and adoption of standards. and we will advocate at global regulatory and central banking fora for public sector involvement on data standards, similar to the public sector role on the lei. so our call to action today is that firms, large and small, join this process, and give it the benefit of their expertise and perspective on the design of common data standards, and on which standards the group a fuller description of our approach to promoting standards, including timeframes, is set out in the transformation plan. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / news / speeches and @ boe _ pressoffice should focus on first. different firms with varying business models may have different preferences, so we need a broad range of views represented. i hope that some of you listening or reading are already dreaming of better, more commonly adopted standards and reporting solutions in your area of expertise. in which case, step forward! we will need industry to contribute experts who work with data to collaborate with their peers on the development of these crucial data standards. the task ahead is a considerable one. the lesson from the development of the lei is that the development and adoption of common data standards is a long - term process, and one that needs patience, continued engagement and sustained, expert resource. we are committed to transforming our data collection from the financial sector, to make it more effective and more efficient, and to ensure that it delivers us the data we need to fulfil our mission, at the lowest possible cost to industry. we see the development of common data standards as key to that transformation. these standards may not lead to the construction of anything quite as spectacular as those gothic cathedrals of the past. but standards can have benefits way beyond simply our data collections : improving data management and use in the financial system, to the benefit of customers and to financial stability. i hope many of you listening or reading will help us to get there. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / news / speeches and @ boe _ pressoffice

, and also bring wider benefits. i will mention the first two, before focusing on the third and most fundamental reform for the rest of these remarks. the first reform is to improve how we write our reporting instructions. we think we can make our instructions clearer and easier for recipients to work with, meaning smoother and quicker processing and less variability in how they are interpreted. the second reform is integrating various reporting processes – breaking down barriers between external and internal reporting, between different steps of the reporting process, and between different levels of data within the process. but third and most foundational is the wider development of common data standards. this underpins the other two reforms. and we believe it can help firms and other users make the best use of data, well beyond our collection processes. common data standards let me first explain what i mean by common data standards. these are simply collectively adopted rules and methods for describing and recording data. they mean standardising the format and labelling used to identify and organise data. https : / / www. bankofengland. co. uk / research / future - finance transforming data collection from the uk financial sector - discussion paper ( bankofengland. co. uk ) transforming data collection from the uk financial sector : a plan for 2021 and beyond | bank of england all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / news / speeches and @ boe _ pressoffice these common standards can improve all aspects of the data collection process : how firms first find the data we are asking for ; how they merge and consolidate data sets from different internal sources ; how they submit and we receive data ; and how they and we can compare data points that have been provided to us. but, just as in the middle ages commonly adopted measurement standards had benefits far beyond cathedral building, so common data standards are about much more than just improved reporting. standards are a key part of the soft infrastructure of the digital age. they make it easier to source, move and compare data. they can make a whole range of activities easier : better financial reporting, cheaper payments, and more accurate credit scoring so customers get the financial products that suit their needs. they can boost transparency and help customers choose between competing products in a more informed way. they can support newer innovations like artificial intelligence and machine learning methods. in short, they bring benefits throughout the financial sector. the example of the legal entity identifier of course the development of common standards and ident