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Whether it is artificial intelligence, big data, analytics, or cloud technology, technological advances present an opportunity for finance or accounting teams. However, what is the best way to make the most of potential gains: an enterprise-wide solution or a more targeted approach?

At the start of the month, or even a week or two prior to February 1st, all of us begin to see love symbols everywhere. Roses, cards, and chocolates are visibly on sale in all malls. Delivery boys rush to send these items to ensure the receipt of the intended party on or before the big V-Day.

(Last part) It started without warning when the malware hit Prix Healthcare Inc.’s servers. The new strain infected the company’s systems like silent wildfire, burning through the cyber kill chain unabated. The hacker advanced easily from each step on the kill chain; he harvested enough email addresses during his reconnaissance to know all about Mark’s secret affair with a staff member, that he enjoyed a high-speed virtual private network connection to the office’s network, and that Mark maintains several personal email addresses. He weaponized his exploit of choice into an unassuming PDF (portable document format) file, and delivered the payload as an email masquerading as a legitimate corporate travel agent. A typical customized whale-phishing email attack will do the trick, the hacker’s eyes gleamed, easy peasy. The code executed after exploiting a known vulnerability, and then the malware installed on the server—the asset, lighting up his target. He knew no one in Prix had the foresight, skill, and time to hunt for abnormal outbound network activities or packets that the now-infected system will be sending to call home—and engage the next step in the chain, command and control.

First of 2 parts Everything was still at the newly renovated penthouse office of Prix Healthcare Inc. The 25 workstations clustered in the center of the entire floor for everyone at the office was left empty. Several desk drawers and file cabinets sat half-open. Rows of lifeless black monitors jutted out from low glass panels meant as desk dividers to make the space look big. A handful of laptop displays went on screensaver mode showing the Prix logo. This time, the corporate video was not playing on the 98-inch curved 8k TV at the lobby. An uninterrupted beeping sound from a headset left unhooked from its cradle filled the room.

Picture for a moment a Philippines without SM, Metrobank, the Aboitiz Group, and DMCI. Creating such a picture will probably take a lot more time and effort, because it is simply unimaginable to think of a Philippines without these powerful brands. You might even be thinking how crazy I am to conceive such an absurd idea. This thought springs from the passing of the people behind these brands in recent years.

A few days back, while I was having lunch with my four-year old daughter, I asked her if she wants to study at the University of the Philippines, where her mother and I studied. Instead of answering my question, she told me that, when she grows up, she wants to work at her mom’s office. “Not in my office?”, I queried her, not because I wanted her to follow in my footsteps, but because I was curious about how she would reason out. She resoundingly shook her head, while telling me that I have too many “homework,” which I suppose she is not a fan of. “What about mom’s work?”, I continued to ask her. She replied that her mom doesn’t have homework, and “all she does are attend meetings (telephone conferences) and text her officemates.”

“Would you rather eat a chocolate-flavored poop or a poop-flavored chocolate?” That’s my nine-year old’s favorite “Would you rather” question. “Would you rather” is a game we often play to pass time. It is a game my wife and I introduced to our kids to generate conversations and laughter. It was interesting for us as adults to hear how our kids, at their very young age, make choices and reason out. Oftentimes, the choices are between bad and worse or between something good and better, depending on a person’s biases and perspective. A year ago, at the latest, my second daughter would simply copy the choice made by her older sister but, as the younger one gained more experience, she is starting to make her own choices and her reasoning begins to become more complex.