A recent press release reports, “Risks surrounding data and analytics are the primary concerns of chief audit executives (CAEs) for 2019, according to Gartner, Inc. Based on a survey of 144 CAE clients, Gartner has identified the major risks that boards, audit committees and executives need to prepare for in the coming year. Pursuit of digital business models to drive growth has increased the amount of data collected and processed by businesses at a time when public and regulatory scrutiny is very high. This has led to heightened risks around data governance, which CAEs plan to watch closely. ‘Companies face major challenges in applying proper data governance, maximizing the value they get from data, and complying with the fragmented data regulation landscape,’ said Malcolm Murray, vice president of audit research at Gartner. ‘Recent high-profile data breaches and increased public attention have raised the stakes for organizational accountability, and it’s only going to get tougher in 2019’.”

The release continues, “Mr. Murray shared the top data and analytics risks that will concern audit executives in 2019: (1) Data governance: New data privacy regulations such as GDPR and high-profile breaches have expanded the compliance, financial and reputational risks of data usage and protection. Although data-driven business strategies are necessary to increase efficiency and competitiveness, only 37 percent of organizations have formal data governance frameworks in place… (2) Third parties: As companies increasingly rely on partnerships for digital initiatives, they are expanding their reliance on third parties — and fourth and fifth parties, if not even more. This amplifies their exposure to operational and regulatory risk. Nearly 70 percent of CAEs report third-party risk as one of their top concerns, but many organizations still struggle to account for and manage it.”

Read more at Business Wire.

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