Systems: Data Quality Risk...

The quality of data is becoming a risk management issue again according to this latest Banking Study of 1700 banks in 63 countries. Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel II are helping CIO's to increase their budgets yet the study finds that data quality is still one of the biggest operational risks.

The survey quizzed banks about eleven key topics involving reference data management and risk management and shows that financial institutions worldwide are making considerable efforts to deepen their data management and increase data quality.

These efforts are being driven, besides cost pressures and increased transaction volumes, by regulatory requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel II, which will be implemented in more than 100 countries within the next few years. "The results show that companies realize the close connection between comprehensive data management and efficient risk management," explains Martin Buchberger, head of marketing at AIM Software.

Workflow management is a key concern and 54% of the respondents plan to spend money in this software as it is a vital component in managing operational risk. Furthermore, outsourcing and COTS solutions are outpacing proprietary development.

Looking further at standardization, 42 percent of the survey respondents plan to purchase an off-the-shelf data management solution or to buy and adapt a solution to their own needs. 26 percent of the respondents rely on proprietary development. "This is a significantly smaller proportion than in the past, when data management was still regarded as an internal core competency.