Amir Weinberg is the CEO of Valire Software, an innovative software company that specializes in anti-fraud technology. He talks to host Vince Walden about his company’s origin, and their cognitive fraud detection software.
Listen to the Episode now:
Origin of Valire Software
Amir has a background in software testing, having founded two successful companies before Valire. He saw the need for forensic technology that was efficient and affordable. The opportunity to commit fraud within an enterprise is prevalent, he says. Valire Software was Amir’s response to this unmet market need. They focus on queue to pay, order to cash and Human Resources fraud schemes.
Cognitive Fraud Detection
Vince asks Amir to describe cognitive fraud detection. Amir responds that the idea is to adopt the machine learning cycle where you base your conclusion on the data findings, and still use human knowledge to determine what makes sense. Valire Software applies machine learning in a mission learning environment in order to improve the detection and recovery of funds. He gives two examples of how his company thwarted fraud schemes and recovered millions in cash.
What Compliance Professionals Should Know
If you are thinking about using Data Analytics in your business, Amir says that you should know how to extract and access data and incorporate it into your system. Then you need to be able to learn from the data, based on the common patterns and specific needs of your company. Vince adds that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution across the industry. There’s no magic bullet, he says. Flexibility is key.
Resources
ValireSoftware.com
Author: admin
Welcome to Great Women in Compliance. In this Part 1 of a two-part series, Mary Shirley is joined by Michelle Shapiro. Mary and Michelle are not strangers to presenting together, having previously run a three hour workshop on due diligence for life sciences companies in the past. Today they join forces again in a special two part series. In the first episode of this two part-series, Michelle talks about the aspirational goal of many young lawyers – to become a partner in a law firm and explains what it was like as a young professional knowing that she wanted to be successful, but not necessarily sure of what that might look like exactly or what form it might take. Michelle shines the light on the Womens White Collar Defence Association which she is heavily involved in and shares the origin story and motivator for such an association. Mary and Michelle discuss options available to in-house lawyers and Compliance professions wanting to start up their own such networking group. Listen in to this episode where Michelle turns the tables on Mary and throws in some surprise questions of her own!
In this two part series, Mary speaks with Michelle Shapiro, a partner at Arent Fox about her Compliance experience from the perspective of external counsel. Episode two with Michelle opens with interesting insights from Michelle based on her experience volunteering on the WomenLEAD Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Committee at a previous law firm. She shares details of the success stories of those committees which is timely information for anyone thinking about setting up similar committees in their own workplace. The conversation to asks us to think beyond a token gesture initiative in these areas and consider what companies can do to show that they are truly invested in the advancement of women leaders and valuing diversity and inclusion.
Mary asks Michelle to draw on some of her benchmarking oversight (one of the aspects of working in consultancy that Mary really misses is getting insight into what several other companies are doing first hand) and share developments she has observed of companies evolving their due diligence program.
To wrap up the episode Mary and Michelle talk about a couple of the key things they look out for when conducting investigations across borders.
In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- Hoskins goes to trial. (WSJ)
- John Wood Group may be in deep trouble over use of Unaoil. (Sunday Post)
- Boeing’s CEO knew about pilot’s warning before 2nd (NYT)
- Did PG&E lines start the Sonoma Fire? (Washington Post)
Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode, Matt Kelly and I go into the weeds on issues raised around SOX compliance by internal audit functions in corporations and the use of tech solutions to improve things by a recent report of the SOX Professional Group.
Some of the highlights include:
- Why is SOX compliance still ‘a big hassle’?
- A recent report by the SOX Professional Group found that internal audit is taking over more SOX reporting.
- Why has internal audit been asked to take over more of this role?
- Why would the SEC want to reduce award levels at the high end? What is the constituency for this position?
- The SOX Professional Group report noted that SOX compliance costs are increasing; why did an earlier Protiviti report show costs were ‘drifting downward’?
- Where are companies on the use of new tech solutions to facilitate SOX Compliance?
- Why are 73% of all companies still using Excel spreadsheet to report on SOX compliance?
- What role, if any, does internal audit have in cyber security?
- Why is cybersecurity not seen as a high risk from SOX reporting perspective?
For additional reading see the following:
Matt’s blog post, Report: SOX Compliance Still a Pain, on Radical Compliance.
Christian Perez Font is the founder of Thinkeen Legal, a law firm that uniquely incorporates data analytics, compliance and law. He began his career as a corporate attorney and in 2008 joined Baxter International, a multinational healthcare company, as in-house counsel. When he joined Baxter, his work was 10% compliance-related and 90% business-related, but by the time he left 5 years later, he was doing 65% compliance work. The key to becoming a better compliance professional, he proposes, is to become a better business person. He and host Tom Fox discuss the importance of data in compliance and in business.
