Big data has taken the world by storm. From its origins as a technical solution for Internet search engines and online retail sales, it has spread across business, science and now government. Big data tools have shown extraordinary power to quickly sort and analyze data, both structured and unstructured. Ultimately, the power of big data resides in its ability to identify signals or patterns in vast data sets.
Historically, regulators have been information rich and resource poor. Information was available to them from disclosure documents, registration statements, visiting firms and multiple other sources. But unfortunately, the regulators often lacked the resources to sort through it all to understand what it meant. Now, big data analytics are changing the game. Recent developments at the examination program of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are a case in point.
