particularly within the context of growing
concerns around privacy and ethical
data usage.
Big data offers the accountancy and
finance professions the possibility of
moving into a more strategic, proactive
role in business. It is important, however,
to understand the realities of what it
means: the opportunities are matched by
the challenges.
To differentiate themselves in the
marketplace in the next 5 to 10 years
and turn big data to their advantage,
accountants and finance professionals
will need to do three things:
1 develop methods and services for
the valuation of data – and extend
their role in compliance and internal
control to the ethical and effective
stewardship of data assets.
2 use big data to offer more specialised
decision-making support – often in
real time – and decide when data
can most usefully be shared with
internal and external stakeholders or
‘monetised’ as new products.
3 use big data and its associated tools
not only to identify risks in real time
and improve forensic accounting but
also to evaluate the risks and rewards
of long-term investment in new
products and new markets.