ICAEW.com works better with JavaScript enabled.

Data

Resources covering data analytics and big data, data handling, data protection and GDPR, and data presentation.

Contents
Back to top
Man working on two computers with data on screen
Two women sitting at a wooden table, looking at an open laptop, in a modern office setting
A woman working at a desk with a large monitor and a tablet displaying colorful bar charts, pie charts, and line graphs labeled “Analytics,” indicating data analysis or business reporting.
Person sat at a table using a tablet computer.
Tech and audit

Analytics in external audit: current practice and trends

Explore how audit firms are using data analytics, the barriers slowing wider adoption, and the practical steps firms, vendors, methodology providers and regulators can take to support more effective, technology-enabled audits.
Read the report
Data Protection and Privacy

Data protection and privacy

All organisations that collect, store or process personal information on living and identifiable people must comply with the Data Protection Act 2018. Additional resources can be found on the GDPR (now the Data Protection Act 2018 in the UK).
Read more
Data Analytics Community

Data Analytics Community

As data analytics plays an increasingly pivotal role in supporting audit, assurance and business decision-making, this ICAEW community will help finance professionals develop the advanced data analytics and visualisation skills needed to succeed in this insight-driven era.
Join now

Data analytics

Get advanced data analysis, from number crunching and spreadsheets to decision-support and strategy, including access to useful and practical Excel guidance. Plus, find out how big data is used and can benefit the accountancy profession.


Why data analytics is crucial in improving audit quality
  • Article
  • 21 Sep 2026
While generative AI dominates the headlines in audit technology, data analytics continues to deliver significant benefits, helping firms conduct more effective, risk-focused audits, as demonstrated in the FRC’s 2026 Annual Review of Audit Quality.
Back to Basics Creating Effective Data Visualisations with Power BI and Excel
  • Event
  • 21 Aug 2026
Data analytics for external auditors: current landscape, challenges and future direction
  • Webinar
  • 28 Jul 2026
This webinar brings together insights from ICAEW’s updated report and leading voices across the profession to explore current practice, key challenges and what’s next for data analytics in external audit.
Analytics in external audit: current practice and trends
  • Report
  • 28 Jul 2026
Explore how audit firms are using data analytics, the barriers slowing wider adoption, and the practical steps firms, vendors, methodology providers and regulators can take to support more effective, technology-enabled audits.
Technology, talent and operating models: re-designing the mid-tier firm
  • Article
  • 17 Jul 2026
For mid-tier accountancy firms, technology, talent and operating models are becoming ever more tightly interwoven. ICAEW’s 2026 Evolution of Mid-Tier Accountancy Firms research highlights how investment in technology and artificial intelligence (AI) is driving new thinking about workforce design, skills development and career pathways, with many firms still working through the implications.
Data Analytics for External Auditors Current Landscape Challenges and Future Direction
  • Event
  • 19 Jun 2026
How helpful is FRC’s guidance on generative and agentic AI?
  • Article
  • 06 May 2026
Pioneering new guidance from the Financial Reporting Council seeks to bring audit firms up to speed on the risks and benefits of generative and agentic artificial intelligence technologies.
How hospitality teams are embracing real-time analytics
  • Article
  • 17 Apr 2026
With so many cost pressures facing hospitality businesses, the ability to analyse data in real time has never been more important for cost management.
More

Data protection and privacy

Cyber round-up: March 2024
  • Article
  • 27 Mar 2024
This month we look at what can be learned from state-sponsored cyber attacks, how to avoid falling victim to increasingly sophisticated account takeover scams, and the ICO guidance on levels of fines for data breaches.
Accountability: building trust and ethics in the digital age
  • Article
  • 05 Mar 2024
New technologies are a force for good – they fuel innovation, improve efficiencies, enhance communication, and increase productivity – but they also raise new challenges that can be harmful. We’ve witnessed in recent years how technology has had undesirable consequences, with data breaches and online surveillance resulting in widespread concerns over privacy, security, and the spread of disinformation. This has eroded trust in businesses and institutions, while simultaneously knocking the confidence of businesses to fully embrace technological change.
More

Join the Excel Community

Do you use Excel in your organisation? Are you using it to its maximum potential? Develop your skills and minimise spreadsheet risk with our Excel resources. Membership is free to ICAEW members. Non-ICAEW members are also welcome to join. 

Find out more Already a member? login here
A colourful wooden abacus placed on a wooden surface, featuring multiple rows of beads in vibrant colours used for counting or basic arithmetic.

Excel community

The Excel Community provides a 'one-stop shop' for accountants who want to use Excel.
Exclusive Any Interest in Mortgage Schedules?
  • Article
  • 24 Sep 2026
Debt schedules are a staple of financial models. Liam Bastick constructs a monthly mortgage schedule using formulae only.
Exclusive Curiosity, community and competition: lessons and LAMBDAs from the UK Excel Esports Finals
  • Article
  • 22 Sep 2026
Giles Male and Fay Bordbar recount their experience of organising the UK Excel Esports Finals and bringing together 31 competitors for a day of problem-solving, learning and community. The event highlighted the enduring value of curiosity, critical thinking and continuous improvement in an AI-driven world.
How to Excel: XLOOKUP, the flexible lookup function of choice
  • Article
  • 16 Sep 2026
Excel expert Giles Male explains why XLOOKUP is one of the most versatile functions for finding information in a spreadsheet.
Macro trends and growth: confidence, discipline and selective ambition
  • Article
  • 15 Sep 2026
ICAEW’s 2026 Evolution of Mid-tier Accountancy Firms research points to a sector growing with confidence while navigating significant structural change. Private equity (PE) investment, artificial intelligence (AI) and a more complex economic and regulatory environment are continuing to shape mid-tier firms’ strategies, but the findings also show that growth remains widespread and is increasingly being pursued with discipline and selectivity in deciding which areas to expand.
Exclusive Number formats again – a custom number format can be just a click away
  • Article
  • 07 Sep 2026
We cover the subject of Excel number formats with some regularity in the Excel community. In the second part of this short series we are going to consider how to make the new custom format as easy to apply as possible.
How to Excel: Using INDEX as Excel’s grid reference function
  • Article
  • 03 Sep 2026
The INDEX function comes into its own on two-dimensional grids, explains Excel expert Giles Male. Find out how INDEX works in grids, why it is still useful and how it can return whole rows and columns.
How to Excel: COUNT, COUNTA and COUNTIFS functions
  • Article
  • 27 Aug 2026
In the latest instalment of our How to Excel series, Excel expert Fay Bordbar looks at three functions that are best deployed for counting tasks, but which serve subtly different purposes.
Exclusive Returning a subset of data with just one formula
  • Article
  • 26 Aug 2026
This month, I thought I’d be lazier than usual – if that’s possible! I want to return selected data from a larger data table with just one formula.
More

ICAEW's GenAI Accelerator

The ICAEW GenAI Accelerator is your gateway to mastering the future of finance through a flexible, bite-sized online learning.

Gain the skills to harness the power of GenAI, transforming the way you work in a way that suits you.

Introductory courses are free for members.

Find out more Enrol now