Businesses have been advised to make improvements to their data management procedures.
According to Protiviti, companies have made "significant strides forward" in recent years when it comes to handling large quantities of information.
For instance, it said many organizations now use enterprise applications to deal with and interpret data on customers, employees and suppliers.
However, the group stated that some businesses are retaining various pieces of information for longer than they need to.
Kurt Underwood, Protiviti's managing director, said this "poses significant data security and privacy risks".
"There are opportunities for executives to significantly reduce legal exposures, while driving sensitive data management improvements and cost savings," he commented.
Protiviti added that while companies are very good at accruing large quantities of information, they are not as "savvy" on the issue of data classification and management.
The group was speaking after the Business Software Alliance suggested the world's major economies harmonize their data management legislation to ensure laws are compatible with each other.