Compliance Today (September 2024)
As most of you who’ve heard me speak or read my columns know, I’m a strong supporter of using data analytics in compliance programs. It’s an important tool that all compliance professionals should have a working understanding of, and regulators and the enforcement community—such as the U.S. Department of Justice—are emphasizing more every day.
But one downside of data analytics is that most people don’t like—or aren’t very good at—deciphering a spreadsheet or table of numbers. There are exceptions to this, of course. I’ll never forget presenting data to a board of directors of a scientific organization, where every member held a PhD in physics or another field of science and/or math. They craved raw data and would be offended by depicting data in the form of a nice-looking chart or graph. But most people aren’t like that.
And when presenting data to most people, showing a lot of numbers can turn an otherwise excellent analysis into a failed experiment in communication. Knowing the audience and matching that audience with the right presentation method is one of the most critical skills for any compliance professional to have.
The good news is that we have many options to help us present data in a more visual manner to capture attention and tell the story behind it. While Excel provides some handy and much-improved tools for graphic depiction of data, there are various other options to choose from. Many of these work relatively seamlessly with Excel, your accounting system, and many other systems you might use to collect data. Study which ones match best with your systems and your needs.
However, too often, people jump right into finding the best tool, thinking, “I’ll wow everyone with my fancy new software.” Then comes the harsh reality that a tool is only as good as a well-trained user, someone who knows which chart, graph, or other approach works best for this data, message, and audience. Someone who knows that using a pie chart to depict a statistical comparison of the 50 states may not have been the best method of presentation, even if you did get to use 50 different colors.
Spend the time to learn data visualization—not just how to use the software. Learn how to convey the messages you feel are significant first, then align that with one of the fancy tools in your new toolbox.
[View source.]