6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

Opportunities in Economic Trends

1.     Opportunity- Home sales dropped in December, price increases slowed

a.     Source: Wall Street Journal

b.     This is an opportunity for buyers of homes who can’t normally afford the previously higher prices, which could create momentum in the market.

c.     Prototypical customer: homebuyers who can’t afford high prices or are worried about another housing bubble

d.     I think this opportunity is fairly difficult to exploit because there’s no way of knowing how long this decline in prices will last.

e.     I saw this opportunity because I’ve seen how mortgage rates have risen recently and home sales have weakened, along with a decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the government shutdown, and the host of other economic trends that have come into play recently.

2.     Opportunities in artificial intelligence

a.     Wall Street Journal, DZone

b.     The rise of artificial intelligence has created numerous opportunities for businesses in recent times. Some of these opportunities include autonomous vehicles, helping logistics and delivery, improving customer service, chatboxes, and big data, just to name a few. There are enormous opportunities for companies to take advantages of these benefits to improve the quality of their product, the speed in which it is delivered, and the satisfaction of the customer.

c.     Prototypical customer: Companies that want to take advantage of the benefits of AI.

d.     I think this opportunity is difficult to exploit because of the resources and manpower required to make it happen.

e.     I noticed this opportunity because I’m interested in what big companies like Amazon are doing with AI. It is going to revolutionize things like transportation, delivery, and customer service.

Opportunities in Regulatory Trends

1.     Opportunity- KPMG not living up to its high standards, accounting regulations may continue to change

a.     Source: Wall Street Journal

b.     Audits and accounting regulations are extremely important in any business, especially since the Enron scandal in 2001. KPMG is one of the big-four accounting firms, so if they are not living up to their standards of high audit quality, then firmer regulations may be coming and increasing opportunities for other accounting firms.

c.     Prototypical customer: Other accounting firms

d.     I think this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit because KPMG will be getting severe backlash for this lapse in quality standards. Companies may be looking to other accounting firms almost immediately.

e.     I think I saw this opportunity maybe more clearly than others because I am considering becoming an accountant and may want to work for a big-four accounting firm someday.

2.     Data privacy regulations

a.     Source: WSJ, SAS

b.     The General Data Protection Regulation is a new EU legislation intended to protect personal data privacy by making every organization accountable. This is an opportunity for businesses to differentiate themselves by complying with these standards. As the general public becomes more aware of personal data breaches, like Facebook has been exposed for recently, they will want more companies to comply with this regulation.

c.     Prototypical customer: Companies who want to protect their customer’s data and privacy

d.     I think this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit. Companies simply need to comply with the GDPR in order to ease their customers’ worries about data protection and will therefore distinguish themselves from competitors.

e.     I saw this as an opportunity because I am conscious of the things I put online and am sometimes worried about what companies are able to do with my data. I don’t even use google as a search engine anymore, instead I use Duck-Duck-Go because it is completely private.