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Articles by James Eardley
Federal Court Strikes Down the Corporate Transparency Act as Unconstitutional
On March 1, 2024, the federal judge presiding over the lone case testing the validity of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) struck down the CTA as unconstitutional. As we have explained, through the CTA, Congress imposed mandatory reporting obligations on certain companies operating in the United States, in an effort to enhance corporate transparency and combat financial crime.
Varnum Engages SingleFile to Support Confidential CTA Filings - Varnum LLP
Varnum has engaged SingleFile, a full-service filing and compliance platform, to assist clients with federal filings required under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). Through Varnum’s partnership with SingleFile, clients have access to a streamlined portal to confidently report Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) required by the CTA.
Corporate Transparency Act: Reporting Challenges for Foreign-Owned Companies
On January 1, 2024, the beneficial ownership information reporting rule (BOI Rule) issued under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) came into effect, ushering in new reporting requirements for companies formed in the U.S. or registered to do business in the U.S. (collectively, reporting companies). The CTA and BOI Rule require the collection and disclosure of information identifying the individuals who beneficially own or exercise substantial control over reporting companies.
Corporate Transparency Act: Beneficial Ownership Challenges for Business Startups
For newly formed businesses (Startups), the first few years of operations are integral to the company’s success. Founders are concerned with hiring the right employees, developing intellectual property and products or service offerings, fundraising, investor relations, and now, they will also need to be concerned with the compliance requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
Beware of Corporate Transparency Act Scams and Fraud
The Corporate Transparency Act’s (CTA) Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirements are set to take effect on January 1, and bad actors are already using the CTA’s requirements to solicit unauthorized access to Personally Identifiable Information. To that end, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently issued a warning regarding such scams.
Corporate Transparency Act: Implications for Business Startups
Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) in January 2021 to provide law enforcement agencies with further tools to combat financial crime and fraud. The CTA requires certain legal entities (each, a “reporting company”) to report, if no exemption is available, specific information about themselves, certain of their individual owners and managers, and certain individuals involved in their formation to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of Treasury.
Varnum Represents Global Thermal Utility Company in Acquisition
Varnum Facilitates Strategic Acquisition: Armstrong International, Inc. Expands Portfolio with Stake in Ivan Ware & Son, LLC Armstrong International, Inc., a southwest Michigan-based thermal utility services company, recently announced its acquisition of a majority equity stake in Ivan Ware & Son, LLC, a provider of commercial and industrial boilers, hot water systems, burners, valves, chillers and other supporting equipment, based in Louisville, Kentucky.
Corporate Transparency Act Reporting Requirements: Is Your Nonprofit Organization Exempt?
Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) in January 2021 to provide law enforcement agencies with further tools to combat financial crime and fraud.
Corporate Transparency Act's Reporting Requirements: Is Your Company Prepared?
A “beneficial owner” is any individual who, directly or indirectly, (1) owns or controls at least 25 percent of the ownership interests of the reporting company or (2) exercises substantial control over the reporting company.
B2B, better: Sell more. Happier customers. Meet the benefits of CPQ.
In an era where so much worth is placed on shiny new things, we tend to forget what works best. For the business-to-business (B2B) sphere, buying isn’t exactly a glamorous or exhilarating process, but it’s certainly one of the most important. Similarly, configure, price, and quote (CPQ) technology may not be the flashiest, but it’s a powerhouse. Today, businesses are finding success by leveraging CPQ benefits to streamline buying and selling for everyone involved, every step of the way.
Marketing tech stack: The unicorn of personalization + great CX
Be honest – how many applications, solutions, and platforms does your marketing team use to engage with customers? Is your marketing tech stack a stack, or a bunch of squiggly lines? What if there were a magical unicorn to help you pull together your tech, and drive better engagement, personalization, and customer experience? (There is.) According to Chief/MarTec, the average enterprise relies on at least 91 marketing cloud services.
Utilities and EVs: Get ready for the electric car revolution
If Elon Musk had his way, you and everyone you know would already drive a Tesla. But what happens when everyone on your street comes home and plugs in their rides after work? In today’s utility environment, we’d see daily brownouts. It would be nothing short of a miracle if just one driver’s electric car had enough charge to make it to the office in the morning. Utilities aren’t ready for the electric car future. Some utility leaders are content in their belief that Musk’s dream is not the reality.
