Mr. Marcus von Engel, Partner
Mr. Martin Wharam, Director
PricewaterhouseCoopers Co., Ltd.

Over the last few years international financial services firms have increased their use of shared services, outsourcing, and offshoring of non-core activities, this is particularly the case in Japan where JPY strength has led many institutions to review where, and by whom, activities are undertaken. This trend looks set to continue as institutions strive to lower costs and improve quality through centralization and standardization; however the regulatory scrutiny and the operational risk associated with these initiatives are increasing.

PwC's presentation will provide a broad introduction to shared services and outsourcing in the financial services sector, with a Japan perspective focus. The discussion will outline the key drivers for change and provide insights and share experiences on some of the practical challenges with offshoring and outsourcing, including how to manage the regulatory expectations, the increased operational risk and the change management requirements. The presentation will be followed by Q&A.

Marcus is a partner in PwC’s Japan FS Technology Consulting practice with over 20 years of strategy consulting, change management, business process reengineering, and large-scale system integration experience with Asian and global financial service clients in USA, Europe and all major Asian countries. He has focused on working with clients to define and implement major transformation initiatives, conduct post-merger integrations, and manage large projects involving complex technology solutions, business process reengineering, and change management challenges in diverse geographic and cultural environments.

Martin is a director in PwC's financial services practice who has worked in the Banking industry for over 20 years, specializing in Finance and Risk areas. Prior to joining PwC Japan, Martin was a Managing Director and Asia-Pacific Head of Finance and Product Control for a major global investment bank for 8 years and as such has extensive experience in managing a large finance team and controlling a complex environment which included responsibility for offshore and outsourced activities.