Data is the lifeblood of an organisation. It is pivotal to how most companies make money in today’s marketplace, but it is not as yet being treated as the crucial asset it clearly is. Simply providing the minimum capabilities necessary to “adequately” meet compliance obligations is no substitute for addressing the broader issue underlying the core of governance and compliance - data management. The key is to gain a better understanding of the impact data is having on your business and to do something about it. PwC can help organisations ensure their data is consistent and reliable, to support confident, agile decision-making and ensure regulatory compliance.
Data management services that exceed technology
Data quality & transformation services
- Assessing, mapping, improving and converting data to support business processes and applications.
- Complete and accurate conversion, including data cleansing and/or enrichment of data from legacy systems to a new or existing system.
- Provision of a framework and methodology that guides the process of ensuring the completeness, accuracy and integrity of critical data and ensures an adequate internal control environment is in place to sustain the quality of data over time.
Transaction analysis
Analysing data within a particular database or across multiple systems to support and enhance management decisions (sampling, sorting, calculation, modelling, reconciliation and/or verification). Defining records-management policies and procedures to provide the company with adequate Information Lifecycle Management.
Business intelligence
Re-designing data architecture with a view to harmonisation and optimisation, providing a “Single Version of the Truth” by identifying the key operational data and their owners. Defining information-consolidation schemes for management reporting and analysis purposes. Enhancing business processes and decision-making by designing and developing small to mid-range, customised, end-to-end software solutions such as databases, websites and client servers using a variety of languages and platforms (e.g. Visual Basic, MS Access, SQL Server, ASP, Notes).
Benefits
- Informed, confident decision-making using timely, accurate information
- Effective, efficient financial audits; detection of fraud
- Validation that the data complies with business rules
- Confirmation that existing controls are working properly
- Reconciliation of data across disparate systems
- Reduction of manual processes and data entry
- Quick deployment of system solutions
- Successful system conversions
- Quantification, reduction and monitoring of company-wide spending
- Cleansing of customer-sales and supply-chain data
- Trusted Third Party to ensure that data is processed completely, accurately and with integrity
Proven experience
Examples of how we have helped companies include:
- Providing information concerning manual general ledger postings
- Providing information concerning the conformity of a population of transactions with specific criteria
- Identifying issues in master data sets
- Performing analysis of data to identify specific types of exceptions
- Assisting in the provision of specific information to assist management in decision-making
- Analysing data to assist in resolving (complex) reconciliation issues
- Using data-analysis techniques to assist in fraud investigations
- Providing assurance over data submitted to regulatory-type authorities
- Provision of training to internal audit and other organisations concerning data analysis and computer-assisted auditing techniques (CAATS).