Customer Data Is Key To Success
Amid the challenges and disruptions of the day, hypergrowth companies face a tremendous opportunity. Hypergrowth companies are often startups with big ideas or new entrants with enviable talent – they have a world of intelligent technology and integrated software laid out at their feet. That’s because, compared to their large-enterprise competitors, hypergrowth companies have yet to saddle themselves with the kind of sprawling IT infrastructures that make innovation nearly impossible.
The role of insurance intermediaries in the digital era
The rise of digital platforms in the insurance industry has brokers and agents anxious about their future. As digital continues to transform insurance, what will the role of insurance intermediaries will be? Through digital platforms, insurers can educate, engage with, and even sell directly to customers. Although all-digital transactions comprise only a small fraction of the total policies sold, the growth of this channel represents a massive change for the industry.
Nimble, new competition puts insurers on edge
Along with other barriers to entry, the complexity of the insurance industry has long discouraged new entrants to the market. This has essentially protected insurance companies from new types of competitors. However, the outlook for the insurance industry has insurers nervous. New competitors from other industries are emerging as disruptive threats to established players and ways of doing business.
Bad reputation: Changing the perception of insurance
It’s hardly controversial to say that most people view their insurance providers with ambivalence. The overriding perception of insurance companies is that they’re needed, but not liked, relied on, but not trusted. With the pandemic, this negative perception of the insurance industry only intensified. Financially stressed customers looking for more flexible billing and payment options were frustrated and quick to switch carriers, according a PwC survey.
IoT in insurance: Radical change, powerful potential
IoT in insurance is helping drive some of the most massive change in the history of the industry. Propelled by IoT and AI, the insurance industry is changing its approach to risk. It’s evolving from a backward-looking focus to managing risk to a forward-looking stance of minimizing it. This shift promises tremendous benefits for both the customer and insurers. But getting there isn’t easy.
Should I stay or should I go? Insurance companies grapple with innovation
The coronavirus pandemic is having a profound impact on virtually every industry – not least, the insurance industry. Thrust onto the front lines of the crisis, insurance providers are grappling with how to provide customers affected by the pandemic with the level of service they urgently require. This can be challenging, to say the least, since insurance companies and innovation don’t often go hand-in-hand. So, how can insurers quickly innovate while also tending to the core business?
Flip the switch: What do customers want from their electric utility?
What do customers want from their electric utility? Great question. The utility industry is central to daily life, and yet it isn’t probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of customer service. By the end of 2020, 88% of customers will expect a personalized experience, according to a Walker study. As consumers, we’ve evolved from “the customer is always right” to “I have 24-hour access to everything.” Customized interfaces are a baseline expectation of consumers.
Chance Favors the Prepared
I don’t know whether it’s climate change or something else, but the wind in Boston sure does blow harder than it used to. Being a sailor, I usually don’t complain. But lately the high winds have translated into power outages. And that’s trouble, especially when you work from home and have two teenage children.
2020 Vision: A trio of trends that will drive the utility business in the year ahead - and beyond
The following is a contributed article by James Eardley, a Global Director in SAP Hybris Industry Marketing. Utility companies entered the last decade dealing with the fallout of a deep recession along with the disruptive market forces unleashed by deregulation and digital technology. As the new millennium dawned two decades ago, they had their hands full with the Y2K issue and an ongoing industry-wide restructuring.
The superpower of the power market: Experience drives the future
The power market is undergoing massive change in the Experience Economy. Here was a company with one of the largest investor-owned electric systems in the U.S.—the owner of close to a dozen electricity distribution entities—and a strong desire to pursue new opportunities outside its traditional regulated business.
3 ways experience management can make the utilities industry better
Think experience management (XM) and the utility industry have nothing to do with one another? Think again. You’d be amazed at how big of a role XM is starting to play in our everyday lives. Let’s say Andre and Zola are moving from the suburbs to the city, and via social media, share how excited they are about a shorter commute, fewer strip malls, and more of the culture they crave.
X's and O's: How utilities can leverage data channels to improve employees and drive new business
The following is a contributed article by James Eardley, a Global Director in SAP Hybris Industry Marketing. Andre and Zola are moving from the suburbs to the city, and via social media, they share how excited they are for life with a shorter commute, fewer strip malls and more of the culture they crave.
