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Seeing that this is my first thread, I decided to give my comments on something that I know about. I currently have 10 year experience in data analysis and am amazed by the fact that companies doesn’t really know what is going on in their operations. Usually auditors come in once a year, draw a sample of 5 to 10 percent and base conclusions on this. With different type of data analysis however, 100 % of all operations linked to a computerized system can be analysed.
According to Wikipedia Data analysis is the act of transforming data with the aim of extracting useful information and facilitating conclusions. A lot of companies have loads of data, but does not use it in decisions. The reason for this is the size or amount of data. Not knowing what is happening on financial or non-financial systems can have catastrophic results. For example, in my line of work, one of the biggest problems is claiming VAT. Some companies process thousands of invoices per month and errors do happen. This results in VAT that is not claimed back from SARS and a lost of revenue, which will lower you profit margins and so on. On non financial systems it is usually not visible as a rand value. I was recently involved in the review of a big retail company’s clock card data. In a single region about 10 000 working hours were lost, due to people absent from work. The employees received salary, while they just stayed away from work, with no reason and without taking leave.
A simple review to perform is on telephone account. In our company the telephone account dropped by 30 percent. This was done by identifying private calls and questioning employees about it. It didn’t only mean a lost is money, but also a lost in productive hours. This will have a major effect on companies which uses telephones to generate revenue.
It is my opinion that no small, medium or large entity can function to its full capacity with out Business intelligence. Companies need to use technologies to analyze data and information about company operations. This will help them to have more comprehensive knowledge of the factors affecting their business, and help them to make better business decisions.
What is your opinion?
According to Wikipedia Data analysis is the act of transforming data with the aim of extracting useful information and facilitating conclusions. A lot of companies have loads of data, but does not use it in decisions. The reason for this is the size or amount of data. Not knowing what is happening on financial or non-financial systems can have catastrophic results. For example, in my line of work, one of the biggest problems is claiming VAT. Some companies process thousands of invoices per month and errors do happen. This results in VAT that is not claimed back from SARS and a lost of revenue, which will lower you profit margins and so on. On non financial systems it is usually not visible as a rand value. I was recently involved in the review of a big retail company’s clock card data. In a single region about 10 000 working hours were lost, due to people absent from work. The employees received salary, while they just stayed away from work, with no reason and without taking leave.
A simple review to perform is on telephone account. In our company the telephone account dropped by 30 percent. This was done by identifying private calls and questioning employees about it. It didn’t only mean a lost is money, but also a lost in productive hours. This will have a major effect on companies which uses telephones to generate revenue.
It is my opinion that no small, medium or large entity can function to its full capacity with out Business intelligence. Companies need to use technologies to analyze data and information about company operations. This will help them to have more comprehensive knowledge of the factors affecting their business, and help them to make better business decisions.
What is your opinion?
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