QMV has made the claims that the $2 billion price tag of the Hayne royal commission could mostly have been avoided if data protocols had been better maintained.
QMV’s managing director Mark Vaughan said that many organisations were now paying the price for not having adequate systems.
“Unfortunately, many organisations will now pay the price for not having implemented adequate data management tools and processes. With the right tools and systems, the costs of inaccurate data can be reduced to literally thousands rather than billions,” he said.
Mr Vaughan said it was clear that the evidence used for decision making had not been as robust as it should have been.
“With the royal commission focusing the spotlight on conduct, the valuable role that technology and data can play in ensuring good client and member outcomes has been overshadowed.”
All financial institutions, not just the big four, need to be on the front foot when it comes to the data they hold, said Mr Vaughan.
“Regardless of the final numbers, there is no doubt that data errors are costly for institutions in many respects – from remediation expenditure, to compensation payments, not to mention reputational damage – and the longer a data quality error goes undetected, the greater the ultimate harm to bottom lines for institutions and members,” he said.
For this to happen though Mr Vaughan said corporations needed to change their attitude towards data quality.
“Across the industry there has been an attitude that it is ‘ok’ to wait for a problem to occur and then fix it, rather than take a proactive and preventative approach. Post-royal commission there is much scrutiny, much ground to make up and much at stake,” he said.
Mr Vaughan said that organisations who stick their head in the sand will remain in the same remediation cycle as opposed to those who step out.
“The true measure of how you value your customers lies in tangible, visible and measurable action; not simply a tagline that’s promoted in an advertising blitz. Industry players who understand this will rebuild consumer trust by demonstrating both investment in and benefits of customer-centric systems and processes,” he said.
