When leaders say they have a “data problem,” what they usually mean is this:
The numbers don’t agree.
The reports don’t match.
And no one trusts which version is right.
That is not a reporting issue.
It’s a data governance failure.
Here’s the pattern I see repeatedly.
Operations, Sales, and Finance are all looking at the same activity — but through different definitions. Each function answers a different question, so each one builds its own logic. Over time, those logics drift.
Take a simple but critical example: shipments.
Operations often defines a shipment based on physical movement and execution.
Sales often defines it based on customer commitment.
Finance defines it based on revenue recognition and accountability.
All of those perspectives are valid.
The mistake is pretending they’re interchangeable.
They’re not.
Operational reporting exists to measure efficiency.
Sales reporting exists to measure pipeline health and conversion.
Financial reporting must withstand audit, regulatory, and statutory scrutiny.
Different purposes require different lenses — but governance requires one agreed foundation.
And this is where things often get exponentially more complicated.
Many organizations now have “data people” embedded in each discipline — someone in Sales, Operations, and Finance who is very good at pulling reports and interpreting data through their functional lens.
These people are smart.
They are capable.
And they are doing exactly what their function needs.
But data governance requires stepping back from myopic, singular views — even highly competent ones.
Because governance is not about who can pull the best report.
It’s about who has the authority to decide which definition anchors the organization.
That’s why governance always starts in the same place: ownership.
Who owns the data?
Who is responsible for reporting?
Who resolves conflicts when definitions differ?
Until those questions are answered, alignment is impossible.
In many organizations, data ownership ultimately resides in Finance — usually because financial definitions must hold up to audit, regulatory, and statutory requirements. That doesn’t make Finance “better” at data. It makes Finance accountable for external truth.
Some organizations take this a step further and build a dedicated data or analytics team. When done well, this is a strong move.
A separate data team creates natural separation from individual disciplines. It allows data to operate within a formal governance structure instead of being pulled in competing directions by functional priorities.
Once ownership is clear, then the work moves into defining the core metrics that matter most — the definitions that drive money, volume, and accountability. Not every metric. Not every edge case. Just the ones that anchor decision-making.
Without this foundation:
- processes fragment
- data lineage breaks
- dashboards contradict each other
- and Finance gets blamed for outcomes it didn’t create
Here’s the part many leaders underestimate:
Solutions don’t require massive transformation programs or endless rework.
They do require structure — and the backbone to enforce it.
Effective data governance is surprisingly straightforward:
- establish clear data and reporting ownership
- agree on a small set of core definitions
- embed them into systems and processes
- centralize reporting around one dataset
- allow multiple analytical views without redefining reality
And finally — leadership has to stand behind the decisions.
That means saying no to requests that break definitions, resisting one-off exceptions, and accepting short-term discomfort to protect long-term clarity.
Governance fails not because it’s complex, but because enforcement feels uncomfortable.
But definitions shape processes.
Processes shape data.
And data shapes decisions.
If your organization is still debating numbers in meetings, the next dashboard won’t fix it.
The real question is this:
👉 Do we know who owns the data — and do we have the backbone to enforce governance once we step beyond functional silos?
Because without that, clarity will always be temporary.
ALL2S CONSULTING LLC 