Practical writing on AI, automation, and regulation for financial advice firms and other regulated service businesses.https://cordrey.co/en-gbhttps://cordrey.co/journal/building-a-dora-compliant-vendor-risk-assessment-for-third/https://cordrey.co/journal/building-a-dora-compliant-vendor-risk-assessment-for-third/How FCA-regulated firms can build a vendor risk assessment for third-party AI providers that meets DORA's requirements, and why most current approaches fall short.Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTregulation-compliancedorafcavendor-selectionrisk-managementai-agentsLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/inside-the-software-factory-one-month-with-ai-agents/https://cordrey.co/journal/inside-the-software-factory-one-month-with-ai-agents/Twelve repositories, around 440 commits, five public launches in 23 days — one person, with AI agents doing the building. What a working software factory looks like, and what the same discipline does inside a regulated firm.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsai-agentsautomationdata-governanceLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-future-of-automation-in-financial-services/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-future-of-automation-in-financial-services/The FCA has confirmed it will use existing rules to govern AI, shifting the compliance focus from the technology itself to how you deploy it.Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTregulation-compliancefcaai-agentsautomationclient-onboardingrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/what-the-latest-ai-model-releases-mean-for-your-business/https://cordrey.co/journal/what-the-latest-ai-model-releases-mean-for-your-business/The artificial intelligence market is pivoting from rented chatbots to autonomous agents and owned infrastructure. Here is how it changes your strategy.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTmarket-intelligencelarge-language-modelsautomationrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/a-step-by-step-guide-to-implementing-agentic-ai-workflows-in/https://cordrey.co/journal/a-step-by-step-guide-to-implementing-agentic-ai-workflows-in/Most advisory firms adopting agentic AI underestimate the hidden labour cost of running agents badly. Here is how to implement them so they actually reduce work.Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsautomationfinancial-adviceai-agentsimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-ceo-led-ai-gets-three-times-the-roi/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-ceo-led-ai-gets-three-times-the-roi/Firms where the CEO personally owns AI strategy are 3x more likely to report established ROI. What that finding means for financial advice businesses planning their next move.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTstrategy-governancechange-managementimplementationrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-modular-infrastructure-is-a-trap-for-fintechs/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-modular-infrastructure-is-a-trap-for-fintechs/The collapse of Parker Card shows what happens when a fintech's entire operation depends on third-party APIs and cloud vendors who have no obligation to stay when things get hard.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTmarket-intelligenceLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/anthropics-strategic-breathing-room-and-what-it-means-for-ai/https://cordrey.co/journal/anthropics-strategic-breathing-room-and-what-it-means-for-ai/Anthropic recently restored access to its Fable model after a significant regulatory negotiation. Here is what that episode reveals about AI adoption risk for financial services firms.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTmarket-intelligencelarge-language-modelsvendor-selectionrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-custom-silicon-in-ai-what-it-means-for-your-busi/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-custom-silicon-in-ai-what-it-means-for-your-busi/OpenAI's custom Jalapeno inference chip signals a structural shift in how AI compute is owned and priced. For smaller businesses, the consequences arrive later but matter more.Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTtools-platformsautomationai-agentscost-managementdata-governanceLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/1075-insights-what-are-the-new-rules-of-fintech-marketing-fi/https://cordrey.co/journal/1075-insights-what-are-the-new-rules-of-fintech-marketing-fi/As fintech products converge and customer acquisition costs climb, the firms winning attention are competing on brand and storytelling. Here is what that shift means for advice and wealth businesses.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTmarket-intelligencefinancial-advicewealth-managementchange-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-agentic-ai-in-financial-services/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-agentic-ai-in-financial-services/Autonomous AI agents are arriving in financial services workflows faster than governance frameworks are. Here is what firms need to understand before they deploy.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTai-foundationsai-agentsrisk-managementfinancial-adviceLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-local-ai-deployment-why-businesses-need-to-take/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-local-ai-deployment-why-businesses-need-to-take/When a government can pull a live AI model from commercial use overnight, cloud-only AI becomes a continuity risk. Here is what local deployment options actually look like for a financial services firm.Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsrisk-managementdata-governancevendor-selectionimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-automating-a-bad-process-makes-everything-worse/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-automating-a-bad-process-makes-everything-worse/Before you automate anything, you need to know whether the process itself is worth keeping. Speed and scale applied to a broken workflow don't fix it, they replicate it faster.Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsautomationimplementationchange-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-next-wave-of-enterprise-ai/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-next-wave-of-enterprise-ai/Enterprise AI is shifting from cheap experimentation to cost-conscious deployment. Here is what the OpenAI and Microsoft announcements this week mean for professional services firms.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTstrategy-governancelarge-language-modelsai-agentsrisk-managementcost-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-ai-token-shortage-begins/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-ai-token-shortage-begins/Flat-rate AI subscriptions are giving way to usage-based billing. Here is what that means for a financial advice firm running AI tools today.Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTmarket-intelligencecost-managementvendor-selectionimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-uk-financial-services-firms-are-reluctant-to-adopt-ai/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-uk-financial-services-firms-are-reluctant-to-adopt-ai/Regulatory uncertainty, cybersecurity liability, and the gap between AI capability and organisational readiness are keeping many UK advice firms on the sidelines. Here's what that costs.Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTstrategy-governancegdprrisk-managementcompliance-monitoringimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/what-your-adviser-should-know-about-ai-and-your-investments/https://cordrey.co/journal/what-your-adviser-should-know-about-ai-and-your-investments/How AI is being used in investment management, what that means for your portfolio, and the questions worth asking your adviser at your next review.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTclient-perspectivefinancial-advicerisk-managementwealth-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/what-the-fca-and-bank-of-england-joint-ai-statement-means-fo/https://cordrey.co/journal/what-the-fca-and-bank-of-england-joint-ai-statement-means-fo/The FCA, Bank of England, and HM Treasury published a joint statement on 15 May 2026 on frontier AI models and cyber resilience.Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTregulation-compliancefcarisk-managementcompliance-monitoringLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-most-ai-pilots-in-advice-firms-never-make-it-to-production/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-most-ai-pilots-in-advice-firms-never-make-it-to-production/The reason your automation project stalled has nothing to do with the technology. Here is what actually goes wrong and how to fix it.Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsimplementationchange-managementrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-only-12-percent-of-firms-using-ai-tools-see-real-business-impact/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-only-12-percent-of-firms-using-ai-tools-see-real-business-impact/Most firms that adopt AI tools see no measurable return. The gap between the 12 percent who do and the rest comes down to three operational decisions made early.Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsimplementationcost-managementrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/what-deepfake-fraud-means-for-fca-regulated-firms-and-how-to/https://cordrey.co/journal/what-deepfake-fraud-means-for-fca-regulated-firms-and-how-to/Deepfake voice fraud is accelerating fast. Here is how advice firms should redesign verification workflows before the next attempt hits.Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTregulation-compliancefcacompliance-monitoringrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/automation-audit-what-it-involves/https://cordrey.co/journal/automation-audit-what-it-involves/A plain account of what happens during an automation audit, what it costs, and how to run a basic version yourself in under an hour.Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsautomationcost-managementimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/data-bottleneck-not-ai-model/https://cordrey.co/journal/data-bottleneck-not-ai-model/Firms stall on AI projects not because the technology is immature, but because their data is fragmented, inconsistent, and never designed for machine consumption.Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsdata-governanceimplementationrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/already-have-a-tool-that-does-this/https://cordrey.co/journal/already-have-a-tool-that-does-this/On why the honest first answer to most AI questions is that you already have a tool that does this.Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTtools-platformscost-managementimplementationautomationLiam Cordrey