Ethics—IRS Behavioral Insights for Accountants

 

 

 

This course provides a concise overview of how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses behavioral insights (BI)—the study of how people reflect and behave—to drive compliance, positively impact taxpayer engagement, and reduce taxpayer burden. While the IRS is governed by federal tax law, it’s also shaped by social norms. As part of its mission to collect taxes and administer the Internal Revenue Code, the agency utilizes human psychology to achieve its goals. Its priorities include improving public identity (using the IRS logo, seal, and symbol), voluntary compliance (using public shaming and the “Wesley Snipes” effect), trust building (using a Taxpayer Bill of Rights), and error reductions (using alerts and reminders to nudge behaviors). The session reveals how to “get into the head” of the agency and better understand the key psychological factors (individual, environmental, social) that drive leading IRS operations and decisions. The course also spotlights the leading issues and pain-points that are currently “top of mind” for the agency and how practitioners can be more mindful in their interactions with the IRS to improve outcomes.

Event Level: Basic
Who Should Attend: Practitioners and Enrolled Agents who want to better understand how behavioral insights impact IRS operations and how this cognitive concept can be used by accountants to improve their interactions with the agency
Required Knowledge: None
Advanced Preparation: None
Vendor: NCACPA
Speaker: Wasny, Garrett