Conference on Digital Transformation of Financial Markets 2024

Theme: AI in Business and Finance

The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has opened the door to countless new possibilities for all sectors, and the financial sector is no exception. From parsing repetitive information to summarising content for stakeholders, technologies such as Generative AI have diverse use cases, and this in turn is changing the landscape of the finance industry.

Organised by SMU School of Accountancy Research Centre (SOAR), this Conference will explore the effects that AI has had on the sector. Dive into the opportunities and challenges that AI has created, and how it is shaping the skills demanded of accounting and finance professionals.

Conference on Digital Transformation of Financial Markets: Artificial Intelligence in Business and Finance
Thursday 17 October 2024
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Mochtar Riady Auditorium, SMU Administrative Building [Map]


Speakers and Panelists

Professor Timothy CLARK

Provost, Singapore Management University

Speaker - Opening Remarks

Dr Timothy Clark is the Provost of SMU. Prior to this, Dr Clark was Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Social Sciences and Health) at Durham University, United Kingdom, where he was also Executive Lead for Computer and Information Services (CIS) and Estates and Buildings.

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Mr TEO Ser Luck

President, Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants

Keynote Speaker

Mr Teo Ser Luck is an entrepreneur, investor and started his own companies in different sectors relating to e-commerce technologies, healthcare, nutrition, fitness, wellness, fintech, edutech, brands and software development.

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Professor CHENG Qiang

Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Accounting
​​​​​​​Dean, SMU School of Accountancy

Research Presenter

Dr Cheng Qiang is Dean and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Accounting at School of Accountancy at the Singapore Management University.  He joined Singapore Management University in 2011 as the Associate Dean (Research) at School of Accountancy.  Dr Cheng graduated from Tsinghua University, Beijing and received his PhD in the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US in 2002.  

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Mr Benjamin LEE

Lecturer of Accounting, SMU School of Accountancy

Research Presenter

Mr Benjamin Lee is a Lecturer of Accounting, Director of Student Matters, and SMU-X Academic Champion at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University. As part of furthering his research, he is concurrently pursuing his doctoral studies at Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow in the PhD in Management programme under the Strategy and Technology Management research cluster.

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Mr Ken GUO

CEO and Founder, Reluvate Technologies

Fireside Chat #1 Panelist

At Reluvate, Mr Ken Guo is breaking ground, serving a diverse range of clients from MNCs to non-profits across 28 industries in three markets. The company has a robust focus on AI and automation, and has recently expanded its work with large language models like GPT. Ken’s mission is to transform companies into autonomous entities, empowering employees to focus on high-impact work through the strategic use of AI and automation.

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Dr Vincent LIM

CEO, Eco Sustainability Group

Fireside Chat #1 Panelist

Dr Vincent Lim is the CEO of Eco Sustainability Group and an Associate Faculty member at the Singapore Institute of Technology. Previously, he served as the Apac CFO at Datalogic S.p.A. (Borsa Italiana: DAL.MI), Deputy Group CFO at Hi-P International Limited (formerly SGX: H17), and Director of Finance for Asia at Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI).

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Mr Fabiano SUIFI

Chief Financial Officer, Microsoft ASEAN

​​​​​​​Fireside Chat #1 Panelist

Fabiano Siufi is the Chief Financial Officer for Microsoft ASEAN. In this role, Fabiano provides the overall financial and strategic leadership to the company in the region. He leads all aspects of financial planning, performance management, investments, business operations, tax, and controls & compliance.

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Mr Anand SACHDEV

Managing Director, Country Manager for ING Bank Singapore

Fireside Chat #1 Panelist

Mr Anand Sachdev is managing director, country manager for ING in Singapore where he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of ING’s wholesale banking business for Singapore. Anand is a seasoned banker with over 19 years of experience in senior leadership roles across Australasia and Asia, spanning Wholesale Banking, Consumer and Business Banking and Enterprise functions.

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Professor ZHANG Hong

Director, The Sim Kee Boon Institute (SKBI) for Financial Economics
Keppel Professor in Financial Economics
Professor of Finance, SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business

Fireside Chat #1 Moderator

Before joining SMU in 2022, Dr Zhang Hong was the Phoenix Chair Professor of Finance at PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University, and had also worked at INSEAD and Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB). Dr Zhang's research covers a broad range of topics, including investments, corporate finance, international finance, behavioral finance, institutions and culture, and green finance.

