EntErprisEs of all sizes and from all corners of the world are impacted by the threats of financial crime, which continue to evolve and grow at an alarming speed.

It’s no mean task to understand, let alone contain the threats. The land-scape is not just constantly changing, it also keeps introducing new ele-ments, some of which were never thought of just years ago.

Take the case of cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin being one of them. Is it a friend of a foe? Some enterprises are also actively pursuing the crowd-funding option to raise funds either for expansion, or merely to start a business. What are the risks of money laundering here? And there is the financial technology which seems to be growing at a breakneck speed. What are the implications when it comes to matters concerning anti-money laundering?

These are some of the questions that will be deliberated at a major international conference in Kuala Lumpur next week.

The two-day 9th International Conference on Financial Crime and Terrorism Financing (IFCTF 2017) entitled “Future Proofing Compliance: Responsibility and Response-Ability” starts on Oct 4.

The conference, now into its ninth edition, is truly a Malaysian-made

addition to the space of financial crime. It is jointly organised by the Asian Institute of Finance (AIF) and the Compliance Officers’ Net- working Group, with the support of two key financial regulators, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Securities Commission Malaysia.

Conference chairman V Maslam-ani, who is also the Al Rajhi Bank (M) Bhd chief compliance officer, said the topics in this year’s conference are designed to provide a future out- look to participants and Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism Practitioners.

“The conference will assemble international experts and industry specialists to provide insight on cur-rent and future criminal threats, as well as to specify plans and strate-gies for compliance professionals to

respond quickly and effectively to these threats,” he said.

The conference intends to explore current and new trends in financial crime and the next generation of detection and technological capa- bilities expected of anti-financial crime professionals to meet regula-tory and global expectations.

International experts and industry specialists will be at hand to provide insights on current and future crimi-nal threats and specify strategies to respond quickly and effectively to these threats.

David Leppan, founder and former CEO of Singapore-based World-Check, will provide a view into the future, specifically on new age screening methodologies.

Leppan is deemed a pioneer and an expert in “knowing your cus-

tomer”, due diligence and risk miti-gation data services to the public and private sector.

These are some key check points for those involved in the financial services. World-Check is now part of Thomson Reuters.

Bill Howarth, the president of the International Compliance Associa-tion, will join a panel to discuss how to design an effective anti- financial crime review programme as part of a enterprise’s second and third line of defence activities.

Originally from a legal and aca-demic background, Howarth spent more than 30 years lecturing at uni-versities across the world. His man-date and passion is the professiona- lisation of the status of “Compli-ance” as a discipline and bringing training, knowledge and compli-

ance information to the industry.BNM governor Tan Sri Muham-

mad Ibrahim and Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission chief com-missioner Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad are scheduled to deliver keynote addresses.

AIF CEO Dr Raymond Madden expects the conference to draw more than 500 delegates this year, inclu- ding senior compliance professionals from regional and global banks and other financial institutions.

The conference organising team has members from BNM, Asian Insti-tute of Chartered Bankers, Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia, Malay-sian Association of Money Services Business, Securities Industry Deve- lopment Corp and The Malaysian Insurance Institute.

Tracking ways and means to future-proof compliance

by AnAbelle Co-MArtinent

Four years ago in my small apart-ment kitchen, heavily pregnant, I dared to dream. I created a few juice flavours, pondered on several names for the brand, lost sleep over the logo design and told myself, “I’m going to do it. I don’t know how, but I will do it.”

The unknown was major scary, yet exciting at the same time. I just had to find out if I could make it out there, just being me, Anabelle, with-out the fancy corporate brands that used to back me up when I worked for the big boys of the tech world.

Today, September 2017, marks the fourth year of La Juiceria. And looking back at my journey, it brings a mix of emotions all at the same time: Gratitude, disbelief, awe, happiness and fear.

Sometimes, I wake up wondering if I really did what I did. Most days, extremely happy when we achieve new heights or simply seeing cus-tomers supporting our brand. Fear-ful days, when uncertainties arise. Then excitement follows because every day is different.

Entrepreneurship is a rol ler coaster ride, and you better have the stomach for it, or at least get ready for it, or else you will “throw up” along the way. I knew in my mind what kind of hard work was coming my way when I started. The beauty of entrepreneurship is that if you love what you do, it barely feels heavy or burdensome.

