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7.11.19 5 NEWS BUSINESS Leaders Malta leverages ar- tificial intelligence and machine learn- ing in a new partnership with data sci- ence company Lobeslab. e new collaboration brings BI and AI to the table in a bid to revolutionise business operations by helping com- panies make data a core part of their future business. "Big Data may be a tired phrase, but the data boom is on a spurt and it's not stopping. One look at companies such as Amazon and Google, and there's no denying that companies on the leading edge of the BI and AI revolution are feeding off of it to augment existing services, maximise operations and lead the way in their respective industries", said BLM CEO Morgan Parnis. "In a business landscape as dynamic and ever-evolving as this one, the need for businesses to tap into their data and harness it to its utmost potential has become excruciatingly important. Not using your data is a bit like piloting a ship without following your navigation equipment. You may still cruise around from point to point, but you're doing so blindly and that's not going to end well. Tapping into your data gives you the direction you so need to streamline this process", he said. A record number of world-renowned organisations (97.2%) are already in- vesting in big data and artificial in- telligence initiatives, a study which surveyed 60 Fortune 1000 companies shows (Big Data and AI Executive Sur- vey, New Vantage Venture Partners, 2018). e same study also indicates that big data is currently delivering the most value to enterprises by improving de- cision making (69%), decreasing ex- penses (60.9%), accelerating the speed to market (54.1%) and improving cus- tomer service (53.4%). Everything changes once the focus is turned onto the European and local landscape. According to Eurostat data, out of 28 European Union countries, only 12% of businesses reported hav- ing analysed big data in 2018. Out of these, Malta ranked highest with 24% of Maltese businesses reporting having undergone some type of big data analy- sis, an increase of 5% since 2016. Lobeslab helps organisations drive real business value by empowering businesses to create maximum value out of data. e start-up company of- fers a full range of business intelligence services including data gathering, data cleaning, data management, data ware- housing, data analysis, data visualis- ation, system automation (machine learning) and tailored training. Business Leaders Malta is a ful- ly-fledged company comprised of three main brands: event management and business consultancy BLM itself, mar- ket research company Esprimi, and further/higher educational institution Academy of Business Leaders. Amongst the various services offered, BLM specialises in business consul- tancy, conference management, the delivery of accredited courses, and market, employee and media research solutions. Business Leaders Malta partners up with new data science company Lobeslab to power up data front MASSIMO COSTA THE Malta Financial Services Author- ity has issued a document detailing its expectations for financial services enti- ties from the standpoint of supervision. e document lays down the Author- ity's supervisory expectations, support- ed by a number of best practices which licensed entities are expected to adhere to. rough the publication of the docu- ment, titled "Supervision: Risks Iden- tified, Weaknesses and Expected Con- trols – A Cross-Sectoral Analysis", the MFSA also identifies the key risks that authorised entities operating in the fi- nancial services sector might pose to their clients and the market in general and highlights the common weakness- es which the Authority has identified in the course of its supervisory work. In comments to BusinessToday, MFSA CEO Joseph Cuschieri said that, through the document, the Authority was establishing what it was expecting from the entities it supervised. "Essentially, we are informing such entities on which controls and levels of governance and compliance we are expecting from them," Cuschieri said, "In this way, there should be no reason for excuses that the MFSA is not being clear in terms of what it is expecting." e MFSA is emphasising that it ex- pects regulated entities to discuss the contents of the document with their Board of Directors (or equivalent ad- ministrative body) including the execu- tive management team and assess how the highlighted points may apply to their business. Firms are expected to address any misalignments between their internal frameworks and practices and the ex- pectations as set out in this document and to establish the necessary processes in order to ensure that the firm will con- tinue to meet such expectations on an ongoing basis. "Licenses entities should discuss the expectation laid out in the document at board level, so they can reconcile such expectations with their internal systems of governance to see what discrepancies exist and subsequently start remediat- ing," Cuschieri said. "We've clearly explained what the MFSA expect and what firms have to do to regulate themselves. At the end of the day, we therefore hope to be met with a certain level of compliance when we carry out our on-site inspec- tions." e supervisory expectations docu- ment is part of the regulator's imple- mentation of its Strategic Plan, but also takes on board recommendations from Moneyval regarding cultivating a cul- ture of compliance, he underscored. "Ultimately, complying with such su- pervisory expectations will improve the standards of the Maltese jurisdiction," Cuschieri added. In line with the Authority's strategy of enhancing its supervisory engagement, the MFSA will, in the coming weeks, also be publishing a document setting out its Supervisory Priorities for 2020. is will indicate how, through super- vision, the regulator will be addressing the weaknesses identified in the super- visory expectations document. MFSA Chief Officer Supervision, Marianne Scicluna commented that: "e Authority is planning to intensify its supervisory work, both in terms of coverage and standard. e MFSA has fused the three pillars of its superviso- ry strategy – prudential, conduct and AML Supervision – to ensure a holis- tic and more efficient supervisory ap- proach." "e publication of the Authority's Supervisory Expectations is part of its commitment to enhance the supervi- sory engagement with authorised enti- ties, in promoting and ensuring sound governance, high compliance standards and conduct," Scicluna added. MFSA lays down clear supervisory expectations for licensed entities MFSA CEO Joseph Cuschieri

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