Auditor-General of South Africa CFO Polani Sokombela unpacks the three biggest challenges the public sector faces when it comes to data analytics, and how solving these could unlock new opportunities for the industry.
The role data plays in the success of any organisation has become undeniable. In fact, at the moment it’s the most important asset any business can have. In the public sector, it’s no different.
“Data is the new gold,” admitted Auditor-General of South Africa CFO Polani Sokombela during a CFO South Africa podcast, hosted in partnership with Caseware Africa, about how the sector can use data analytics to better execute on its mandate.
He adds that data is also the new king of corporate governance, which is why it is so important and needs to be taken care of. “Our mandate, for example, is to audit the public sector to ensure proper accountability for the public funds. What better way than using data to generate insights that will shine a light on the areas that need improvement.”
Three of the areas that pose the biggest challenge: the capacity of people, the quality of the data and outdated systems. “Data in the government is so big and Excel spreadsheets can only go so far, so it’s important for us to use the right and most effective tools,” Polani explains.
“A lot of the data we receive from the public sector is also old and incorrect, and we end up spending a lot of time cleaning it up.”
Polani adds that, if these three challenges are addressed, the opportunities that exist for the public sector to thrive are endless.
Listen to the podcast now to hear how the public sector can go about addressing them.
