Data governance: Supporting datacentric risk management

Abstract

Maintaining complete, accurate and available data is crucial to organisations in the financial services industry. If a custodian cannot determine who owns a particular security or the value of interbank payments, its business will not survive very long. Many organisations do not realise that the volume of data they create and use is increasing at an exponential rate, and that the methods used to manage it in the past may no longer be fit for purpose. To respond to these changes, financial services organisations need to invest in some level of data governance. Data governance is a broad field, covering data quality, security, privacy, efficiency, and legal and regulatory considerations. It is the framework that allows business data to be managed in accordance with its value to the organisation.This paper discusses trends in the usage of data and the implications that these have for the way in which business will be conducted in future. The paper describes many relevant considerations when implementing a program of data governance. For readers who are new to the concept and would like to know how to get started, or who are familiar with the term, but are looking for some support in implementing a programme, this paper aims to outline the key considerations.