Data standards have been established under the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 but more complete and timely guidance is needed to ensure effective implementation, GAO has said.
Under the DATA Act, OMB and Treasury issued definitions for 57 federal spending data elements but some of those definitions are open to interpretation and could lead to inconsistent reporting.
GAO found that most definitions adhere to leading practices derived from international standards for formulating data definitions, but some such as the definition for “Primary Place of Performance” include subjective terms such as “predominant” that leave a lot of room for interpretation.
OMB and Treasury have yet to release final guidance to provide a stable base for agency implementation, something agencies need to develop detailed agency-level plans. Agencies also are waiting for an intermediary service (“broker”) to standardize and validate agency data submissions, according to GAO-16-261.
OMB and Treasury generally agreed to provide agencies with clarifications to address potential quality issues with the definitions, and take steps to align the release of finalized technical guidance and the broker service with agency implementation time frames.
