Gartner released a study Fostering Data Literacy and Information as a Second Language: A Gartner Trend Insight Report . They expect that by 2020, 80% of the organizations will initiate competency developments in data literacy. Furthermore by 2020, 50% of the organizations will lack sufficient AI and data literacy skills which will impact their ability to be successful and competitive.
Gartner defines data literacy “as the ability to read, write and communicate data in context, including an understanding of data sources and constructs, analytical methods and techniques applied, and the ability to describe the use case, the application and resulting value. Those working in companies including those in accounting and finance must learn to “speak data” as a common language.
The analyst Valerie A. Logan, Research Director, Gartner,says that data literacy is the new Six Sigma. “Almost 30 years ago, a major shift occurred when the notions of business process re-engineering and Six Sigma arrived. Most famously practiced as a part of Jack Welch's business strategy at GE, by the late 1990s, Six Sigma became part of the fabric of most Fortune 500 organizations.”
“This wasn't a fad. It was a movement. A revolution. It made every employee see the business through a process lens focused on the customer. There were early pioneers of Six Sigma, eventually expanding into a set of standard techniques, toolsets, training and certified "black belts" — from the boardroom to the break room.”
“Today, we stand on the threshold of another shift, another movement, another revolution — data literacy. Just as workers in the 1990s had to work differently, the same is true now. No longer is organizational change defined entirely by the trinity of "people, process and technology"; there's a new core element in town — "data," and it changes everything.””
The report also talks about how to get started in "speaking data". As management accountants we need to be data literate.