Data audit is the process of assessing the quality of data across an entire organization. This procedure helps companies identify errors in data and understand the root cause of those errors to make improvements.
Depending on the information architecture of an organisation, it is common for relevant data to reside in multiple departments. This can lead to siloed information and missed analytic opportunities.
Identifying Issues
Data is a critical asset for businesses to make informed decisions and improve existing processes. However, it is important to audit your data to ensure that it meets the necessary standards and is useful for future business needs.
A data quality audit can uncover silos and other issues that can affect the integrity of your information. In addition, it is a way to identify vulnerabilities that could lead to a data breach.
Performing a data audit requires the cooperation of multiple teams within an organization. This can be challenging, especially if your team members have different roles and responsibilities. However, fostering teamwork can help you establish consistent audit processes that will reduce the likelihood of missed analytic opportunities or misinterpreted results. Creating data models that document the data lineage for each data process will also simplify the auditing process. You can then use these models to quickly identify issues and find solutions. This can also be a good way to assess compliance with regulatory standards regarding data handling.
Identifying Potential Issues
Data security is a major concern for organisations of all sizes. We’re seeing high-profile breaches in the news frequently, and privacy laws are becoming stricter.
Identifying issues within your business that could cause data loss, theft or corruption can help you avoid legal and financial penalties and lost client confidence. Data audits are also an opportunity to find vulnerabilities before they become a breach, giving you time to take measures to prevent such incidents.
A data audit will allow you to see who accessed what files, when, and what changes were made. This can help you detect accidental, but costly mistakes and encourage employee accountability when handling sensitive information. Cavelo offers file auditing as part of a comprehensive cyber risk management platform that includes data mapping, inventory and asset discovery, and access control. To learn more, request a demo today!.
Identifying Solutions
Whether it’s to meet regulatory compliance, boost internal data security or improve business operations, finding short-term wins and long-term foundations requires collaboration across teams. That means establishing a common language for data and aligning on best practices. This will prevent silos and encourage responsible use of the data you rely on to run your company.
For example, a company may set up rules that ensure certain users don’t delete or change the same information over and over again, which is important for maintaining data quality and complying with privacy regulations. Those rules might require that all changes are audited and reported, which can help the business understand how often these changes occur and what they mean.
The Cavelo platform includes file audit reporting capabilities to provide full visibility of your organization’s sensitive files and who accessed them. It works in conjunction with our other discovery, auditing and data protection features to achieve Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM). Learn more about it today!
Identifying Future Issues
The audit profession has long recognised the benefits of using data analytics but it has faced several challenges. These include lack of efficient technology solutions, difficulties with data capture and concerns about privacy.
A successful data audit is all about identifying gaps and inaccuracies that may impact decision-making within an organisation. It is also about determining how these errors could be avoided in the future. This procedure helps reduce the risk of cyber threats and internal fraud and improves overall business efficiency.
An effective data audit should be undertaken by professionals with deep experience in this field. They should be able to identify key issues and recommend best practices that can be implemented across the entire organisation. In addition, they should be able to address challenges like the difficulty of accessing disparate data sources and complex data formats. Lastly, they should be able to develop generic data analysis tools for auditors that enable them to perform source-data testing and reporting efficiently.