Oracle Analytics: Business Intelligence and Analytic Applications - The CIO's Guide to Oracle Products and Solutions - page 59

TABLE 2.1
Information Map
Introduction: One of the most important procedures in an audit is preparing the data.
Careful preparation ensures that the data is correct and that each step of preparation
has been carried out.
Procedure : Follow the steps below to prepare data for the audit.
Step Action

1 For data items selected for audit, obtain the following:

• Source document samples
• Run data from the computer room

2 Verify the source document samples by comparing the samples to the original

list

3 Record on a worksheet sufficient descriptive information to provide accurate

identification for future audits.
Minimum Information Required Examples

Attributes of the sample • Sales territory

• Effective data

Description of each data item • Account name

• Account number
• Type of business

depending upon the audience. Table 2.1 demonstrates an information
map that explains how to prepare data for an audit.
Information mapping has been used with success for the optimization
of everything from content-management systems to work-flow analyses to
ISO 9000 documentation.

Lincoln National Corporation

Lincoln National Corporation (www.lfg.com), now Lincoln Financial
Group, is a 100-year-old company with $119 billion in consolidated assets
under management. As is the case in any company of Lincoln's size, the
process of collecting, interpreting, and disseminating information was
time-consuming at best, and hit or miss at its worst.
One of the most demanding business problems Lincoln National was
experiencing was a need to digest large amounts of information. In the
past, this had been done by issuing a daily news digest. This paper report
formed the baseline of information around which Lincoln executives and
managers made their strategic decisions.