TORONTO, April 19, 2018 /CNW/ - A new report from
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has found that many banks have not invested
in the capabilities to verify the validity and accuracy of their
data.
According to the report, Banking Technology Vision 2018, banks
have always held a large volume of confidential data and are
increasingly adding data from external, unstructured sources.
However, while more than nine in 10 (94 percent) of the bankers
surveyed said they are confident in the integrity of the sources of
their data, the report found that half of the bankers aren't doing
enough to validate and ensure data quality: 11 percent trust their
data is reliable, but don't validate it; 16 percent try to validate
their data, but aren't sure of the quality; and 24 percent validate
the data, but recognize they should do a lot more to ensure the
quality.
In addition, while five in six bankers (84 percent) said they
increasingly use data to drive critical and automated
decision-making, more than three-quarters (78 percent) of those
surveyed believe that these automated systems create new risks,
such as fake data, external data manipulation and inherent
bias.
"Inaccurate, unverified data will make banks vulnerable to false
business insights that drive bad decisions," said Alan McIntyre, senior managing director and head
of Accenture's banking practice. "Banks can address this
vulnerability by verifying the history of data from its origin
onward — understanding the context of the data and how it is being
used — and by securing and maintaining the data. Given that four in
five bankers that we surveyed said they are basing their most
critical systems and strategies on data, it's critical that the
data can be verified and
validated."
The Accenture Banking Technology Vision 2018 report draws on the
analysis of an advisory board of more than two dozen individuals,
interviews with technology luminaries and industry experts, and
results of a survey of nearly 800 bankers. This year's report, with
the theme "Building the Future-Ready Bank," showcases five IT
trends — including data veracity — that could generate the next
wave of industry disruption for banks and how technological change
will rewrite the rules of banking over the next decade.
Artificial intelligence (AI) — a big theme in last year's report
— continues to be a top trend for 2018. Nearly four in give bankers
(79 percent) surveyed for this year's report believe that AI will
work alongside humans as collaborators and trusted advisors within
the next two years. However, bankers are concerned about how
decisions will be made by AI as the technology advances and if
those decisions will adhere to regulatory and ethical standards.
The report's "Citizen AI" trend focuses on the need for humans to
ensure that machines are well-trained, make ethical decisions, and
can evolve in ways that are consistent with the bank's brand.
"As AI becomes more visible within banks — as both a co-worker
to employees and a customer-facing representative — there will be
more scrutiny placed on how AI decisions are made," said
Peter Sidebottom, a managing
director of strategy in Accenture's Financial Services practice.
"AI decisioning processes can't be a black box; banks need to
adhere to and provide the same transparency as they do with any
other employee to ensure regulatory compliance, and to earn
customer trust."
Ninety percent of bankers believe it's important for employees
and customers to understand the general principles used in AI-based
decisioning. Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of bankers said their
bank plans to provide transparency for all areas where AI is used
in the bank within two years, and an additional 29 percent
said their bank plans to be fully transparent for all AI decisions
that are customer-facing. Transparency will be key, as more than
two-thirds (71 percent) of surveyed bankers said the biggest
benefit they expect from AI is that it will enable banks to build
trust and confidence with their customers.
The "Frictionless Business" trend discusses how businesses today
depend on technology-based partnerships for growth, but many banks
can't easily partner with third parties because of their own
complex, often inflexible operating and technology platforms. The
report identifies two technologies that can help banks overcome
these challenges: microservices and blockchain.
Blockchain, in particular, is important to the banking industry.
In fact, of all the executives surveyed for the broader Accenture
Tech Vision 2018 report, those in the banking industry were more
likely than those in any other industry to cite blockchain and
smart contracts as being critical to their organization over the
next three years (71 percent of bankers vs. 60 percent of
executives in other industries, on average). In addition, the
banking executives expect that operational blockchain systems will
be live in their banks in 2.6 years, on average, and that the
technology might one day provide cost-effective replacements for
legacy core banking systems.
A full copy of Accenture's Banking Technology Vision 2018 can be
accessed here.
Methodology
The Banking Technology Vision 2018 report is derived from the
Accenture Technology Vision, developed annually by
the Accenture Labs and Accenture Research. The
research process for Accenture Technology Vision 2018 included
gathering input from the Technology Vision External Advisory Board,
a group comprising more than two dozen experienced individuals from
the public and private sectors, academia, venture capital firms and
entrepreneurial companies. In addition, the Technology Vision team
conducted interviews with technology luminaries and industry
experts, as well as with nearly 100 Accenture business leaders. In
parallel, Accenture Research conducted a global online survey of
more than 6,300 business and IT executives across 25 countries and
18 industries to capture insights into the adoption of emerging
technologies.
The banking industry report is based on responses from
nearly 800 respondents at banks in 25 countries across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and South
America. The survey helped identify the key issues and
priorities for technology adoption and investment. Respondents were
mostly C-level executives and directors, with some functional and
line-of-business leads, at companies with annual revenues of at
least US$500 million, with most
having annual revenues greater than US$6
billion.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company,
providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy,
consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched
experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries
and all business functions – underpinned by the world's largest
delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business
and technology to help clients improve their performance and create
sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately
442,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries,
Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and
lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
SOURCE Accenture