Rooting for Jail Time
I am a big fan of government regulations. I know, I know, a lot of you aren't because it generates a lot of additional workload for you. But I like the regs because my point of view is that it makes companies do what they should have been doing all along. Things like ensure that your data is accurate and that proper controls are in place to protect the data. That is just goodness to my way of thinking - and it is a darn shame that it takes governmental regulations to make corporations sit up and take notice of the issue.
Which brings me to the title of this little blog posting. Some of these regulations have teeth in them (e.g. Sarbanes-Oxley) that can cause high-level executives to be incarcerated if they fail to follow the regulations. Basically, the Sarbanes-Oxley regulations make C-level exeuctives sign off on documents that assert that their organization's financial data is accurate and that proper controls are in place assuring that accuracy.
So, as a data professional (I assume that you are if you are reading this blog), how comfortable would you be signing off on the accuracy of the data that you manage? Is it 100% accurate? Would you put your career on the line to vouch for the accuracy of the data in your databases? How about your personal freedom?
Actually, I doubt that many of you would - and not because you are wary of your technical prowess in terms of wrangling and taming data. Usually it is because of the lack of focus and resources given to the task of managing data and metadata. Here are some facts to mull over in your mind as you think about this question:
Taken collectively, these are some scary statistics. Yet, most executives, if asked, would say that they treat data as a corporate asset. There is a disconnect here. The disconnect is that data is rarely treated the way other corporate assets are. That is, corporate assets are modeled, defined, and carefully managed.
Think of your other corporate assets: finances are controlled rigidly by the comptroller and the CFO's office and modeled in your chart of accounts. If your bank deposits are even a penny off, you know about it, and fix it. Your personnel are modeled with organization charts and managed in hierarchies across lines of business and down to strategically aligned teams. Every employee is accounted for and you know when they are in the office, on vacation, or out sick. What about your products? They are modeled in bills of material, managed by product managers and sold by sales teams. Product is inventoried and accounted for. Let's face it, we treat our assets very carefully.
So what of data? Is every data element documented in your company? With a clear, concise, and agreed upon definition? Can you track the lineage of your data from inception to all of the places it is used? Yes, I even mean on that business user's desktop in an Excel spreadsheet.
Let's face it, the vast majority of companies live in the state of data anarchy. And it will continue until executives are forced to pony up the resources to tame the anarchy. IMHO that won't happen until someone is prosecuted successfully and sent away. Keep your eyes peeled and on the lookout for the next high-profile regulatory compliance trial. And, if you're like me, root for the prosecution!