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Data as Fuel
When people think about Data Analytics they imagine some form of AI that’s going to automatically pinpoint problems. Christian says that the truth is that Data Analytics has to be at the core of compliance: data is the fuel that powers the compliance engine. It’s the data that will tell you how you should be communicating compliance policies and doing training so that you can achieve your business goals. Most of the data that is used for compliance purposes is already there from the business side; you just need to understand how to aggregate it, how to look for it and how to plug it in. You have to understand your industry and your company goals before you start collecting that data.
How Thinkeen Uses Data
Tom asks how Thinkeen Legal uses its data proficiency in mergers and acquisitions, transactional work and compliance. Christian shares how his company used its data expertise to advise clients in cross border transactions. Because we know where the touchpoints are, he says, we’re able to incorporate them into the due diligence process and ask the right questions and get the right information. They can identify areas of risk which helps their clients decide whether to proceed with an acquisition. Christian finds that general counsels are becoming savvier about compliance and they appreciate that his firm gives them advice and support.
The Future of Data and Compliance
The intersection of law, data and compliance will continue to evolve, Christian predicts. He is happy that the importance of Data Analytics is being acknowledged. If you don’t have the right data, you won’t get the right information, without which you can’t make the best business decisions. In addition, a big part of what we do with data is benchmarking, Christian says. The more information that we can share in the industry, the better.
Resources
ThinkeenLegal.com
Thinkeen Legal on Twitter | Instagram
Christian Perez Font on LinkedIn
In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- Did EY cover up drug money and gold smuggling for a client? (BBC)
- Boeing CEO to testify to Congress “We Made Mistakes”. (NYT)
- Spotify’s CFO, used Direct Listing model to retire. (WSJ)
- Did Game 5 prove you need robotic umps calling balls and strikes? (Washington Post)
In this episode I visit with Steven Lofchie, a partner in the NYT office of Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft. Lofchie and his team have developed an incredible new resource called The Cadwalader Cabinet, which is the “Go To One-Stop Shop” for attorneys and regulators operating in the US financial services sector. Lofchie is the Mastermind behind the Cabinet, this intelligence and knowledge management platform. Some of the highlights include:
- What led to the creation of the Cadwalader Cabinet?
- What market need/opportunity did you see that the Cadwalader Cabinet fills?
- Why is the Cadwalader Cabinet “Go To One-Stop Shop” for attorneys and regulators operating in the US financial services sector?
- What are some of the Power links in the Cadwalader Cabinet?
- Some of other materials available on the Cadwalader Cabinet include expected rules, regs, statutes, but also includes hot topics like Reg BI, LIBOR, Cryptocurrencies, Cannabis Finance and of course FCPA related materials.
Resources
To check out the Cadwallader Cabinet, click here. Best of all, mention this podcast and receive a free trial.
In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- Boeing stymied government regulators with bill “not in the best interest of safety”. (NYT)
- Google struggling with employee trust. (Washington Post)
- Will WeWork investment damage Softbank? (WSJ)
- Even in Houston businesses recognize “Climate change is going to hurt bottom lines.” (Houston Chronicle)
In today’s edition Sunday Book Review edition of Daily Compliance News:
- India and the Cold War by Manu Bhagavan
- Blood Sweat and Tears by Derrick White
- Conquered by Larry Daniel
- An Insider’s Guide to Working with Universities-James Dean and Deborah Clark
In this podcast series, recovering screenwriter (and Mr. Monitor) Jay Rosen and Tom (the Compliance Evangelist) indulge in passion for the movies by looking at them through the lens of compliance. Jay is a contemporary movie fan and I am more of a classic movie maven so we present a well-rounded view of the movie fandom. If you want to indulge in your love for the movies with two guys who are passionate about Hollywood and get some ideas for your compliance program, this is the podcast series for you. For this offering, we consider the Star Trek II-The Wrath of Khan.
Some of the highlights include:
- How did this movie return the series to its television roots?
- Did they cut back too much on the special effects?
- What are some of the leadership lessons? Tom has five.
- Sometimes you must be vulnerable to be effective.
- Always see life as an adventure.
- Fortune often favors the brave.
- The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.
- Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
- What was Tom’s favorite line of the movie?
- How would Jay the screenwriter, written Spock’s death scene?
- Tom gives the movie two full buckets of Popcorn and two Diet Cokes along with the popcorn. Jay gives the movie a full bucket of fresh popcorn with Milk Duds mixed in.
Join us again where in our next episode of Popcorn and Compliance, we consider Star Trek III-In Search of Spock.