The Emergence of AI In Finance and Banking Sectors
Starting from Machine Learning to Neural Networks, AI host plethora of technologies. AI is one of those terms that has hit multiple industries by storm and this time it's the banking sectors. Undeniably, AI is a broad term and has made its place in our day to day lives. Whether it's the Facebook or Instagram, the Maps or Google, AI embraces all. And by all, we mean all. AI is expected to grow more than what it is anticipated today.
Know Your Transactions - KYT
Many of us have heard about KYC (Know Your Customers) while opening bank account, Insurance Policy, Investments and Pension Schemes. Bank insist on process to know about the customer before onboarding to their systems. KYC is process of a business verifying the identity of its clients and assessing potential risks of illegal intentions for the business relationship.
Pushing forward against regulatory headwinds with artificial intelligence
Many regulations impact the way banks and financial services firms make commitments or conduct transactions with partners and customers. This means that they must find relevant contracts, review the affected language, and then make business decisions to revise or novate the contract, renegotiate commercial terms, or terminate to avoid non-compliance.
Invisible PFM Will Transform Banking As You Know It
Personal Financial Management (PFM) has evolved greatly since its birth in the early eighties. Originally developed to bring money management into what was then a widespread technological shift to the nascent personal computer age, PFM has since become a sophisticated means of managing your money. But in its current “visible” guise, PFM is not nearly as innovative as it can be, and it is the “invisible” idea of PFM that is set to overhaul banking as we know it.
Regulators, Banks and Fintech Providers: Playing Together in the Sandbox
An activist government pushing banks to become more innovative in order to fight terrorism? The idea is both intriguing and baffling—and for those of us who’ve long wanted this kind of encouragement, it’s also heart-warming. Here’s the premise: A couple of weeks ago, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
What banks can do to engage with customers when they are neither selling nor solving a problem?
According to a research paper by Finextra and SAP Customer Experience, Engaging the Unengaged Customer, less than half (49%) of consumers agree that their banks work hard to engage them, and that they feel engaged. Only 36% agree that their bank advocates on their behalf, and only 35% agree that their bank always acts in their best interests rather than its own.
Smart home AI for digital dummies
More and more, retailers are blanketing the media with advertisements for new smart home devices. Smart thermostats, smart appliances and smart electronics, video doorbells and security cameras, and virtual assistants are all (supposed to be) making life easier and more connected for consumers. The prospect of using these Internet of Things (IoT) devices to consume less energy, save money, and increase home efficiency has me tempted.
Zero Ambiguity Fraud Management
How to select the correct operational option to help your organisation beat fraud By Dr. Mark Goldspink is CEO of The ai Corporation I continue to be surprised by the lack of analysis and focus on operational efficiency when it comes to understanding all aspects of fraud prevention. Organisations spend a lot of time on improvements and removing ambiguity within their teams. It is a constant, ongoing activity, across all businesses.
4 fintech startups changing the way people donate to charity
Over the decade since the global financial crash, charities have had a tough time securing donations. Cultural shifts mean that trust in institutions has plummeted and people are less willing to indulge doorstep or street fundraisers.
Supply Chain Tokens and Finance
Collaboration is a key business enabler and parties decide to collaborate if: Each party is driven by economical behavior and spends the least to achieve the maximum return. In a world where all parties trust each other they would know that each one gets a fair return for the committed effort. In the real (i.e., trustless) world, motivation to collaborate is driven by self-interest.
Siri and Alexa: driving change in corporate banking
Just as people have quickly adjusted to using digital assistants such as Alexa, Siri or Cortana to check the weather, book a cab or reserve cinema tickets, it’s a logical next step for banks to launch voice activated services. Many are already experimenting with this approach. Capital One enables its customers to check their balance, track spending and pay bills using Alexa. Similarly, challenger bank Monzo offers smart interactions with Alexa and other voice-activated assistants.
Are You Leveraging the Right Data?
New data sets are paraded before the lending market constantly, each promising to provide all the information needed to understand customers inside and out. The individual value of these data types varies greatly, as does the level of automation required to access, filter and standardize it into formats that can be easily analyzed. But when combined, these data sets can be useful for lenders when assessing the financial health of a company.
