Artificial intelligence makes it possible for businesses of all sizes to automate processes and carryout tasks that had been previously been impossible to achieve. The result is that businesses are more efficient and stand out in their industry.
This is the particular case of one of our clients, a financial sector organization. This major institutional investor has benefitted from new strategic monitoring opportunities thanks to a natural language processing solution developed by our team specialized in artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics.
Achieving the impossible
Our client wanted to identify a significant number of details on all transactions in a particular sector. It therefore needed a tool to collect and structure information in order to enrich its knowledge for competitive monitoring purposes.
Developing such a tool represented a gargantuan task that was practically impossible with traditional methods because it requires processing thousands of articles published by a variety of sources with the purpose of extracting only relevant data.
The aim was to give the organization the means to achieve its ambitions by creating a solution perfectly adapted to its needs, in collaboration with its innovation team.
Our specialists developed a customized language understanding tool that allows our client to automate information collection and build a valuable database. Its employees can now quickly and easily search through this database according to various parameters.
In this type of assignment, it’s possible to add technological modules to meet clients’ other needs.
For example, we are developing a second tool for this organization that will gather factual data and comments related to its business partners in its various activity sectors, while filtering thousands of information sources.
Invaluable benefits
Thanks to our solution, our client will have a bank of knowledge at its disposal that will enable it to better identify business opportunities and risks and analyze trends of the industries and geographical markets in which it invests in great depth. In other words, our tool will allow the client to always be completely informed about what its competitors are doing and what is going on in the market.
In today’s highly competitive world, information is the key issue. Businesses that stand out are those that are able to efficiently gather and analyze all available information, be it about their market, trends, consumer expectations, technological innovations or other.
Whether it’s to take advantage of new opportunities, as our client has done, or to automate certain processes to improve productivity, AI tools have multiple applications.
In addition to strategic monitoring, natural language processing solutions can be used to collect and structure all legal information across a business’s documents and correspondence. They can extract, collect and structure information pertaining to the client experience or sales cycle to improve customer service or the sales process.
These solutions are also very useful when analyzing documentation during a due diligence process or to extract social media information.
Furthermore, in connection with AI projects, not only are we working with our clients to develop tailored solutions, but we’re also sharing our knowledge so that they can use these tools autonomously. Building on the solution implemented, clients regularly develop new applications to expand on the initially planned uses.
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On May 17, 2019, the Finance Minister for Canada released draft legislation relating to the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) with respect to cryptocurrencies and other virtual payment instruments.
Digital currencies are based on a decentralized, peer-to-peer (P2P) network that is not supported by any government or central authority. Additionally, financial institutions generally do not manage or oversee digital currency.
For Canadian tax purposes, including the GST/HST, cryptocurrencies are intangible personal property that cannot be considered as money as they are not legal tender in Canada. In fact, only bank notes issued by the Bank of Canada under the Bank of Canada Act and coins issued under the Royal Canadian Mint Act are legal tender in Canada.
For more information, read our On-line Tax Strategies newsletter.
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The Grant Thornton International IFRS team has published Insights into IFRS 16 – Interim periods.
The bulletin Insights into IFRS 16 – Interim periods provides guidance on the recognition of variable lease payments in interim financial statements that are compliant with IAS 34, Interim Financial Reporting.
There appears to be a conflict between the guidance in IFRS 16 on the accounting for variable lease payments that are not based on an index or rate and the guidance in IAS 34 regarding variable lease payments based on sales.
The bulletin explains how to apply the guidance in IFRS 16 and IAS 34 on variable lease payments using examples.
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Many municipalities in Quebec want to show their commitment to prevent corruption by implementing programs and risk management.
In recent years, Quebec municipalities, as well as the provincial government, have not been spared from the corruption concerns that have greatly tarnished the reputation of the municipal and provincial world.
Through scandals and media headlines, this phenomenon is also reflected in the rest of Canada and around the world.
As a result, many municipalities in Quebec want to demonstrate to taxpayers their commitment to preventing corruption and other wrongdoing by implementing programs and risk management in this regard. While some large cities can afford a full-time Inspector General, this isn’t the case for all municipalities.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has instituted ISO 37001 to provide public and private organizations with a mechanism for demonstrating to stakeholders a level of quality assurance and integrity in proxy processes. This is why some municipalities would like to take the necessary steps for aligning with the standard or obtaining ISO 37001 certification.
Did you know that…
According to ACFE’s 2018 Report to the Nations, corruption is the main offence in eleven of the fifteen sectors of activity identified, the main offence in five of the eight high-risk departments and represents 62% of all crimes committed by senior managers and executives, and 77% of all crimes committed in proxy departments.
What are municipalities doing to deal with corruption?
Nowadays, transparency, ethics and social responsibility are values high in demand that somehow reflect the evils of our society: a general lack of trust. This widespread feeling undermines the credibility of the public service, including municipalities on the front lines.
To address this and exhale these values, it becomes imperative for municipalities to have thorough administrative systems and measures in place to manage risk and protect the organization.
Prevention is better than cure
The ISO 37001 standard is recognized throughout the world and defines an anti-corruption management system that establishes the procedures to be introduced for preventing, detecting and mitigating corruption. This standard identifies measures to be implemented within organizations that seek to adopt best practices and demonstrate their commitment to ethics, transparency and accountability.
In concrete terms, the purpose of applying the various clauses of this standard is to train and raise awareness among all municipal staff working directly or indirectly in the field of municipal contracts. Whether the choice is to align with the standard or obtain accredited certification under ISO 37001, organizations must ensure that they have an anti-corruption management system in place to prevent, detect and mitigate risks.
Ethics and compliance – The new tool for prevention, transparency and accountability
For municipalities, adopting such a policy helps show the population that public actors do not evade corruption and that they are taking all necessary measures to fight it by adopting best practices.
In addition, the implementation of ISO 37001 makes it possible to establish a climate of trust and predictability with business partners and set more rigorous parameters in the proxy process. These parameters will motivate, if not require, contractors and suppliers to demonstrate their own commitment to ethics and anti-corruption measures if they wish to continue doing business with municipalities.
Beyond the image and trust aspect that this standard conveys for municipalities, it is also necessary to look at the competitive advantages that it generates for service providers.
Reduce costs and increase productivity
The commitment to adopt ethical practices and a robust compliance program with regard to integrity and anti-corruption provides a clear competitive advantage for providers.
In addition to reducing legal and reputation costs and risks, such a program supports the development of a culture of organizational integrity that results in increased productivity and higher quality products and services.
In a context where municipalities evaluate contracts on the basis of alignment or ISO 37001 certification, providers demonstrating their commitment to ethics and compliance will have a competitive advantage over their competitors.
Restoring confidence
The introduction of these processes is intended to restore citizens’ confidence in their municipal administration. This approach establishes a consistent and predictable regulatory proxy framework based on an ethical organizational culture that enhances transparency and accountability.
In an environment where municipal leaders must demonstrate their proactive actions to counter corruption, collusion and other wrongdoing, the question is not about the need for a compliance program, but about the scope and implementation.