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Chris Owers
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Last week, I was fortunate to join the EPAM team and attend the Wolters Kluwer – Financial Services Solutions #OneSumXClientconference, where customers, partners, and colleagues, gathered together in Porto.
This year’s theme, “Future Ready Banking: Navigating Finance, Risk & Regulation in 2025 and Beyond,” captures the shared challenges and opportunities ahead: responding to regulatory and business change, leveraging technology, and building resilience into the core of banking operations.
Through leadership panels and expert discussions, attendees explored how finance, risk, and reporting teams are leveraging data, foresight, and strategy to navigate regulatory complexity with confidence. Sessions on modernization and compliance can work in tandem to build more resilient, transparent banking operations.
A city of contrasts, where baroque churches meet cutting-edge architecture, and every cobbled street tells a story older than the nation itself. Across the iconic Dom Luís I Bridge, the event was hosted in Gaia, the soul of Port wine production, where centuries-old cellars like Sandeman and Taylor’s still age their treasures. We spent the Thursday evening at the enchanting world of wine. After a tour of the museum, covering all the elements of production, we sat and had a lovely meal overlooking Porto itself.
The hotel was actually built on the site of a former wine warehouse. Siegfried Van Puyvelde referenced this in his opening remarks, where he called for the group to continue the spirit and history of the warehouse – making it a warehouse for knowledge, innovation and networking over the 3-days. The group responded to this, delivering this and more over the conference.
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High-quality, well-governed data is no longer just a resource — it’s a core driver of insight, agility, and transformation across finance, risk, and regulation.
From AI/ML to real-time monitoring, automation is streamlining regulatory reporting and compliance, enabling institutions to do more with less.
Discussions on IRRBB, IReF, Pillar 3, and Basel reforms highlighted how regulatory frameworks are evolving — and how integrated platforms like OneSumX help institutions stay ahead through smarter, data-driven approaches.
Success in today’s unpredictable environment means adapting quickly, staying focused, and treating resilience as a strategic asset.
The human connection — between clients, account managers, and success teams — is what brings technology like OneSumX to life. Warmth, collaboration, and shared purpose were felt throughout the event.
Throughout the conference — and almost daily — the message was clear: adopting AI is no longer optional. It’s transforming the way we work, and uptake is accelerating. But with this rapid evolution comes increased scrutiny and mistakes, as highlighted by recent headlines in which a firm used AI in a report that later proved to contain errors.
Most clients I spoke with have some form of AI strategy and safeguards in place. Yet, many remain concerned about maintaining control over a technology that’s constantly evolving.
Our EPAM AI training is designed to equip us with the skills to know when and how to use AI effectively — understanding its limitations and applying it to deliver outcomes that align with client risk tolerance. Success here will be understanding enough, to help our clients know when to use AI and what tool to deliver the best result. Who knows, maybe 007, will be deciding on whether to use AI or not to AI?
At the heart of every great technology lies something irreplaceable: people.
During our panel at the #OneSumXClientConference, we explored how individuals give AI its true value — through context, insight, and care. But beyond the tech, what stood out most was the human connection.
At dinner on the first evening, I was fortunate to be welcomed to join a group of the WKFS client team and their clients. I felt a genuine warmth and camaraderie that reminded me that partnership is what powers progress. Running a solution like OneSumX isn’t just about systems — it’s about the people who use it, and the dedicated teams who support them.
This connection was reflected with all of the WKFS team at the conference, it was clear — success comes from tech + people, working together with purpose.
To the WKFS team: obrigado for your hard work, focus, and heartfelt hospitality. Inspiring!
