.
http://www.govtech.com/gt/765018?topic=117673
http://www.govtech.com/gt/765018?topic=117673
Monday, June 7, 2010
The threat of cyber security to tax administration
Posted by Mark Brousseau
“The way tax administration occurs today has significantly changed,” Devon Bryan, CISSP, deputy associate CIO, cyber security, Internal Revenue Service, told attendees at the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) Annual Meeting at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta this afternoon. “Modern tax administration has grown increasingly dependent on the near limitless interconnectivity of the Internet to provide instant access to information and services. But that comes with a risk.”
Bryan said, “We are now facing a flood of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. As commercial and government services continue to be made available online, the amount of sensitive and financial data transmitted over the internet, also increases.” He pointed to the 2009 Internet Crime Report which reported that the Internet Crime Complaint Center web site received more than 300,000 compliant submissions last year – a 22.3 percent increase as compared to 2008. The FBI estimates that more money was made in cybercrime last year than in illegal drug trafficking, Bryan added.
And that’s a chilling thought, Bryan said, when you consider that data networks now underlie the U.S. power grid, the country’s military operations, and its telecommunications infrastructure.
Data networks also are becoming critical to U.S. tax administration.
And that’s why tax processors need to be more vigilant about cyber security, Bryan said.
“The way tax administration occurs today has significantly changed,” Devon Bryan, CISSP, deputy associate CIO, cyber security, Internal Revenue Service, told attendees at the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) Annual Meeting at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta this afternoon. “Modern tax administration has grown increasingly dependent on the near limitless interconnectivity of the Internet to provide instant access to information and services. But that comes with a risk.”
Bryan said, “We are now facing a flood of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. As commercial and government services continue to be made available online, the amount of sensitive and financial data transmitted over the internet, also increases.” He pointed to the 2009 Internet Crime Report which reported that the Internet Crime Complaint Center web site received more than 300,000 compliant submissions last year – a 22.3 percent increase as compared to 2008. The FBI estimates that more money was made in cybercrime last year than in illegal drug trafficking, Bryan added.
And that’s a chilling thought, Bryan said, when you consider that data networks now underlie the U.S. power grid, the country’s military operations, and its telecommunications infrastructure.
Data networks also are becoming critical to U.S. tax administration.
And that’s why tax processors need to be more vigilant about cyber security, Bryan said.
Changes taxpayers can believe in
Posted by Mark Brousseau
“Many taxpayers believe they can’t get a fair shake from their state tax system,” Walter Hellerstein, Shackelford Professor of Taxation, University of Georgia Law School, said this morning at the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) Annual Meeting at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta. “They think there are too many thumbs in the mix. This is what’s driving so many of the problems that we are seeing, not to mention, the Tea Party movement.”
Getting to a more “robust” tax system that is closer to “the ideal” will go a long way toward changing taxpayers’ negative perceptions, Hellerstein told attendees. He said that some key changes should include a streamlined sales tax, independent state tax courts, withholding on flow-through entities, federal-state tax coordination, and corporate income tax uniformity. “These changes would at least get us to where we could talk to each other in more civil tones,” Hellerstein said. “The answer is respect; not only between federal and state entities, but also between taxpayers and states.”
“Many taxpayers believe they can’t get a fair shake from their state tax system,” Walter Hellerstein, Shackelford Professor of Taxation, University of Georgia Law School, said this morning at the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) Annual Meeting at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta. “They think there are too many thumbs in the mix. This is what’s driving so many of the problems that we are seeing, not to mention, the Tea Party movement.”
Getting to a more “robust” tax system that is closer to “the ideal” will go a long way toward changing taxpayers’ negative perceptions, Hellerstein told attendees. He said that some key changes should include a streamlined sales tax, independent state tax courts, withholding on flow-through entities, federal-state tax coordination, and corporate income tax uniformity. “These changes would at least get us to where we could talk to each other in more civil tones,” Hellerstein said. “The answer is respect; not only between federal and state entities, but also between taxpayers and states.”
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Modernized e-Filing System Takes Off
Posted by Mark Brousseau
More than 6.5 million federal tax returns (business and individual) were submitted through the new Modernized e-File (MeF) system, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) told attendees of the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) Annual Meeting at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta today. That’s on top of nearly 400,000 state tax returns (business and individual) submitted using MeF. On March 15th alone, the IRS received nearly 500,000 MeF submissions.
MeF is a web-based system that allows electronic filing through the Internet of corporate, partnership, exempt organization, excise tax returns, and, for the first time this year, Individual 1040 returns. When fully deployed, MeF will replace the IRS’ legacy e-file system.
1040 MeF is being deployed over three years. The first phase, deployed this year, includes processing of Form 1040 and 22 other forms and schedules. Fourteen states currently are in live production with 1040 MeF. As of April 21, more than 1 million federal and state returns were submitted via 1040 MeF, the IRS says.
Phase 2, targeted for next filling season, will support the same forms and will include current and prior year processing. In addition, the IRS will complete the build-out of additional hardware and improved disaster recovery capabilities. The Phase 3 plan, targeted for January 2012, will bring online the remaining related 1040 forms and schedules and will include amended return processing. During the deployment phases, the IRS’ legacy e-file system will remain fully operational with current plans to retire it during the fourth quarter of calendar year 2012.
More than 6.5 million federal tax returns (business and individual) were submitted through the new Modernized e-File (MeF) system, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) told attendees of the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) Annual Meeting at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta today. That’s on top of nearly 400,000 state tax returns (business and individual) submitted using MeF. On March 15th alone, the IRS received nearly 500,000 MeF submissions.
MeF is a web-based system that allows electronic filing through the Internet of corporate, partnership, exempt organization, excise tax returns, and, for the first time this year, Individual 1040 returns. When fully deployed, MeF will replace the IRS’ legacy e-file system.
1040 MeF is being deployed over three years. The first phase, deployed this year, includes processing of Form 1040 and 22 other forms and schedules. Fourteen states currently are in live production with 1040 MeF. As of April 21, more than 1 million federal and state returns were submitted via 1040 MeF, the IRS says.
Phase 2, targeted for next filling season, will support the same forms and will include current and prior year processing. In addition, the IRS will complete the build-out of additional hardware and improved disaster recovery capabilities. The Phase 3 plan, targeted for January 2012, will bring online the remaining related 1040 forms and schedules and will include amended return processing. During the deployment phases, the IRS’ legacy e-file system will remain fully operational with current plans to retire it during the fourth quarter of calendar year 2012.
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