Big Data information governance by accountants

• Published date: 05 March 2018
• Date: 05 March 2018
• Pages: 153-170
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJAIM-01-2017-0006
• Author: Emily M. Coyne,Joshua G. Coyne,Kenton B. Walker
• Subject Matter: Accounting & Finance,Accounting/accountancy,Accounting methods/systems

Big Data information governance

by accountants

Emily M. Coyne

School of Information, San Jose State University, Jose State, California, USA, and

Joshua G. Coyne and Kenton B. Walker

School of Accountancy, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Abstract

Purpose –Big Data has become increasinglyimportant to multiple facets of the accounting profession, but

accountantshave little understanding of the steps necessary to convert Big Data into usefulinformation. This

limited understanding creates agap between what accountants can do and what accountants should do to

assist in BigData information governance. The study aimsto bridge this gap in two ways.

Design/methodology/approach –First, the study introduces a model of the Big Data life cycle to

explain the processof converting Big Data intoinformation. Knowledge of this life cycle is a first step toward

enabling accountantsto engage in Big Data information governance. Second, it highlights informationaland

control risks inherent to this life cycle, and identifiesinformation governance activities and agents that can

minimizethese risks.

Findings –Because accountants have a strong ability to identify the informational and control needs of

internaland external decision-makers, they shouldplay a significant role in Big Data information governance.

Originality/value –This model of the Big Data life cycle and information governance provides a first

attemptto formalize knowledge that accountants need in a new fieldof theaccounting profession.

Keywords Big data, Information governance, Information life cycle

Paper type Technical paper

1. Introduction

We present the life cycle by whichBig Data becomes useful information and to explain how

accountants can and should become involved in the governance of this process. We follow

three steps in the pursuit of this goal. First, we review the traditional information life cycle

as a foundation for the process by which data becomes information. Second, we identify

modifications to the information life cycle to address theidiosyncrasies of Big Data. Third,

we introduce the concept of information governance and explain the role of accountants in

the information governance process. A proper understanding of the Big Data life cycle and

information governance will allow accountants to continue in and expand their role as

information custodiansin the current Information Era.

Previous studies show that information governance is important to the accounting

profession. Poor data governance standards impact accounting information quality (Song,

2016) and simply adopting previously successful models does not guarantee a positive

governance outcome (Ji et al., 2015). Also, good internal governance reinforces external

governance mechanisms to create firm value (Huang and Boateng, 2016). Furthermore,

corporate governance research from Taiwan suggests that independence of boards of

This work was supported in part by a grant from the Fogelman College of Business & Economics at

the University of Memphis.

Big Data

information

governance

153

Received30 January 2017

Revised7 April 2017

Accepted2 May 2017

InternationalJournal of

Accounting& Information

Management

Vol.26 No. 1, 2018

pp. 153-170

© Emerald Publishing Limited

1834-7649

DOI 10.1108/IJAIM-01-2017-0006

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/1834-7649.htm

directors increases market-to-book ratios (Lin and Liu, 2015). Taken together, these studies

bolster the view that accountants have a vested interest in information governance

structures and policies.

The information life cycle has governed the creation, use and maintenance of data since

before the proliferation of digital information systems at a time when business data were

more uniform and sharedalong predetermined channels (Leahy, 1949). However,Big Data is

different. Big Data’s primary differences were characterized by the 3-D model proposed by

Doug Laney (2001), sometimes referred to as the three Vs of Big Data[1]. Volume is the

reason that Big Data is referredto as “Big”as businesses receive large amounts of data from

machines, transactions and social media interactions. Velocity references the high rate at

which large amounts of data are both created and become obsolete; real-time transaction

processing in e-commerce has been a big driver of the competitive acceleration in the

velocity of data processing. Variety describes the lack of uniformity in data sources

containing text, audio, video,image and other data types. We propose a life cycle model that

addresses the differences between traditional business data and Big Data. To our

knowledge, this is the first attemptto develop an information life cycle that is specific to Big

Data.

Our primary motivation for introducing a revised life cycle is the current interest in Big

Data analytics. However, more than a life cycleis necessary to convert Big Data into useful

information. Information governance assigns business, legal and IT specialists the task of

developing and maintaining information systems that meet consumers’informational and

control needs (Smallwood,2016). Collaboration among these parties stands juxtaposedto the

traditional model of siloed IT departments,which model has come under increased criticism

in recent years (Zetlin, 2014). Accountants, in their capacity as business specialists, have

unique expertise in business intelligence,regulatory compliance and internal controls, which

make them valuable collaborators in information governance. As a result, in addition to

introducing a Big Datalife cycle, we describe the activities that accountants can engagein to

increase their participation in information governance. Despite this appeal to accountants,

we also recognize that information governance is a shared responsibility and that IT

specialists must also increase their willingness and ability to work with accountants on

information system solutions that will result in improved collection and analysis of Big

Data.

This paper has implicationsfor both business and academia. First, business leaders have

used popular IT and business mediaoutlets in their appeal for added collaboration between

business and IT specialists. We support this effort by encouraging accountants to become

involved in information governance. Second, by proposing a new life cycle model to

accommodate the idiosyncrasies of Big Data, we push the frontiers of both academic and

business knowledgeregarding sound treatment of Big Data in the current Information Era.

This paper proceeds as follows. In Section 2, we review the steps in the traditional

information life cycle. In Section 3, we identify necessary modifications to convert the

information life cycle into the Big Data life cycle. In Section 4, we discuss the role of

accountants in the governanceof the Big Data life cycle. In Section5, we conclude.

2. A review of the traditional information life cycle

The information life cycle is the processby which data become usable information; it covers

all aspects of the data’s use from their creation to their deletion. This is the core of the

information science discipline, and its principles govern the design of information systems

(Hoke, 2011). The steps in the information life cycle are needs assessment, data acquisition,

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