Data Strategy for the Finance Function: What the EU and Irish Public Service Data Strategies Say
What the European strategy for data and Ireland's Public Service Data Strategy say, and how finance teams can borrow their ideas on governance, quality and capability.
A data strategy for a finance function sets out which data matters, who owns it, how good it needs to be, and how it will be used. Finance teams rarely start from a blank page. The European Union has a European strategy for data, and Ireland's public service has published data strategies of its own. Neither document is written for finance departments, but both describe ideas that translate well: shared governance, trusted identifiers, reusable data, privacy by design and building people's capability. This guide sets out what the official pages say and then, in clearly labelled sections, suggests how a finance team might borrow from them.
A data strategy is also what makes new tools safe to adopt. If your team is considering AI assistants that read company files, see our guide to Microsoft 365 Copilot data governance and permissions for the governance questions that arise.
What the European strategy for data says
The European Commission's page on the European strategy for data (last updated 20 August 2026) refers to "the 2020 strategy for data" and describes it as aimed at creating a single market for data that will ensure Europe's global competitiveness and data sovereignty. It says the strategy aims to support economic growth, innovation and societal benefits, and to keep the companies and individuals who generate data in control of it. The pillars the page lists include legislation on data governance, access and reuse, open data (making high-value public datasets available for free reuse), investment in data infrastructure, and clarifying the regulatory framework for cloud services.
The page says the strategy led to the creation of Common European Data Spaces, intended to ensure that more data becomes available for use in the economy and society. It names the Data Governance Act, which oversees the reuse of protected data, regulates data intermediaries and promotes altruistic data sharing, and the Data Act, which entered into force on 11 January 2024 and applies from 12 September 2025. It also notes that the GDPR applies alongside when personal data is involved.
The European Data Union Strategy
The Commission's Data Union Strategy page (last updated 18 May 2026) describes a policy aimed at increasing data availability for AI, simplifying EU data rules, and strengthening the EU's position on international data flows. It lists three pillars: scaling up data access for AI, streamlining data rules, and safeguarding data sovereignty. The page says the strategy was published alongside a Digital Omnibus proposal to modernise and consolidate EU data laws, including the Data Act. Because proposals can change, check the current position before building a plan around any one rule or date.
What the Irish Public Service Data Strategy says
The Public Service Data Strategy 2019-2023 was issued by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), which the strategy document places in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The gov.ie page says it "sets out a detailed vision with a set of goals and actions" for a more joined-up whole-of-government approach to data, and an Office of the Government Chief Information Officer page for the strategy says it was published and last updated on 15 July 2021. The strategy document itself does not state an exact publication date. We found no page naming a successor, so check gov.ie for the current position.
The document sets out 11 principles in groups: transparency, reuse, governance and controls, digital, analytics, and privacy and security. For example, it says data should be reusable and exposed through APIs, should support evidence-based decision making, and should be processed securely and privately using privacy-by-design. It also lists 13 themes with key actions, including:
- Protection and legislation: completing the Data Sharing and Governance Bill. The document refers to a Bill because it had not yet been enacted when it was written.
- Governance and standards: establishing a Data Governance Board and publishing data management standards.
- Privacy and security: publishing privacy and security guidelines.
- Interoperability and discovery: building an API-led interoperability platform and a government data catalogue.
- Trusted identifiers and base registries: promoting trusted identifiers such as the Public Services Card, MyGovID and Eircode, and developing base registries and the processes to govern them.
- Capability: creating a data maturity framework and appointing data officers in public service bodies.
The Open Data Strategy 2023-2027, described on data.gov.ie, is a separate Irish document. It was published in November 2023 and has three pillars: publishers, platform and users. It concerns open data published by public bodies rather than data inside a private organisation.
These are public-sector documents. They do not impose obligations on private-sector finance teams, and we do not suggest otherwise.
Translating the ideas to a finance function
The following are our suggestions, not requirements from either strategy. They show how each idea could be applied.
| Idea in the strategies | A possible finance-function equivalent (our suggestion) |
|---|---|
| Data governance board and standards | A small data owners group that agrees definitions (what counts as revenue, headcount or an active customer) and signs off changes. |
| Base registries as authoritative sources | One agreed master list for customers, suppliers, cost centres and the chart of accounts, with a named owner. |
| Trusted identifiers | Consistent IDs across systems so records can be matched without manual lookup. |
| Discovery: a data catalogue | A simple inventory of key datasets, where they live and who can access them. |
| Privacy and security by design | Building access limits and retention rules into new reports and models from the start. |
| Capability and data maturity | A skills plan covering data literacy for finance staff. |
| Interoperability and APIs | Preferring documented, auditable data feeds to manual copy and paste. |
Where to start
A first version of a finance data strategy can be short. A practical approach:
- Name the decisions that data supports. List the five or six reports or decisions that matter most and the datasets behind them.
- Assign owners. Each key dataset needs one named owner and a deputy.
- Check quality at the source. Our guide to financial data quality management covers the checks.
- Decide how AI will be used. Any AI use should follow the same ownership and access rules. Our overview of AI training for finance professionals in Dublin may help you plan skills.
- Review yearly. Data laws and tools are changing, so set a date to revisit the strategy.
Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Public Service Data Strategy apply to private businesses?
No. It is a public-sector strategy for 2019-2023. It is useful as a reference for good practice, but it does not set obligations for private-sector finance teams.
Is the European strategy for data a law?
No. It is a policy strategy. The Commission's page names laws that flow from it, such as the Data Governance Act and the Data Act, which are separate regulations.
What is a common European data space?
The Commission describes Common European Data Spaces as arrangements intended to make more data available for use in the economy and society, while keeping the companies and individuals who generate the data in control of it.
Do finance teams need a written data strategy?
Nothing we read says so. It is a good-practice step that makes ownership, quality and access clearer, especially before adopting AI tools.
Begin with one page: your key datasets, their owners and their quality checks.
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Learnsignal Healthcare Education Team
The Learnsignal Healthcare Education Team creates CPD and compliance training content for nurses, allied health professionals, and care providers, drawing on current regulatory guidance from bodies including NMBI and equivalent professional regulators.
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