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Ms Jenny TAN

Global Head of Internal Audit, CapitaLand Investment
President, ISACA SG Chapter

Fireside Chat #2 Panelist

Ms Jenny is currently leading a global internal audit practice, including IT audit, with a global real estate fund management MNC. Jenny is the winner in The Cybersecurity Award 2023, 2022 Top Woman in Security (SG & Asean), 2022 Women Program of the Year Award (Asia), 2021 Women in IT Outstanding Contribution Award (Asia) and 2021 SG 100 Women in Tech recipient. She has also received the Top 20 Cybersecurity Women in Singapore, 2020 award.

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Mr Richard KOH

Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft ASEAN, Global Partner Solutions

Fireside Chat #2 Panelist

Mr Richard Koh is the chief technology officer of Microsoft ASEAN, Global Partner Solutions. In this role, he leads the technology strategy of the Microsoft ASEAN partners ecosystem, helping partners leverage relevant technology innovations for their digital transformation in creating new products and services with Microsoft technologies.

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Mr KOO Sengmeng

Head of LearnAI, AI Singapore
Senior Deputy Director, Office of Deputy President (Research & Technology), National University of Singapore

Fireside Chat #2 Panelist

Mr Koo Sengmeng is a seasoned public sector professional in AI certification and AI standardization efforts. Currently serving as the Head of LearnAI at AI Singapore, he and his team spearhead the development and implementation of Generational AI Capability Development programmes. Their efforts empower working professionals to #PLUSskill themselves, facilitating organizational transformation to stay competitive in the digital economy, and help schools to prepare students to thrive in a future AI world.

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Mr Ramesh MOOSA

ASEAN and Singapore Forensic & Integrity Services Leader, EY

Fireside Chat #2 Panelist

Mr Ramesh Moosa is the EY Asean and Singapore Forensic & Integrity Services Leader. His international experience spans the US, Greater China, and other Asia-Pacific countries. He serves public sector and corporate clients across industries to enhance Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) practices, and in times of crisis, assist in incident response and conduct of forensic investigations.

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Mr Shameek KUNDU

Executive Director, AI Verify Foundation

Fireside Chat #2 Moderator

Mr Shameek Kundu is a Data and Analytics Leader with over 20 years' experience in financial services , AI safety and testing and consulting. He is now focused on open source efforts around AI testing, as Executive Director at the AI Verify Foundation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Infocomm Media Development Authority.

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Professor ZHANG Liandong

Lee Kong Chian Professor of Accounting
Deputy Dean, SMU School of Accountancy

​​​​​​​Speaker - Closing Remarks

Dr Liandong Zhang is Professor of Accounting at School of Accountancy at the Singapore Management University. He joined Singapore Management University in 2017 as the Associate Dean (Research) at School of Accountancy. Dr Zhang graduated from Tsinghua University, Beijing and received his PhD Degree in Accounting from Nanyang Technological University in 2008.

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Programme


Thursday 17 October 2024

2:00 TO 5:00 PM

Conference Venue:
Mochtar Riady Auditorium, SMU Administrative Building [Map]

TimeSession

1.30 PM 

Registration

2:00 - 2:05 PM 

Opening Remarks

Professor Timothy CLARK
Provost, Singapore Management University

2:05 - 2:30 PM 

Keynote Speech

Mr TEO Ser Luck
President, Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants

An overview of national initiatives in promoting and regulating the adoption of (generative) AI for the private sector

2:30 - 3:15 PM 

Fireside Chat #1: Opportunities and application cases of AI in finance 

Recently, artificial intelligence (AI) has been a top-of-mind topic that has garnered the attention and interest of many business leaders across different industries, particularly after the release of ChatGPT and due to its diverse use cases. In this session, we will be exploring the opportunities and application cases of AI (in finance) through an interactive panel of AI experts. 

