When starting on data analysis projects, start small and find allies

Compliance has long been reluctant to tap the power of its organization’s data. Some of that hesitancy is institutional, either through inertia or outright hostility. Data is often kept in siloes, overseen by different administrators, stored in different systems.

One department will ask, with a certain amount of skepticism, “Why does compliance want access to our vendor management system?” The department that controls the organization’s expense reimbursement data will ask the same question. Legal will want to know why in the world compliance wants access to all of the firm’s contracts.

For most compliance programs, the first step to launching a data analytics program is understanding what data is available within your organization, where it is stored, and who controls it. Focus on the types of data that can help improve your compliance function.