The international survey of 2 000 Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) finance professionals, including those working at CEO and CFO level, reveals 86% of organisations are struggling to turn growing volumes of data into valuable insight and are suffering as a result. In addition, 44% of respondents said their organisation did not have the sufficient technology tools in place to understand new trends impacting their business and only 53% are investing in the capabilities to harness the benefits.
The top three reasons for organisations not introducing new or improved practices are the costs, the value not being understood and time availability. The findings are in stark contrast to the estimated impact of big data in the future, with 87% of respondents saying big data and better analytics will change the way business is done over the next ten years and those who do not harness the concept will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage (86%) by the end of the decade.
Respondents said the main barriers their organisation face when attempting to extract valuable insight from data are:
"Big data is increasingly becoming a core business asset," says Samantha Louis, CIMA Africa regional director. "According to the survey, 93% of respondents agreed that finance has an essential role to play in helping organisations benefit from data-related projects. Finance professionals, especially CGMAs, are well placed to do this by helping organisations translate analytical insights into commercial insights to create value."
