HBR posted quite a useful article on Data Integrity. This many firms don’t really focus on, even though it could lead to a multitude of issues.
Below are a few steps to make if you want to take it seriously (and you should):
On team
The data integrity oversight team needs to include experts from across the company — IT leaders, managers of activities that produce the highest data volumes and the most valuable data, subject matter experts, divisional business managers, regulatory specialists, and general counsel. The team’s goal is to discern what data to collect, establish best practices for ensuring its accuracy, and set guidelines for how to value, protect, and use it to serve both stakeholders and the company. Day-to-day decision-making should not happen at the board committee level but should be overseen by the data integrity committee to which this cross-functional data-integrity team reports.
On policy
In the absence of a clear, companywide policy, corporate divisions are likely to act in self-interest and create idiosyncratic and divergent data-management practices. The result is often a confusing and siloed approach or the restriction of knowledge about data integrity to a single person who is unfamiliar with the procedures and risks of the broader operation.
On using data strategically
Data integrity benchmarks belong among accounting metrics and operational KPIs in measuring company health and its underlying foundation. The top-down committee perspective is invaluable when leveraging data integrity to support the strategic use of data.
If you are one of the directors, I advise you to read the article in full. You might disagree in the end, but I believe it’s something useful to think about.
Here is a related article you might find useful.
