Watchdog finds Internal Revenue Service bypassed controls in Procurement Hub deployment

TIGTA reported that the Internal Revenue Service built a Procurement Hub for the government-wide “Defend the Spend” initiative. The watchdog found that the IRS bypassed key contracting and security controls during the expedited deployment of the tool. Specifically, the IRS awarded a third contract valued at $4.5 million without completing sufficient market research or defining clear milestones for the engineering services.

The findings indicate that the IRS deployed the Procurement Hub without proper risk assessment and bypassed preventive controls designed to protect taxpayer money. The lack of market research and clear deliverables raises questions about future unnecessary spending and procurement efficiency.