How data management enables faster, better decision-making across the organization

Garbage in, garbage out

The more an organization relies on data to make decisions, the greater the need for clarity and consistency. Data must represent objective facts everyone agrees on. Only when all team members use the same definitions for key metrics and KPIs does it make sense to bring data into strategic discussions.

Capturing the right data and interpreting them correctly is essential, but it requires more than good intentions. Data collection must be error-free at all times, with accurate input and output across systems. Data quality is the keyword. It demands both built-in controls and a data culture that puts rigor at the center.

“Data from all kinds of measurements help organizations make strategic choices,” says Alexander Declerck, Business Unit Leader Transition & Support. “That is, when they are relevant, correct, and properly interpreted. In that sense, data management also enables objective, transparent, and externally readable reporting.”

The building blocks of Data Management

Data management consists of several components, typically grouped into four domains:

• Data capture: collecting and structuring data
  Data security: safeguarding data processes in compliance with laws and regulations
• Data governance: building clear organizational structures for data and data ownership
• Data analytics: interpreting data and translating them into actionable insights

What’s often overlooked,” says Maarten Lauwaert, Business Unit Leader Management Information & Systems and Expert Practice Leader Data & Analytics, “is that data management exists to realize your data strategy. Designing that strategy in alignment with the overall business strategy must always be the starting point. More specifically, where do we want to go as a company, and what role do data play in that journey?”

Data management and data strategy go hand in hand. Executing that strategy starts with the right choices around people, processes, and systems, each requiring clear structure and direction. Data management thus functions as both the protective and guiding framework of the entire data landscape.

Data Management more critical than ever

The importance of data, data strategies, and data management continues to rise. Growing regulatory and reporting requirements from banks and other external parties are one driver, but beyond compliance, organizations increasingly recognize data as essential, even indispensable.

That awareness is shaped by two forces:  economic pressure, which pushes organizations to act and decide faster, and technological evolution, which produces ever more data and new ways to use them. Acceleration and scalability both depend on solid data management.

"In the trend toward more data and data management, we see IT becoming less dominant,” says Filip Ceulemans, CFO Services Client Partner. “It’s logical that the CFO and their team, who are most familiar with the strategic use of data and the many interdependencies involved, take the lead. The evolution toward data-driven finance and organizations is a natural next step but requires a clear vision. The CFO plays a pivotal role as a bridge between technology and business strategy.”

Read more in this expert debate with four TriFinance specialists

Read more in this expert debate with four TriFinance specialists.