I write this entry with only one purpose in mind. To remind every-one that we have one life to live. Don’t be stuck in a job that doesn’t fulfil your passion or if doesn’t bring you closer to what you achieve to be. Working as a marketing employee

for different companies, I cherished everyday because I knew it’s what I wanted to do. I didn’t feel burdened nor bored. I just knew in my guts that it’s part of where I want to go.

The hardest part was leaving. Leaving a comfortable job that pro-vided security and some sort of con-tentment. Letting go was difficult. Because I feared the unknown. But I did it anyway, because the bigger fear was not knowing at all. Not knowing if I can make it as an entre-preneur in a foreign land. I had to know. So I left.

Begin with the end in mind. Have a meaningful purpose. Dare to dream. I wanted to make Malay-sians healthy. That was the simple fact why I started. From produ- cing bottled cold-pressed juices to opening cafes, the journey has been

exhilarating. A chain of coinci-dences and happenstance came my way. And I embraced it all, with positivity and the naive belief that I have an equal chance at it.

I still have a long, long journey ahead, full of uncertainties and challenges. The contentment I have in my heart is that at least I tried it, I gave it my all. Whatever happens along the way is part of the journey.

As Steve Jobs had said, “the jour-ney is the reward”. I often share with people that if I, a non-Malay-sian could create something in Kuala Lumpur, what more Malay-sians. You have every opportunity to make it. Take the chance. Leap.

Anabelle Co-Martinent is the founder and MD of La Juiceria.

La Juiceria founder: Dare to dream

The 9th IFCTF 2017 conference is truly a Malaysian-made addition to the space of financial crime

(From left) Maslamani, leppan, Howarth and Madden

i just had to find out if i could make it out there, just being me, Anabelle, without the fancy corporate brands that used to back me up when i worked for the big boys of the tech world

Pic by Ismail Che Rus

fundingsocieties.com

24 • THURSDAY • SEPTEMBER 28, 2017Enterprise

A L L B U S I N E S S D A I L Y

Funding Societies debuts Miyu chatbotby lydiA nAtHAn

CrowdFunding platform Fund-ing Societies has launched Miyu, a chatbot which will function round the clock to answer queries that business owners may ask about the loan products offered by Funding Societies.

The service will be the first such chatbot by a crowdfunding company in South-East Asia and is part of Funding Societies’ move to empower small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to build stronger economies.

“Since inception, we’ve promised to help SMEs and investors through crowdfunding and innovation. Our chatbot is another step in innovation and aims to deliver almost human-like customer experience 24/7,” Funding Societies CEO Kelvin Teoh noted in a release yesterday.

Miyu, jointly developed by two Singapore Management University interns at Funding Societies along with bot (Internet robots) platforms meya.ai and api.ai, used machine learning and natural language pro-cessing to evolve the platform.

It is set to use an interactive manner to increase the awareness and confi-dence of peer-to-peer lending among SMEs, thereby helping them reach their business goals through alterna-tive finance.

According to Funding Societies, small businesses use speed as one of their key growth factors, yet some are still not able to secure sufficient financial assistance from traditional financial institutions. But through Miyu, business owners will now have the support they need.

This comes after estimates cited by the Securities Commission Malaysia

said the Malaysian SME sector has a financing gap of more than RM80 billion.

Another feature of Miyu is the online document collection tech- driven credit processes which will secure the end-to-end process from application to disbursal in just five to seven days, a much shorter period than a traditional financial institu-tion.

Future plans for Miyu will include taking on the role of a virtual relation-ship manager who will assist SMEs in loan application with minimal human intervention or link them up with account managers.

Miyu will also help investors navi-gate through the platform, initiate video chats with real customer expe-rience managers, as well as perform account opening and management, activities such as investments, depos-its, withdrawals solely online with no human interaction.

is published by tMr MediA Sdn bHd (formerly known as Syed Hussain Publications Sdn Bhd) (25343-K) Unit 23A-1, Menara 1MK, Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-6211 1851 Fax: 03-6211 1852 and Printed by tWinStAr Synergy Sdn bHd (987235X) Lot 2A, Jalan 13/2, 46200 Selangor, Malaysia

our chatbot is another step in innovation and aims to deliver almost human-like customer experience 24/7, says teoh