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Business intelligence (BI) - sophisticated analysis of corporate data - is often seen as a way to improve performance and increase revenue. But with industry regulators clamping down on companies, some are starting to use the technology to prove their compliance - and in some cases, to hone it. Alison Whitby, business intelligence practice head at Diagonal Consulting, says: "Regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley have companies realising that they're managing their businesses on very suggestive data. So the general push for those companies has been to demonstrate that they have more rigour in terms of their budgeting process and forecasting system." Many compliance experts are seeing BI as a way to hone that.