Operations and Operational Art and applicability to other business


THE UNITED STATES NAVAL WAR COLLEGE JOINT MILITARY OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines Kindle Edition by Brett Friedman (Author) Link is a primer for the book. On Operations and Operational Art – military terms which roughly equates to method and approach for Operations and for conducting Operations. If that explanation is fuzzy, that is because it is fuzzy. I am just working through the book and there are different approaches in Germany/ Prussia versus more recent US and UK. This post is simply to capture the beginning of what I am learning and of course how … Continue reading Operations and Operational Art and applicability to other business

Core banking vendor Temenos – accounting irregularities


”accounting irregularities, failed products and an illusive turnaround” Hindenburg Research 𝘽𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂: Shares in core banking vendor Temenos have plunged, after Hindenburg Research shorted the company alleging “accounting irregularities, failed products and an illusive turnaround”. According to Hinderburg Research, a 4-month investigation into Temenos, involving interviews with 25 former employees, including senior leaders at the company, uncovered hallmarks of manipulated earnings and major accounting irregularities. This includes evidence of roundtripped revenue, sham partnerships, rampant pulling forward of contract renewals, backdated contracts, excessive capitalization of seemingly non-existent R&D investments, and other classic accounting red flags. Here is one example from the report: … Continue reading Core banking vendor Temenos – accounting irregularities

William Dalrymple on the trail of Puglia’s ancient kings and castles


A journey through the Italian region reveals the lingering influence of its Islamic past FT Castel del Monte © Getty Images/Cavan Images RF There was rain in the night, and in the morning the scent of warm cypress and fallen pine needles mingled with that of lavender and rosemary. Stepping out into the garden of La Dimora dei Semplici, our villa near Ostuni, was like breathing in the raw essence of the Mediterranean south. Although I had passed several times through the heel of Italy, heading to ferry crossings in Bari or Brindisi, this was my first time lingering long … Continue reading William Dalrymple on the trail of Puglia’s ancient kings and castles

AML compliance in Canada being upgraded


RITA TRICHUR at the Globe does great job at summarizing the sorry state of Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulation and operational compliance. Globe and Mail Rita quotes FinTRAC CEO CEO Sarah Paquet She also made another observation: Too many businesses are looking at risks in silos. As she pointed out, operational risk, fraud risk and cyber risk are often intertwined with financial crime such as money laundering and human trafficking. I can confirm from observation, that the operation of AML administration in Banks is almost limited to a 3 monthly requirement to read the procedures and some complete a brief … Continue reading AML compliance in Canada being upgraded

Fintechs Canada letter to Government Nov 2023


The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance 90 Elgin Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5 November 10, 2023 Minister Freeland, The time is now for the federal government to decide what steps it will take to give Canadians more access to affordable financial services, while protecting their privacy and financial security. Canada began consulting on ways to do this as part of its work on “open banking” — a key facet of “open finance” — more than five years ago. With the consultations and the report of Canada’s open banking lead, Abraham Tachjian, now complete, … Continue reading Fintechs Canada letter to Government Nov 2023

Gen AI — how should we think about Open Source and the winning Microsoft role


Colin Henderson In typical form for AI, events are moving at hyper speed however we have some clarity this cold yet sunny Monday morning. How did we get here. My interpretation follows. “OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it “Open” AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft. Fortune Mar 17, 2023 As a banker looking at the corporate structure alone, never mind the Open Source matter (more to come) this was now a playground for lawyers to discern … Continue reading Gen AI — how should we think about Open Source and the winning Microsoft role

Welcome to the chaos of manual trading caused by CyberAttack


This will surely be the largest story for some time following one of the largest trading banks being frozen by a malware attack. Bank employees carrying trades on a USB stick to share with their trading partners. Operational impacts of the USB workaround are complex and introduce different risks Even that activity introduces a whole new set of issues when employees from ICB appear on the doorstep of Bank B with a USB. First question .. which computer in Bank B has a computer that can be trusted to accept the USB? Does Bank B even have an available USB … Continue reading Welcome to the chaos of manual trading caused by CyberAttack

Open Banking Excellence welcome


I recently signed up at OBE and looking forward to their Campfires. The next one on Open Banking and AI will be a good one, so am looking forward to it. Email example follows Colin, thanks for joining our community and choosing us as your resource on all things Open Banking. We hope to make you proud! At OBE we understand the frustration of having to attend hundreds of events to build an Open Banking network, find relevant partners or hunt down a variety of content to keep informed and inspired. This is why we started the OBE community and platform, so … Continue reading Open Banking Excellence welcome

Guidelines for Effective Open Banking/ Finance Adoption


Arab Monetary Fund The Arab Monetary Fund have produced a comprehensive set of guidelines for Open Banking deployment and have included Open Finance as a natural component in that evolution. As Open Banking evolves in the global marketplaces the Middle East as I have earlier noted is a leader and general its starting point on the journey has the opportunity to leapfrog European, Australian and North American efforts, lever and build on that knowledge and set new standards that early adopters would do well to consider in their evolution. For snippets from the Executive summary see Appendix.1 Themes to be … Continue reading Guidelines for Effective Open Banking/ Finance Adoption