Moderator:
Professor ZHANG Hong
Director, The Sim Kee Boon Institute (SKBI) for Financial Economics, Keppel Professor in Financial Economics, Professor of Finance, SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business​​​​​​​

Panel Speakers:

Mr Ken GUO
CEO and Founder, Reluvate Technologies 

Dr Vincent LIM​​​​​​​
CEO, Eco Sustainability Group

Mr Fabiano SUIFI
CFO, Microsoft ASEAN

Mr Anand SACHDEV
Managing Director, Country Manager for ING Bank Singapore 

3:15 - 3:35 PM 

Research Presentations by SMU Faculty

Professor CHENG Qiang, Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Accounting and Dean, SMU School of Accountancy
Does Generative AI facilitate investor trading? Evidence from ChatGPT outages 

How much do investors rely on generative artificial intelligence (GAI) to perform trading-related tasks? What is the impact of ChatGPT outages, when ChatGPT is not available to users, on stock trading volumes and stock price informativeness? In a study, Professor Cheng Qiang and his co-authors document a drop in stock trading volume during ChatGPT outages, and the drop is particularly large for firms that announce corporate news immediately before or during the outages. They further observe a decrease in the short-run price impact, return variance, and bid-ask spreads during outages. Additionally, the researchers introduce a firm-level measure of GAI-assisted trading intensity and provide early evidence of its positive effect on long-run stock price informativeness. Professor Cheng will share findings from this study, which will contribute to the debate on the potential effects of AI trading models on financial market stability.


Mr Benjamin LEE, Lecturer of Accounting, SMU School of Accountancy University 
AI integration in Accounting firms: Building firm capabilities to harness Artificial Intelligence on the journey of perpetual digital transformation

AI adoption is fast becoming an obligation rather than an option for accounting firms. Studies on digital transformation relating to the accounting profession typically focus on individual skills and competencies with limited studies on the firm perspective, especially for accounting firms specifically. To address this gap, this study draws upon three theories: the Dynamic Capabilities framework, the Technologies-in-Practice approach, and the Strategy-as-Practice perspective and builds on 24 semi-structured interviews with key decision-makers across 3 types of accounting firms: Big 4s, Mid-tiers, and Boutiques. Through analysing the interplay between firms’ ability to sense changes, seize opportunities, transform practices, its use of technologies, and the implementation of digital strategy, the study identifies several dynamic capabilities in AI, bringing attention to how accounting firms can harness AI on their journey of perpetual digital transformation.

3:35 - 4:20 PM 

Fireside Chat #2: Challenges of applying AI

While AI can help improve productivity and creativity, it poses many challenges to business and society, including data security issues, fake information, data-driven discrimination, and ethical issues (e.g., AI lending). The adoption of common AI models also leads to herding and systemic financial risks.  In this panel, we share our experiences and observations on these issues and potential solutions (e.g., “AI constitutions”, cultivating AI savvy talents, etc.).   

Moderator:
Mr Shameek KUNDU
Executive Director, AI Verify Foundation

Panel Speakers:
Ms Jenny TAN
Global Head of Internal Audit, CapitaLand Investment and President, ISACA SG Chapter  

Mr Richard KOH
Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft ASEAN, Global Partner Solutions 

Mr KOO Sengmeng
Head of LearnAI, AI Singapore

Mr Ramesh MOOSA
ASEAN and Singapore Forensic & Integrity Services Leader, EY

4:20 - 4:25 PM 

Closing Remarks

Professor ZHANG Liandong
Lee Kong Chian Professor of Accounting and Deputy Dean, SMU School of Accountancy

4:30 - 5:00 PM

Tea Reception

Registration

Conference on Digital Transformation of Financial Markets: Artifical Intelligence in Business and Finance

Date:Thursday, 17 October 2024
Time:2:00 to 5:00 PM
Venue:

Mochtar Riady Auditorium
Level 5
SMU Administrative Building
81 Victoria Street Stamford Road, S188065
[Map]

Registration is free | Closing Date: Thu 10 October 2024, 11:59 PM SGT

For any enquires, kindly email to: soaevents@smu.edu.sg 

Getting Here


Conference Venue:

Mochtar Riady Auditorium
SMU Administrative Building
81 Victoria Street, S188065 [Map]

Nearest Carpark:

SMU Administrative Building, 81 Victoria Street, S188065

Directions:

  1. Carpark access via Queen Street
  2. Take the lift to Level 1 and approach the Security Post to enter the administrative building.