The FITARA Effect: How This New Legislation is Affecting Capital Planning and Investment Control

As the lens continues to focus in on Information Technology (IT) spending in the federal Government, innovative methods to cut costs without sacrificing results have become a major point of emphasis. The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) aims to streamline the acquisition process and make Congressional oversight more efficient by strengthening the ability to better align IT investments to agency objectives. In layman’s terms, FITARA will attempt to decrease IT costs by reducing redundancy and waste.

In essence, this new law seeks to advance federal IT management reform and aims to effectively incorporate many of the fundamental principles of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996. The impact of FITARA is extensive and will affect several different business functions, including Acquisitions, Budget, Governance, Cybersecurity, Capital Planning and Investment Control. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the FITARA implementation guidance which focuses on improving several areas where Clinger-Cohen failed to deliver adequate results.