Data analytics is the extraction of data from a company’s information system in order to perform data selection, classification, ordering, filtering, translation and other functions to provide meaningful information about business processes. Data mining is an advanced form of data analysis that results in the modeling of existing data in order to better predict future trends. Sample steps include identifying opportunities; researching possible solutions, designs and assessments; acquiring data; loading data; and performing validation and profiling. 

This tool contains two guides that can be used by auditors to understand and review an organization’s data analytics and mining methodologies.