Zero Ambiguity Fraud Management
How to select the correct operational option to help your organisation beat fraud By Dr. Mark Goldspink is CEO of The ai Corporation I continue to be surprised by the lack of analysis and focus on operational efficiency when it comes to understanding all aspects of fraud prevention. Organisations spend a lot of time on improvements and removing ambiguity within their teams. It is a constant, ongoing activity, across all businesses.
Anticipating consumer needs: The power of data
The relationship between the bank branch and its customers has changed beyond recognition over the years – gone are the days where the branch was king, bankers knew their customers on a personal level, and customers truly trusted their counsel. When they talked about banking, there was trust that the banker would propose the optimum offer based on everything he or she knew about that customer. Every interaction was personal, exchanged in the context of the moment. It was engaging and in real-time.
GDPR is becoming a bigger problem for USA firms
There is a very interesting issue related to GDPR that has emerged from the USA. Very simply, USA firms that adhere to GDPR, but do not apply at least the same level of consent to its domestic customers may be acting illegally. The implications are staggering. The rationality for this argument is that there is a USA law related to “national origin discrimination” under the Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
SAPVoice: Do Retail Banks Have A Problem With Relationships?
Creating a long-lasting relationship is tricky, whether you’re a college student on a date, or a bank looking to create loyalty. Back in college my friends and I used to joke that we were all “relationship challenged.” A steady relationship took a lot of work, and when you’re 20 years old a lot of work is, well, a lot of work. Building something solid required a shift in thinking from “what makes me happy” to “what makes someone else happy,” and that’s precisely the predicament banks are facing.
Are retail banks relationship challenged?
Creating a long-lasting relationship is tricky, whether you’re a college student on a date, or a bank looking to create loyalty. Back in college my friends and I used to joke that we were all “relationship challenged.” A steady relationship took a lot of work, and when you’re 20 years old a lot of work is, well, a lot of work. Building something solid required a shift in thinking from “what makes me happy” to “what makes someone else happy,” and that’s precisely the predicament banks are facing.
Robotic Process Automation RPA in AML KYC
This post is from a series of posts in the group: Business Knowledge for IT This community aims to provide links, resources, book suggestions, tips and insights to facilitate learning and development of IT professionals in financial services, and to develop a forum for IT professionals to exchange views on various related items. See all
SAPVoice: How Banks Can Follow The Yellow Brick Road
Everyone is familiar with those ominous words spoken by Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Just as Dorothy was transported by a tornado, digitalization has taken retail banking by storm, and delivered it to a place where the landscape seems shiny and new. While not Oz, we certainly aren’t in Kansas anymore, either. In the digital era, although everything seems exciting, it’s more than a bit scary for bankers.
Come and see us at the Super Heroes Picnic on 9th July 11am - 3pm
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the Brew Foundation’s bar appearing at this year’s Super Heroes Picnic! Taking place at Dorfold Hall, Nantwich, the Super Heroes Picnic is a super family fun day in aid of two fantastic charities The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice and Ray of Hope.
Insurance technology: Human touch remains an industry requirement
I recently had the great fortune to attend Digital Insurance Agenda (DIA) in Amsterdam. There I got my fill of the latest in insurance technology innovation, which included insurance aggregators, chat bots, damage claim fingerprint technologies, and online on-boarding. While all of this was fascinating to see, I started to think about insurance technology from a consumer standpoint. Would any of them really change anything about the way I go about buying insurance?
Even In The Digital Era, When It Comes To Insurance It’s All About Relationships
Insurance has been with us for over 2,000 years, but until quite recently it has always been a business of people. But times change, and these days it’s a business of technology. Started by insurers and now being finished by customers, technology has made the business more efficient, but a lot less personal. Put the two together and you come up with an industry struggling to define what a customer relationship even is and how to compete on anything but price.
It's time for banks to stop selling and start partnering
If you read nothing else in this article, take this to heart: The banks that will win are the ones that add value. The branch used to be the only channel on which banks could interact with their customers. That created a very personalized banking relationship that fostered trust and recommendations that catered to personal circumstances. But now that’s all thrown off and banking is quite frankly in a rut.
Personalization: The secret ingredient to customer engagement for banks
76 shares Listen to article Banks have played a central role in society for centuries. Their function as a safe place to store money and valuables, combined with their diverse portfolio of payment, lending, and investment services, has made them prominent fixtures in cities and towns around the world. But in the era of digital, customer engagement for banks is becoming more and more challenging. They have reinforced this image through their physical presence, as well.
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