Breakout - "Solving the Data Paradox"

The amount of data companies have continues to grow exponentially and making sense of it is a daunting task … “too much data, but no information”.

This breakout session will explore the challenges of and keys to automating end-to-end financial and operational data management and reporting processes faced by middle market companies.  This is the wave of the future and in the wake of resource constraints, new technologies are becoming more democratized and can be a strategic game changer for companies.

Our planned panel will include industry and academic leaders who are successfully developing and implementing digital solutions in today’s fast-paced market.

Tom Aleman – Professor of Practice – Accounting Analytics – Wake Forest University

Tom Aleman is a full-time instructor at Wake Forest University’s School of Business where he teaches data analytics for the Master of Accounting Program.  Prior to joining Wake Forest, Tom was a Principal with Deloitte’s Risk and Financial Advisory Services where he focused in the Financial Services industry, specifically Banking & Capital Markets.  For over 35 years Tom delivered services to large corporate clients and their outside legal counsel.  He has experience in forensic litigation, corporate investigations, data analytics, discovery issues and process automation, including use of RPA and cognitive intelligence.

• Tom built and led Deloitte’s Analytic and Forensic Technology (AFT) practice, which included hundreds of skilled professionals and is now a $200MM business.
• He was the US National and Global leader of AFT and served on the Global Executive Committee for Forensic Services for many years.  He led Deloitte's Financial Advisory Services' strategy and innovation program and helped drive acquisitions related to reorganization services, discovery, and litigation services.

Throughout his career, he worked on contract disputes, fraud allegations, regulatory inquiries, and mass tort issues. Project examples include:

• He worked on forensic accounting projects involving a variety of issues, including assisting in the analysis of dormant accounts of Nazi persecution victims, including designing and implementing the gathering and review of documents located throughout Switzerland.
• Additionally, he worked with a major insurance company undergoing demutualization and with one of the named defendants in a tobacco litigation by defining and executing a document accumulation strategy.
• Tom developed the structure and operations of the Settlement Facility of the Dow Corning Trust, as well worked with two of the largest US financial institutions identifying areas of process efficiency for robotic process automation.

Sanjay Bharwani - Managing Director, Advisory Services Ernst and Young

Sanjay is a Managing Director in Ernst & Young’s Data & Analytics practice aligned to Wealth and Asset Management (WAM) with a focus on Investment Risk Technology related services. He is an entrepreneurial leader with experience developing products and services that apply risk management, cloud computing and data science technologies for investment managers and financial institutions.

• Previously, he founded and spearheaded from concept to commercialization RADiENT Analytics, an investment risk analytics and regulatory filings platform applying machine learning, natural language processing, artificial intelligence, and cloud technologies.
• Prior to RADiENT, he founded Risk Advisors Inc., a risk management consultancy where he advised financial institutions, hedge funds and private equity firms on trading, risk management and technology issues. Previously, Sanjay was the Chief Information Officer at M. Safra & Co., a $3b multi-strategy hedge fund focused on global macro and systematic trading strategies. Earlier in his career, he was Product Manager of an emerging markets debt trading systems at EXIS Consulting, a fixed income technology firm, and a subject-matter expert at Reval, a pioneering software-as-a-service risk and valuation provider acquired by ION.
• In addition, he has served as the chairperson of the Board of Trustees at Global X, a $15b+ exchange-traded fund manager recently acquired by Mirae Asset Management and has served as a commercial adviser focused on fintech to the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research program.
• He received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a dual major in Finance and Management, and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Mumbai with a major in Accounting and minor in Information Systems.

Omar Khanataev - CEO, AmeriBest Home Care, LLC

Omar Khanataev joined the family business, AmeriBest Home Care in 2010 serving in administrator and Director of Operations roles before being promoted to CEO in 2017. He leads an entrepreneurial organization in the most competitive homecare market in Pennsylvania.

• Omar has taken Ameribest through two successful sales in less than five years to Private Equity since becoming CEO and has overseen multiple acquisitions of homecare agencies throughout Pennsylvania.
• Additionally, Omar has led Ameribest to continual organic growth and leads through innovation and market know-how; he has built an Analytics platform that not only reports multiple levels of operational, financial, and marketing information, but also continues to build upon predictive attributes to forecast and drive decision-making
• Currently, Omar sits on the Board of Directors of the Providers Coalition Association (PA-PCA) - a statewide organization of community providers in Pennsylvania serving seniors and people with physical disabilities receiving a range of home and community-based home care services.
• He received his Bachelors of Arts from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA with a major in Economics and minor in Healthcare; and lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two children.

Alexandra (Alex) Mores - Managing Partner and Founder of Atlantix Partners

Alexandra "Alex" Mores founded Atlantix Partners in 2000 to provide financial and accounting advisory services to middle-market companies needing a talented and quality-driven alternative to the big firms. Known for delivering common-sense solutions with a personalized touch, Alex began her career with Ernst & Young with an industry focus on healthcare, managed care, and insurance. has worked with public and private companies throughout her career and has a long and successful history in private equity.

• Alex received early recognition for her efforts, growing Atlantix to the third-largest woman-owned service firm in south Florida by 2006 and as a Top 50 Entrepreneur in south Florida, as awarded by Business Leader Magazine.
• For the last 20 years, Alex has expanded the firm's services and geographic footprint through her constant drive to deliver best-in-class solutions through innovation and quality. Pure and simple as an entrepreneur, she "speaks" their language and anticipates what companies need.
• Worked on over 50 transactions, including IPOs, bond offerings, acquisitions, divestitures, and debt refinancing.
• Alex’s relentless focus on innovation led to the development of the EdgeVu platform which, incorporates the use of smart tools within the finance and accounting processes.  These tools include automated data retrieval, automated data transformation, and visualization resulting in scalable, efficient processes with heighted accuracy and predictiveness. 

Alex is a proven leader, building a firm that embraces diversity and team building. She is known for being a hands-on leader and is respected as an advisor and partner to executive management and boards of directors.