SPED (Serviço Público de Escrituração Digital): características, potencialidades e desafios

Abstract

The present research has as its central object the investigation of the potential of the Public Digital Bookkeeping System (SPED) as a primary basis for the construction of socioeconomic indicators applicable to public management as a whole, but particularly at the municipal level. Considering that SPED constitutes one of the most robust and qualified sources of economic and fiscal data in the country — derived directly from ancillary obligations submitted by business entities — this work proposes a reinterpretation of its use, going beyond its traditional role of supporting tax collection and fiscal oversight. The research problem guiding this study can be formulated as follows: can the data made available by SPED be converted into consistent, reliable, and territorially disaggregated socioeconomic indicators, capable of supporting the formulation, monitoring, and evaluation of public policies, especially at the municipal level? To address this problem, the general objective was to analyze how SPED can contribute to the creation of socioeconomic indicators that expand the State’s capacity for planning and management. Methodologically, a hybrid approach was adopted, consisting of a theoretical foundation in authors who discuss the Digital Revolution, the emergence of the data-driven economy, state capabilities, and the consolidation of evidence-based public policies, combined with the applied analysis of SPED’s blocks and records that present potential for territorial disaggregation. The results obtained demonstrate that the accounting and fiscal data contained in SPED, when processed through extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) routines and correlated with territorial keys (CNPJ, CNAE, CEP, CBO, NCM, CFOP), can be converted into indicators that express local economic dynamism, the sectoral profile of productive activity, formal job creation, and inter-municipal commercial interactions, among many others. It is concluded, therefore, that the strategic use of SPED transcends its traditional role as an instrument of tax oversight, establishing itself as a tool of socioeconomic intelligence for municipalities. 10 This reconversion potentially allows for an expansion of the State’s capacity to plan, monitor, and respond to demands, especially local ones, in a more efficient, transparent, and data-driven manner. The study argues that, by integrating technology, information, and public management, SPED can become a vector of regional and social development, reinforcing a model of public governance based on evidence and territorial intelligence. Finally, the study points out risks of misuse of SPED, as well as the need to incorporate sectors of civil society (providers of public services) into the platform, since they are currently absent.