Transforming Data Governance in The Estonian Tax and Customs Board

EMTA’s journey was rooted in Estonia’s broader digital strategy. The Real-Time Economy initiative, led by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, aims to eliminate traditional declaration-based reporting by enabling seamless machine to machine communication between businesses and tax systems. Simultaneously, the public sector is moving from on-premises data centers to cloud-based environments, introducing new requirements for security, transparency, and compliance.

To support these strategic shifts, EMTA began documenting and organizing its internal data assets. The first step was to create a business glossary and data catalog, making data understandable and accessible across departments. What began as a simple goal to identify what data existed, who owned it, and how it was used quickly expanded into a much larger transformation.

EMTA’s data program matured rapidly. What started with defining terms and mapping a few internal registers evolved into a cross departmental effort managing over 100 registers. With Accurity, the team replaced manual Excel based documentation with a scalable, intuitive solution that empowered both technical experts and business users to collaborate on data governance.

Accurity provided the structure, flexibility, and usability EMTA needed to transform its metadata governance. Its intuitive interface enabled early engagement from business users, while its modular architecture allowed the platform to grow as EMTA’s needs evolved.

Today, Accurity plays a key role in onboarding new employees, helping them understand core business terms, data sets, and relationships. Data stewards and analysts across all departments use the platform daily, and leadership teams benefit from greater visibility into data assets and governance practices.

A distinctive aspect of EMTA’s implementation is the integration of classifications, taxonomies, and external data feeds into a unified system. This allows both technical lineage and business-oriented documentation to live in one place, creating value not just for EMTA but also for external government partners.

With support from Accurity’s consulting and product teams, EMTA shifted its focus to the most relevant, business-critical terms. Rather than aiming to document everything, the agency prioritized concepts used by analysts, reporting teams, and decision-makers. This approach revitalized engagement and turned the glossary from a static inventory into a living asset that drives daily value.

To summarize, EMTA used Accurity to build a solid metadata management foundation across several key layers:

• 

  A business glossary to ensure consistent understanding of critical terms.

• 

  A data catalog to centralize metadata and enhance discoverability.

• 

  Defined ownership models that clarify responsibilities across departments.

• 

  Compliance-ready metadata exports aligned with national and EU standards like DCAT-AP.

• 

  A cloud-native platform supporting the public sector’s shift to agile, modern infrastructure.

By adopting Accurity, EMTA achieved a new level of maturity in data governance. What was once fragmented and opaque is now centralized and accessible. Data ownership is clearly defined, and business users are empowered to actively participate in business glossary harmonization.

The agency now has a structured, future-ready platform that enables faster adoption of national digital projects, such as machine-to-machine reporting and AI initiatives. The improved metadata transparency also ensures EMTA can confidently meet internal and external compliance requirements. Most importantly, Accurity’s intuitive, business-first design enabled rapid adoption with minimal IT burden—allowing EMTA to focus on outcomes rather than complexity.

“In the beginning, data management was a niche function. Now it’s a core enabler for EMTA’s digital future. Accurity helped us raise our organizational maturity—and our impact.” — Alvar Pihlapuu, Head of Data Governance, EMTA

What stood out to EMTA was how easy it was to get started. . Unlike other tools that try to do everything at once, often overwhelming users, Accurity supported a step-by-step journey. Its responsive support, continuous development, and flexible methodology enabled consistent adoption and long-term success.

The benefits are already visible. While exact time savings are hard to quantify, the agency anticipates major efficiency gains in IT development, integration, and reporting. With reusable metadata and improved governance, redundancy is being reduced, errors are declining, and data quality is being actively managed.

Crucially, EMTA is building trust. Internally, employees see data as a shared asset. Externally, the agency can demonstrate that its data is not only secure but actively governed and continuously improved, helping maintain public confidence in Estonia’s digital government.

Looking Ahead

EMTA is continuing its journey with confidence. The agency plans to start managing data quality later this year and align even more closely with the DCAT-AP standard. Estonian government metadata specifications will also be directly integrated into the platform.

With more than 3,200 business terms, 45,000 data fields, and 30 data owners already working within the solution, EMTA is leading by example in public sector data governance.