Accounting Disrupted

CHAPTER 6Performance Changes

With the mass adoption of new technologies and disruptive work models, relying on now obsolete concepts of leadership is no longer effective for the management of people. ¹

—Yogesh Sirohi, CFO, PwC India

Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) is the largest bank in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Over 10 years ago, it had mediocre credit card application structures, its relationships managers had a high level of turnover, its branches and ATMs suffered long lines, and its customer satisfaction scores trailed behind those of its competitors. The bank's CEO and chief data officer began a strategy to make DBS “digital to the core.”² For that to happen, a culture change was required that would bolster the digital innovation trajectory. Performance management had to tie into the problems the bank was experiencing. The bank set targets through the use of technology, and process changes achieving results far exceeding what it anticipated including a 25‐fold higher reduction in customer wait hours. DBS has since developed its own mobile payment solution for customers; uses big data analyses in tracking potential trade fraud and in working capital management; deploys blockchains in letters of credit exchanges; and is evolving its AI systems to keep the bank ahead of changing market conditions, technical innovations, and the resultant emerging needs of its customers. The group head of Global Transaction Services at DBS, John Laurens,³ sees this process as being ...