Department Spotlight: U.S. Department of the Treasury

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is the steward of U.S. economic and financial systems, and is responsible for maintaining the nation's financial infrastructure. This includes the production of currency, the disbursement of payments to the American public, revenue collection, and the borrowing of funds necessary to run the federal government. The most familiar agency within Treasury may also be the most dreaded, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). With tax time approaching, we thought it was a good time to look at the challenges and focus of the Treasury.

• Cybercrime - The Treasury has always been focused on preventing fraud related to currency and tax evasion, but much like the Department of Defense has recognized cyberspace as a new battlefield. Treasury is now focusing on the Internet as the primary stage for money-related crimes. The speed at which crimes are carried out online require new techniques and tools. The use of cryptocurrencies to mask criminal behavior is also a huge focus of the Treasury's investigative departments.
• Blockchain - While blockchain has a tie to the movement of cryptocurrencies (both legitimate and criminal), Treasury is also looking at the technology as a way to better facilitate the management of federal grant funds. In one case, the National Science Foundation is using blockchain to track grant payments and ensure that the terms of the grant are being followed.
• Cloud - Like the Intelligence community, Treasury is looking to develop a cloud solution that meets the unique security needs of its mission while delivering on the efficiencies of the on-demand nature of cloud. The Department is developing a proposal for "T-Cloud," an enterprise wide suite of cloud and professional services across multiple providers. The goal to is award this contract and get it implemented by 2022.
• Citizen Experience - The IRS may be one of the most visible government agencies as citizens interact with them at least once a year. With their high touch with the public, the IRS has been a leader in redefining what customer service means in government. In fiscal 2018, 90% of customers were satisfied with their service via phone or a tax assistance center. This does not mean the work is done. A recent report gave the IRS a C+ on its use of language, saying the agency needs to make their web content more user-friendly using Plain Language

For those working at or supporting the Treasury, there are several upcoming events that can help bring these challenges and their solutions into focus.

• Citizen Engagement Summit (March 3, 2020; Washington, DC) - With the 21st Century IDEA Act, there are new priorities for improving and expanding the types of services that agencies offer. At this event, experts from OMB, DOI, SBA, DOC, and more will explore the evolution of federal agencies' relationships with digital citizens and how technology can help improve and expand that engagement. This includes automation's role in improving the citizen experience, integrating siloed services into more flexible digital platforms, and shared digital services and interagency resources.
• Emerge 2020: Bringing Vision to Life (April 14, 2020; Washington, DC) - This event brings together Federal civilian, defense, and industry leaders to talk about the latest strategies for mission success across automation, modernization, security, enterprise agility, and cloud.
• Security through INSIGHTS Summit (April 22, 2020; Arlington, VA) - Technology modernization is the foundation of good cybersecurity. The key to improving security posture is gaining intelligence that lets us respond to our environments and deriving insights that empower us to change it. This event will discuss the public sector's path to modernization and how it will defend against the next generation of cyberthreats through actionable intelligence.
• Cloud Computing Conference @930Gov (June 10, 2020; Washington, DC) - This event will review the variety of platforms and solutions available, highlight federal government success stories, and provide a roadmap of how those responsible for implementing cloud-based technologies can evaluate the options and choose the best solutions for their agency.

Let us know if you have ideas for events that will provide insight on cloud, cybersecurity, and modernization that would benefit those working with the Treasury. For more events in the U.S. and worldwide, visit GovEvents.