Study unit 2:(chapter 2)
Introduction: Activities of finance professionals:
Assembling information(reporting):
o Collating, cleaning and connecting data into assembled
information (e.g. Financial and management account and
returns)
Analysis for insights (questioning):
o Analysing financial and non-financial information to draw out
patterns and provide relevant insights
Applying for impact (deploying solutions):
o Supporting and guiding actions to help organisations achieve
the desired outcomes
Applying Acumen:
o To help it assemble valuable information (such as reports and
analysis) and inform the consideration of subsequent
proposals.
Assembling information (reporting):
Data:
Data consists of raw, unprocessed facts and figures in other words;
numbers, letter, symbols, raw facts, events and transitions that are
recorded but not yet processed into a form that is suitable for
making decisions.
Type of data:
Financial data
o Standard metrics tracked and best understood by the
organisation
Enterprise data
o Financial data plus broad operational and transactional data
that bolsters analysis and forecasting
Big data
o Enterprise data Communicating the above insights to users
and contributing to an objective, response perspective to
influence their decision making.
o What is big data?
Is an emerging technology that has implications across
all business departments. It involves the collection and
analysis of large amounts of data to find trends,
understand customer needs and help organisations to
focus resources more effectively.
Big data has a role to play in information management.
, Collecting data:
Formal data collection
o This happens when an organisation needs specific data to fulfil
a particular purpose.
Informal data collection
o Happens always, e.g. when employees learn about what is
going on around them via newspapers, websites, ect.
Sources of data:
Internal sources
o Accounting record
o Human resources
o Production data
o Sales and marketing data
o Timesheets
External sources
o Libraries and information services
o Customers- product requirements and price elasticity
o Newspapers, journals and the internet
o Government agencies i.e. Stats SA or SARS
Data and information:
Cost of data and information:
Assembly of the information
o Purchases of the tech,
o Equipment housing and testing,
o Operating costs, e.g.
Cost not to exceed the value
o Saleable intrinsic value
o Could create a competitive advantage
o Cost control and reduction
o Corporate decision making e.g. marketing decisions
o Strategy
Information:
Information is data that has been processed in a way that makes it
meaningful for planning and decision making
Quantitative: Can be given a value
Introduction: Activities of finance professionals:
Assembling information(reporting):
o Collating, cleaning and connecting data into assembled
information (e.g. Financial and management account and
returns)
Analysis for insights (questioning):
o Analysing financial and non-financial information to draw out
patterns and provide relevant insights
Applying for impact (deploying solutions):
o Supporting and guiding actions to help organisations achieve
the desired outcomes
Applying Acumen:
o To help it assemble valuable information (such as reports and
analysis) and inform the consideration of subsequent
proposals.
Assembling information (reporting):
Data:
Data consists of raw, unprocessed facts and figures in other words;
numbers, letter, symbols, raw facts, events and transitions that are
recorded but not yet processed into a form that is suitable for
making decisions.
Type of data:
Financial data
o Standard metrics tracked and best understood by the
organisation
Enterprise data
o Financial data plus broad operational and transactional data
that bolsters analysis and forecasting
Big data
o Enterprise data Communicating the above insights to users
and contributing to an objective, response perspective to
influence their decision making.
o What is big data?
Is an emerging technology that has implications across
all business departments. It involves the collection and
analysis of large amounts of data to find trends,
understand customer needs and help organisations to
focus resources more effectively.
Big data has a role to play in information management.
, Collecting data:
Formal data collection
o This happens when an organisation needs specific data to fulfil
a particular purpose.
Informal data collection
o Happens always, e.g. when employees learn about what is
going on around them via newspapers, websites, ect.
Sources of data:
Internal sources
o Accounting record
o Human resources
o Production data
o Sales and marketing data
o Timesheets
External sources
o Libraries and information services
o Customers- product requirements and price elasticity
o Newspapers, journals and the internet
o Government agencies i.e. Stats SA or SARS
Data and information:
Cost of data and information:
Assembly of the information
o Purchases of the tech,
o Equipment housing and testing,
o Operating costs, e.g.
Cost not to exceed the value
o Saleable intrinsic value
o Could create a competitive advantage
o Cost control and reduction
o Corporate decision making e.g. marketing decisions
o Strategy
Information:
Information is data that has been processed in a way that makes it
meaningful for planning and decision making
Quantitative: Can be given a value
