About Us

Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

Laser Focus World is part of Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

Laser Focus World Membership

Never miss any articles, videos, podcasts, or webinars by signing up for membership access to Laser Focus World online. You can manage your preferences all in one place—and provide our editorial team with your valued feedback.

Magazine Subscription

Can you subscribe to receive our print issue for free? Yes, you sure can!

Newsletter Subscription

A Laser Focus World newsletter subscription is free to qualified professionals:

The Daily Beam

Showcases the newest content from Laser Focus World, including photonics- and optics-based applications, components, research, and trends. (Daily)

Product Watch

The latest in products within the photonics industry. (9x per year)

Bio & Life Sciences Product Watch

The latest in products within the biophotonics industry. (4x per year)

Laser Processing Product Watch

The latest in products within the laser processing industry. (3x per year)

Get Published!

If you’d like to write an article for us, reach out with a short pitch to Sally Cole Johnson: [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

Photonics Hot List

Laser Focus World produces a video newscast that gives a peek into what’s happening in the world of photonics.

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast dives deep into the fascinating world of photonics. Our weekly episodes feature interviews and discussions with industry and research experts, providing valuable perspectives on the issues, technologies, and trends shaping the photonics community.

Social Media

Bluesky • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn • YouTube

Meet the Laser Focus World Team

Editorial

Sales

Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology
My Watchlist
Indicators
Industrial Laser Index
Markets
Stocks
ETFs
Tools
Markets:
Overview
News
Currencies
International
Treasuries

IRS Implements Robotic Process Automation Technology from UiPath Within Its Finance and Procurement Divisions

By: via Business Wire

The Internal Revenue Service is using software robots from UiPath (NYSE: PATH), a leading enterprise automation software company, to enhance the agency’s technology to better manage its finance and procurement functions.

“The agency is making a fundamental shift with robotic process automation technology,” said IRS Chief Financial Officer Teresa Hunter.

“Both Finance and Procurement are committed to delivering a holistic approach to identifying use cases for robotic process automation and executing across operations for greater time-to-value by transforming lengthy manual processes that take months into minutes of work,” said IRS Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support and former Chief Procurement Officer Shanna Webbers.

In 2020, the procurement division was facing a tight deadline to modify its contract clauses to adhere to recent federal legislation. Using the power of robotic process automation (RPA), Webbers’ team executed nearly 1,500 contract modifications in 72 hours, a process that manually would have taken one year. That automation project reduced administrative burden on contracting officers, eliminated data errors, emailed the modification to vendors and then uploaded documentation into the contract file repository.

The IRS CFO office plans to use bots to format financial data and aims to deploy others to perform tasks such as consolidating information from multiple data sources, extracting data from documents, and retrieving data related to property and equipment vouchers.

The IRS is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and one of the world's most efficient tax administrators. In fiscal year 2020, the IRS collected almost $3.5 trillion in revenue and processed more than 240 million tax returns. Among its top priorities is modernizing the services it provides to the public and using technology to make the IRS more accessible, efficient, and effective for both its employees and taxpayers.

“Our vision for RPA is centered around improving customer satisfaction, increasing efficiency, and enhancing mission effectiveness by focusing on the customer and the employee experience. We want to make IRS CFO a place where people can come to work and have career fulfillment, drive enhanced business decision support, and find value in the things we do,” said Hunter. “Technology is the future of finance, and automation is an essential part of our transition from our current state to agile finance, which is a center of innovation to meet future needs.”

Webbers feels the same way. “Having employees who feel valued, empowered, and want to come to work is a number one priority. How do we do that? Ask which tasks or process they hate the most or put off until the last minute. If we can automate these aspects of the job, employees will feel heard and know we care about making their work experience more joyful. Our employees are smart, so we should let them drive the use cases,” Webbers said.

The IRS is taking a collaborative approach, recognizing it takes a team effort to achieve automation to the magnitude envisioned. Webbers and Hunter have created a tight partnership with their counterparts in the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Webbers noted, “There are a lot of quality industry leaders in the automation space and have been for some years. After a competition, IRS selected UiPath as the software platform for RPA. It’s important for us as leaders to understand the full complement of capabilities UiPath brings to the table so we can guide our staff in making smart decisions in the shortest amount of time possible."

Automating tasks or processes alone won’t capture the full potential of RPA. Organizations must take a holistic approach by considering people, processes, policies, and technology. Introducing automation into operations will impact how people perform their duties, and the IRS CFO office and the IRS Procurement office are focusing on upskilling and reskilling their employees to work with automation tools. Technology continues to evolve at an ever-increasing rate, more complex legislative demands continue to increase, real-time data is expected, and competition for talent and skills has never been more intense. These represent real challenges to address and real opportunities to pursue.

IRS is pursuing opportunities to leverage existing data and technology and integrate new processes to increase efficiency and reduce overly complex processes; recognize the needs, skills, talents, and abilities of its employees to continue to grow its technical expertise; build on its strengths; and shift from a compliance-based mindset to a decision-based mindset. IRS leadership has taken steps to enhance soft skills among employees such as active listening, problem-solving, and open communication and collaboration. The agency’s focus on communication and transparency in its adoption of automation is key to successful change management.

Click here to learn more about solutions for the public sector from UiPath, the leading automation platform in government.

About UiPath

UiPath has a vision to deliver the Fully Automated Enterprise™, one where companies use automation to unlock their greatest potential. UiPath offers an end-to-end platform for automation, combining the leading Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solution with a full suite of capabilities that enable every organization to rapidly scale digital business operations.

The @IRSnews is using #automation software robots from @UiPath to enhance the agency’s #technology to better manage its finance and procurement functions

Contacts

More News

View More
Microsoft Stock Hits Stride in 2025—How Much More Can It Run?
Via MarketBeat
Topics Artificial Intelligence Retirement
Tickers MSFT
How Berkshire's OxyChem Buy Cements Its Long-Term Strength
Via MarketBeat
Tickers BRK BRK-A BRK-B OXY
Oklo Insiders Sell! Oh No! This Is Why Investors Shouldn’t Worry
Via MarketBeat
Tickers OKLO
Rocket Lab's Electron: The Quiet Workhorse Powering Momentum
Via MarketBeat
Tickers RKLB
Down 22% From Highs, ServiceNow Could Be Too Cheap to Ignore
Via MarketBeat
Topics Artificial Intelligence
Tickers NOW
Stock Quote API & Stock News API supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms Of Service.