NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- KPMG Capital today announced findings from a recent data and analytics (D&A) report that reveal a stark disconnect between C-suite executives who realize the value of big data, but are unsure of how to effectively implement and manage their existing resources. Going beyond the data: Achieving actionable insights from data and analytics, which interviewed 144 CFOs and CIOs from multinational companies with annual revenues of US$1 billion or more, also discovered a large majority of executives (75 percent) find it difficult to make decisions around D&A, even though 99 percent consider it to be important to their business.

"We live in an increasingly data-driven world where D&A has the potential to revolutionize the way we conduct and manage business operations across the entire enterprise," said Mark Toon, CEO of KPMG Capital. "From CEOs, to CFOs, CIOs and CMOs, the challenge for today's executive is understanding how to draw actionable insights from data and turn them into tangible, genuine results. This report demonstrates not only the hunger to harness new D&A capabilities, but also the greater level of support that's needed to operationalize these insights."

In November 2013, KPMG International announced the launch of KPMG Capital to accelerate innovation in data and analytics services and solutions.

With the vast majority of executives (85 percent) struggling to accurately analyze and interpret their existing data, it is time for business executives to consider new approaches to D&A.

"KPMG Capital recognizes that business leaders need better tools and processes to uncover valuable business insights," added Mr. Toon. "Our mission is to fulfill this unmet need in the marketplace and accelerate D&A innovation to help unlock tangible value for KPMG member firms' clients."

Additional survey findings included:

• 80 percent of executives agree speed is a key benefit of using D&A.
• 69 percent consider D&A to be crucially or very important to their current growth plans.
• While the majority of respondents (56 percent) changed their business strategy to meet the challenges of big data, 42 percent of executives admit integrating data technology into existing systems and/or business models is their greatest challenge.
• More than half of all respondents (54 percent) identified their greatest barrier to implementing a successful D&A strategy was an inability to identify what data to collect.
• 85 percent consider their biggest challenge with analytics to be implementing the right solution to analyze and interpret data.

"From social media-based analytics to predictive modeling, the available solutions are endless. And so are the applications – from risk management and cost optimization to identifying new revenue streams. KPMG Capital is at the forefront of bringing these new insights to businesses today," said Mr. Toon.

About KPMG International
KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 155 countries and have 155,000 people working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

SOURCE KPMG Capital