11 4. Artificial intelligence L`]nYdm]lgl`] • Improve strategic insight by analyzing unstructured data and helping business analysts find signals and ^afYf[]^mf[lagf patterns in large data sets • Improve risk management by identifying patterns in large data sets that are indicative of fraud or other concerns ;mj]fleYjc]l Developing — leading organizations are making early investments and developing practical applications lYc]%mh AI systems are capable of ingesting information and Loren Williams, Chief Data Scientist at EY Global Analytics instructions, learning from interactions with human beings and Center of Excellence, believes that although AI will play an responding to new situations and questions in a human-like increasingly important role, it will not do away with the need way. In addition, AI complements technologies such as RPA, as for human financial experience and insight. “There are many it involves systems that do not just follow rules, but can cases where an AI system will augment the intelligence, recognize patterns, learn and adapt to new situations. For knowledge and awareness of an expert like a finance example, rules-based automation approaches often run up executive,” he says. “With routine transactions, the AI system against exceptions to the defined process, and AI can be used could have the authority to declare something out of bounds to target those exceptions. or to respond in a particular way to something that’s unusual. With these attributes, AI could be used to transform how But with big, important and complex decisions, you may see AI tomorrow’s finance function provides key services. AI systems systems providing advice or recommendations to help the could be trained to ingest tax regulations that are relevant to a human decision-maker, and back up those recommendations business, and also to absorb new regulations as they come based on its ability to gather, ingest and make sense of vast online, proactively advise the relevant person of the changes, amounts of structured and unstructured data.” and answer questions that he or she may have about their nature and implications. 5. Blockchain L`]nYdm]lgl`] • Streamline finance processes, such as contract enforcement, by integrating delivery and payment into ^afYf[]^mf[lagf the contract itself • Increase IT security, utilizing the unprecedented protection that blockchain offers against fraud and hacking • Improve transparency by accessing accurate transaction data from across your company’s extended value chain ;mjj]fleYjc]l Exploratory — organizations are researching, assessing potential use and value, and discussing within lYc]%mh executive team Blockchain has the power to challenge many of the accepted network agreeing who can do what within the ledger. principles and norms of global trade, global financing and With Bitcoin, for example, individuals within the network global supply chain management. It reinvents that basic (called “miners”) had permission to validate an aggregated building block of commerce, the ledger, for a digital, group of transactions (a “block”), with these miners rewarded connected age. for their efforts with 25 Bitcoins. Once validated, the block A blockchain is a digital ledger — a distributed database that was placed in the “chain.” Instead of a central authority can be shared across a network of computers based in like a bank validating transactions, validation for Bitcoin different sites and geographies. An identical copy of the ledger is essentially crowdsourced. is held by all of the people participating in a blockchain While blockchain emerged as a technology for Bitcoin, its network. Any changes to the ledger are reflected in just attraction is more the algorithmic technologies that underpin minutes or even seconds, thus providing all involved with real- it. This technology makes it possible to transform the ability of time information and the capacity to track trends. a ledger to record, enable and secure a huge number of The security of the information in the ledger, and its accuracy, transactions, and could be used in multiple sectors, from are protected cryptographically, with the participants in the financial services to tax collection in the public sector. ey.com/dnaofthecfo