E29: AI in the Audit World with Mindbridge CEO & Co-Founder, Eli Fathi

AI provides Foresights - The Holy Grail in AI Companies!

Eli Fathi is the Co-founder & CEO of his seventh start-up, MindBridge Analytics Inc. He has been recognized with numerous awards including the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, Startup Canada 2016 Senior Entrepreneur Award for Canada and Civic Entrepreneurship, you name it he’s got it. Eli has also been featured in publications such as Huffington Post, Globe and Mail and the Financial Post. He is also active in his community and has provided about half a Billion dollars in job creation!

 

Episode Overview:

 

Is big data a problem? Yes, BIG data is a problem but it is also a blessing for AI because big data gives you information that you can mine and provide results. In the machine and artificial intelligence, we cannot detect intent. Error plus intent is fraud. So, fraud is really left in the course to decide the intent but we definitely can detect errors and irregularities in the data.

 

In this episode, Eli talks about the levels of how MindBridge AI works in regards to hindsights, insights and foresights (the holy grail in the AI companies) and how MindBridge applies it on a near real-time basis. He also tackled on the issue about the damage caused by major frauds and how the 80-20 rule takes place.

 

Listen to this episode to learn more about how artificial intelligence helps in securing your financial data with the help of MindBridge Ai. Plus, get the awesome tips that Eli shared with us today!

 

What you’ll learn in this episode:

 

One of the most important things of small company is FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS. One of the most attractive markets from their perspective is the external audit market. The CPA world has been using the same processes for the last hundred years and has not been disrupted to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the audit process.   They are addressing the internal and external audit market, with Ai Auditor, their extensible AI platform that can also be used for the financial market. Each year, the world loses $3 Trillion dollars due to errors and frauds that are going unnoticed. This is the market that MindBridge is addressing. By using artificial intelligence, MindBridge is increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the audit process. By reviewing the data (trees), we can ascertain the overall high-level aspects of the company (forest). “The relationship between the trees in the forest; Sometimes when you look at the forest, you don't see the trees in the forest and vise versa” but the interesting thing is that with artificial intelligence is that by looking at the trees, you can tell what’s going on in the forest.

 

Tips he shared:

 

You have to build your own credibility Don’t look for a manager but look for a leader Do good; make a difference Ask for forgiveness not permission Don't try to micromanage Don’t criticize but rather encourage Empower people to take action and be solution oriented Be part of a team Don't compare yourself against others Never stop learning Think out of the box Challenge the status quo With every customer meeting, 10 minutes before the end of the meeting always ask the question “what is the next step?” Always ask for the order and make sure that when you get the answer, stop talking.

Resources Mentioned:

 

Business Resources: Have a mentor

Book recommendation:

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

How Google Works by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg

Productivity tool: Arleen Fathi (Eli Fathi’s wife)

Website: Eli Fathi

Website: MindBridge AI

Hotspots: Baan Thai (Ottawa), Royal Treasures (Ottawa)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-fathi/

Twitter: Eli Fathi

 

Company Background:

 

MindBridge Ai is a venture-backed FinTech company based in Ottawa, Canada. Through the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies, the MindBridge platform detects anomalous patterns of activities, unintentional errors and intentional misstatements. Using the MindBridge Ai-Auditor, organizations across multiple industries can minimize financial loss, reduce corporate liability and can focus on providing higher value services to their clients. MindBridge launched Ai Auditor, its extensible artificial intelligence (AI) platform in February 2017 and has since enjoyed burgeoning demand. MindBridge Ai has signed over 125 customers in 6 countries and doubled the size of its workforce.