Research paper is first comprehensive exploration of transformation of federal spending.

Washington, D.C. – July 18, 2016
Today the Data Foundation and MorganFranklin Consulting unveiled the first-ever in-depth research paper on the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). The DATA Act: Vision & Value describes the law’s history and mandates, surveys its benefits, and outlines the challenges it faces. The DATA Act seeks to transform how spending for the largest, most complex organization in human history—the U.S. federal government—is collected, tracked, and used. By transforming federal spending information from disconnected documents into standardized, open data, the DATA Act promises better transparency for citizens, better management for agencies, anti-fraud analytics for inspectors general and Congress, and automated compliance for grantees and contractors. However, these benefits depend on the hard work of agency CFOs, who must report standardized spending information by May 2017, as well as continued implementation leadership from the Treasury Department and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Key insights first published in The DATA Act: Vision & Value include:

  • How standardized spending data could allow a government-wide data analytics center to recover up to $1.6 billion from fraud, waste, and abuse.
  • The DATA Act’s potential to publish the full life cycle of federal spending—from appropriation and allocation to obligation and disbursement—and how life cycle transparency benefits citizens, agencies, and watchdogs.
  • How the long-term success of the DATA Act depends on Treasury’s and OMB’s willingness to retire legacy reporting processes made redundant by the new law.

“The DATA Act is a game-changer that will transform government spending and data transparency, and we are confident that The DATA Act: Vision & Value report provides thorough analysis of the law and offers an in-depth look at its proposed impact and benefits to the American people, agencies, watchdogs, and federal grantees and contractors,” said co-author Frank Landefeld, Managing Director & Public Sector Market Leader at MorganFranklin Consulting. “Through the release of the most comprehensive paper ever written on the DATA Act, we are proud to provide pointed recommendations to help ensure that all of the transformations envisioned by the law’s sponsors come to pass.”

“The DATA Act: Vision & Value is the Data Foundation’s first large-scale research product,” said Foundation Interim President Hudson Hollister. “Our organization was formed because policymakers need detailed, high-quality research on the benefits and challenges of open data. With today’s co-publication, MorganFranklin and the Data Foundation have filled that gap for federal spending. We look forward to future research on how the open data transformation will deliver new functionality in regulatory reporting and in legislative text.”

About MorganFranklin Consulting

MorganFranklin Consulting (www.morganfranklin.com) is a global management and technology consulting firm that works with leading businesses and government.  The firm helps organizations solve their most pressing challenges and address critical finance, technology, and business objectives. MorganFranklin is headquartered in the Washington D.C. area with regional offices in Atlanta and San Francisco, and supports clients across the globe.

MorganFranklin Consulting is the brand name referring to the global organization of MorganFranklin, Inc. and its subsidiary MorganFranklin Consulting, LLC.

For Media Inquiries:

Andrew Moses
MorganFranklin Consulting
Phone: 703-564-7525
Email: Andrew.Moses@www.morganfranklin.com