In addition, state officials are concerned about not having full visibility into the DUNS database. The National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget last year that characterized the DUNS system as unreliable and problematic and expressed concern about the data being privately owned.


State agencies find it difficult to manage tens of thousands of DUNS numbers, some of which are outdated or duplicated, said Cornelia Chebinou, the association’s Washington director. Dun and Bradstreet has been helpful, but the problems persist, she added.

Dun and Bradstreet has assigned nearly 150 million DUNS numbers since it launched the system in 1963, and the company performs 1.5 million updates daily to maintain accuracy, said company spokeswoman Ana Cano.

Dun and Bradstreet “works closely with our government customers to ensure transparency and to provide the insights required to ensure the success of their agency missions,” officials said in a statement.

OMB officials did not respond to a request for comment.

The DUNS system’s transparency shortcomings will likely taint the new Recovery.gov database, too, Bass said. The site was created to receive reports from recipients of the $787 billion in funding under the economic stimulus law, with the first comprehensive reports from state agencies due Oct. 10.

“Was it wise for the government to pay a private company for a numbering system?” Bass asked. “It was convenient, but in the long run, it is not the best way.”

R. Kinney Poynter, executive director of the state auditors group, agreed. “It would seem that a government identification system would be maintained by a government entity, not a private-sector entity,” he said.