This CPE course provides a concise overview of how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses behavioral insights (BI). This is the cross-discipline, open-minded science of understanding how people behave and why they act as they do. BI is increasingly being used by organizations worldwide to better understand the behaviors of their customers and citizens in order to guide and nudge them towards desired actions, or to improve their experience. You’ll walk away knowing how the IRS is using BI to drive compliance, positively impact taxpayer engagement, and reduce taxpayer burden.

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• When considering BI, practitioners will be able to identify at least six ways BI is being used to nudge citizens, consumers and taxpayers towards desired actions and improve their experience.
• When examining BI, practitioners will be able to summarize at least 4 reasons why people are not always rational, and why their decisions are often driven by emotions, not careful economic analysis.
• When evaluting BI, practitioners will be able to point out at least 7 competing visions within the IRS on how BI should be used (or not) to increase compliance.
• When exploring BI options, practitioners will be able to list at least 8 BI strategies that can be used to influence taxpayer behavior and improve persuasion.
• When reviewing BI, practitioners will be able to restate at least 10 ways BI can be used in the wording and graphic design and layout of tax forms to deter non-compliance.

Topics Covered:

• Behavioral Insights (BI) Fundamentals
• Edward Bernays: The Father of BI
• How BI is used in social media and the consumer economy
• The power of nudging
• How BI is being used in tax administrations around the world
• BI tax experiments at the IRS
• Leading BI proposals for the IRS
• How to apply BI principles in your accounting operations

Who Will Benefit/Target Audience:

Practitioners who want to better understand how BI is best tested and used within the IRS to improve the taxpayer experience, and how BI can also be applied by practitioners in their own operations and workflow to improve customer engagement and satisfaction.

Prerequisite Knowledge

Participants should have a basic understanding of Internet technology, online navigation, and digital productivity services.