Tue, Oct 13, 2020

AI-Powered Platforms Can Ease the Burden of Due Diligence Research

The rapid proliferation of online data increasingly challenges due diligence professionals to find and validate information. Discerning signal through the noise consumes time that would be better spent crafting clear risk assessments that support fact-based business decisions.

The inadequacy of traditional research tools and techniques in the face of this data deluge degrades quality and impacts the morale of beleaguered compliance and due diligence teams. Employee turnover is a real and present crisis in organizations that fail to secure the necessary tools.

How is AI Applied to Due Diligence

So, this is the problem: a constantly growing haystack of irrelevant data and straining human capacity to expose the needle of actionable information. The solution? Enter artificial intelligence (AI), a well-worn concept that has only recently begun to live up to its hype. AI is rapidly transforming entire industries and economies, and the due diligence space is no exception.

AI revolutionizes information discovery by constantly self-improving to outpace data bloat while preserving accuracy.

Specifically, AI processes such as results clustering, ranking and classification alleviate due diligence professionals’ workload by optimizing information collection, as discussed in our previous article here.

These machine learning processes iteratively grow stronger and smarter, boosting bandwidth, productivity and quality.

How Does AI Technology Help with the Increasing Challenges of Due Diligence

The snowballing of online data is fueled by an increase in global users. In 2019, the number of global users increased by 9% over 2018 to 4.4 billion.1 That’s roughly a million new users per day generating about 2.5 quintillion bytes of new data every 24 hours.2

Mis- and dis-information, both prominent features of the social media landscape, further complicate the issue. Increasingly, AI is seen as a viable tool to sort fiction from fact: a reported 97.2% of the world’s largest companies are investing in big data and AI.3

Information discovery some ways is the most critical phase of due diligence and entails the scouring of public and private sources ahead of actual analysis. It can take days, sometimes weeks, but is always bounded by ambitious deadlines. Although fatiguing and stressful, information discovery is indispensable to quality analysis. And this is where AI shines: as a companion to the analysts who craft those discoveries into risk-relevant findings.

The judicious application of a powerful AI tool can help address the above-mentioned obstacles, boosting productivity and efficiency and saving time and costs.

Can an AI-driven Platform Enhance Due Diligence Compliance

Due diligence organizations have recognized the power of AI and are eagerly seeking out existing solutions. Forward-thinking companies are boosting their competitiveness not only in the quality and speed of their work, but also in the personnel they attract and retain: the tech-savvy professionals of today expect their employers to invest in cutting-edge technology that frees them from mundane tasks so they can focus on adding value.

The lesson? An AI solution probably holds great benefit for your business, but the choice as to which solution is crucial. Do your homework—it pays to be aware of the challenges your organization faces, as well as the capabilities and limitations of AI. Ultimately, look to solutions that fit your organization best via consultation with due diligence professionals.

 

Sources
1 https://www.oberlo.com/blog/internet-statistics
2 “Data Never Sleeps 5.0 in https://techjury.net/blog/big-data-statistics/#gref
3 https://techjury.net/blog/big-data-statistics/#gref



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