To some people "data governance" may come across like just another buzzword. But IBM is predicting that it will become increasingly important over the next few years, as more companies and regulatory organizations aim to boost the quality of data that just might lead to less uncertainty in volatile times. Unsurprisingly, IBM's Data Governance Council says the impact of the movement likely will be felt first in the financial services industry. IBM predicts that more companies may soon be forced to document their data governance practices, that new accounting and reporting standards will emerge, that the value of data will be considered a balance sheet asset, and that the quality of data will become a technical reporting metric and key performance indicator. All of this may help to calculate various risk metrics on the fly that are comparable across the industry. To me it sounds like an extension of Sarbanes-Oxley and XBRL to whole new realms of company data. All in all, the industry would be best served by adopting such practices voluntarily.  

For more:
- here's the release
- here's an article from Securities Industry News

Related Article:
Buzzword alert: Data governance