Thinklytics

Informatica · Technology & SaaS · San Francisco, CA · 18 weeks

Data governance across 4 product lines cut audit prep from 6 weeks to 4 days

An enterprise software vendor with four product lines faced 23 data handling issues flagged in a regulatory audit. We designed and implemented a data governance framework that directly addressed each issue. This work cut their audit preparation time from six weeks to four days.

Challenge

The company expanded from one product to four through acquisitions, each using different data processes. A regulatory audit found 23 issues with data classification, retention, and access controls. The legal team flagged $1.8M in potential fines if these weren’t fixed before the next audit in six months.

Approach

In weeks 1 to 4, we classified every data asset across all four product lines by sensitivity, regulatory status, and ownership. Next, we created a governance framework addressing access controls, retention rules, data lineage, and audit trails. We then rolled out this framework step-by-step across each product line.

Outcome

We closed all 23 audit deficiencies well before the follow-up audit. That audit uncovered no new issues. By implementing governance documentation and automated compliance reports, we cut audit prep from six weeks to just four days. This work prevented $1.8 million in potential penalties.

How We Cleaned Up the Data to Make It Spot-On and Simple to Work With

In the first month, we dove right in and sifted through all the data. We tracked down every asset, sized up how sensitive it was, flagged the rules that mattered, and linked each one to its business owner. That list became our playbook for all the governance decisions going forward.

We Dug Into Every One of the 23 Issues, One at a Time

Here’s how we handled it. We found 23 compliance gaps, no kidding. But instead of just dumping that list on the team, we ranked them by risk and effort. Then we focused on the top 8 that really mattered. We cleared those out in 6 weeks flat. The other 15 took us another 12 weeks. In the end, everything was buttoned up way before the audit deadline.

How We Cut Down Manual Work and Mess-Ups by Automating Compliance Reports

We built automated compliance reports that run every week to catch any new governance issues. Before this, audits meant six weeks of slogging through data manually. Now? We just skim the reports. It saves a ton of time.

Results

  • 23 Audit deficiencies resolved
  • $1.8M Potential penalties avoided
  • 6 wks to 4 days Audit preparation time
  • 18 wks Full framework deployment

We were facing $1.8 million in penalties and another audit in six months. Thinklytics resolved all 23 issues with two months left. When the follow-up audit happened, there were no issues.

Chief Compliance Officer, Enterprise Software Vendor

In the client's terms

The question

Which number is right, and who gets to decide?

The situation

Four product lines acquired separately, each with its own data practices. A regulatory audit returned 23 findings across classification, retention and access control, and legal put $1.8M of exposure on them if they were still open at the next audit in six months.

What we found

The 23 findings were symptoms of one thing: nobody could say who owned any given data asset or what rules applied to it. Fixing them individually would have left the same gap and a new set of findings next time.

What it produced

All 23 findings were closed ahead of the follow-up audit, which returned no new ones. Audit preparation fell from six weeks to four days because the documentation and compliance reporting now generate themselves. $1.8M in exposure did not materialise.

The roadmap

Weeks one to four classified every asset across all four product lines by sensitivity, regulatory status and owner, which is the work the previous approach had skipped. A governance framework was written over that covering access, retention, lineage and audit trail, then rolled out product line by product line rather than all at once.

The work behind this result

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Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to close regulatory audit findings on data governance?

Eighteen weeks at Informatica for a full framework across four product lines, with the eight findings carrying real exposure closed in the first six weeks. All 23 findings were closed ahead of the follow-up audit, which returned no new ones.

How do you prioritise a list of audit findings?

By risk and effort rather than list order. Informatica had 23 findings; ranking them put the eight with material exposure first, closed in six weeks, with the remaining fifteen taking a further twelve. That sequencing is what kept the work inside the deadline.

How much time does automated compliance reporting save?

Informatica's audit preparation fell from six weeks to four days, because documentation and compliance reports now generate themselves rather than being assembled by hand each cycle. Legal had put $1.8M of exposure on the open findings.