Rethinking reference data approaches

Implementing reference data projects is difficult due to the scale and size of the undertaking. Despite this, these projects are essential for firms to improve their operational efficiency. Dianne See Morrison explores why companies are delaying confronting this issue

REFERENCE data is an age-old problem at financial institutions, and one that has yet to be solved. It touches all corners of an organisation, and can often mean different things to different departments. The research firm the Tower Group defines it as the information underlying a financial trade that defines the customer, the instrument, the nature of the deal and how settlement should occur.

Reference data is typically used throughout the organisation, across a wide variety of computer systems