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85% of Indian Finance Leaders Face Pressure to Prove AI ROI While Accountability Lags Global Peers, Avalara Survey Finds

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3 months ago

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27% of Indian respondents say accountability for significant AI agent errors is unclear or sits with no one, higher than all other markets surveyed

PUNE, India, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Avalara, Inc., the agentic AI leader in global tax and compliance, today released new research showing that Indian finance teams face mounting pressure to deploy AI agents quickly. This rush to demonstrate measurable ROI is causing governance and internal controls to struggle to keep pace. As a result, more than one in four Indian finance leaders said accountability for significant AI errors was unclear or sits with no one, higher than other markets surveyed. 

The report, “Agents of Change: How the Race to Deploy AI Agents is Outrunning Financial Governance,” surveyed CFOs and senior finance leaders across the US, UK, India, and Australia.

85%1 of Indian respondents feel moderate or significant career pressure to demonstrate that AI agent investments are delivering ROI. 71%2 say the pressure to deploy agents is focused primarily on deployment speed, and consequently, while only 8%3 say their organization prioritizes governance over speed.

This speed-first approach is creating a widening governance and compliance gap. 10%4 of Indian finance leaders say they are not confident they could give a regulator or auditor a clear and complete explanation of an AI agent’s actions, much higher than the share reported in the US, UK, and Australia. Furthermore, 24%5 of Indian finance leaders have not updated their internal controls within the last year to reflect AI agents taking or recommending actions. Only 28% say AI agent controls have been reviewed or tested by IT or cybersecurity teams, while just 34% report review by risk or compliance teams.

“While Indian enterprises are moving fast to automate, their internal rulebooks are being left behind,” said Dulles Krishnan, VP & General Manager, India Operations at Avalara. “Running new AI tools on outdated compliance policies is a massive blind spot. CFOs in this market need to ensure their risk frameworks are actually updated to monitor automated decisions before an auditor comes knocking.”

This is compounded by a lack of available knowledge, as 76% lack dedicated in-house expertise to understand how their AI agents work.

When asked what would most increase their confidence in expanding AI agents, Indian finance leaders consistently prioritized capabilities that reinforce trust and accountability, including outputs grounded in verified tax and financial data (27%), human review controls for higher risk actions (26%), audit trails documenting every AI action (22%), and stronger vendor commitments around accuracy and accountability (20%).

As Indian finance teams embed AI agents more extensively into tax, compliance, and regulatory processes, the survey suggests that confidence in explaining those actions to a regulator will need to catch up with the pace of deployment. Closing that gap will depend less on how quickly AI agents are deployed and more on embedding trusted data, audit trails, governance controls, and documentation from the outset so automated decisions remain transparent, explainable, and audit-ready.

The full report is available at: newsroom.avalara.com/image/Agents_of_Change.pdf.

Methodology:

The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 250 CFO or Senior Finance leaders (aged 30+) in Indian companies with a revenue of approximately US$10 million+. Respondents must have deployed, piloted, or actively evaluated AI agents in their organisation in the last 12 months and work in the following industries: Financial Services and Insurance / Healthcare /Manufacturing & Distribution / Professional Services (i.e., accounting firms legal, consulting) / Retail & E-commerce / Tech and SaaS. The data was collected between 15.06.2026 and 22.06.2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. Censuswide adheres to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.

About Avalara

Avalara is the agentic AI platform for global tax and compliance. For more than two decades, Avalara has built one of the most expansive libraries of tax content and integrations in the industry, processing more than 54 billion transactions annually and supporting millions of businesses worldwide. The company’s purpose-built AI agents automate end-to-end compliance with greater precision, from tax calculations and return filings to exemption certificate management and beyond. For more information, visit Avalara.com.

Combining answers “significant pressure” (48%) and “moderate pressure” (37%) Combining answers “entirely on speed” (32%) and “mostly on speed” (39%) Combining answers “mostly on governance” (12%) and “entirely on governance” (0%)Combining answers “not very confident (8%) and “not at all confident (2%)Combining answers “within the last 13-23 months” (14%, “within the last two years” (10%, and “over two years ago” (1%)

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Melody Party Offers Over 20,000 Songs and Adds More Than a Thousand New Tracks Monthly, Enhancing Its Online Karaoke Experience

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October 27, 2026

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SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Melody Party is a music social app featuring a variety of activities, including Mic Grab, Artist Mafia, and Singing Battle. Through its online karaoke feature, SING A SONG, the app brings the traditional karaoke experience online, removing time and location constraints and offering a music experience that combines real-time singing with social interaction.

SING A SONG features an extensive library of more than 20,000 songs, with over a thousand new songs added every month. Its diverse selection includes popular K-pop tracks, classic Korean songs, and karaoke favorites. The feature offers a free-use model, allowing users to start singing their chosen songs without paying a separate fee. This helps reduce the time and cost associated with visiting traditional coin-operated karaoke venues, making it easier to enjoy singing as part of everyday life.

In terms of functionality, SING A SONG supports pitch adjustment and independent volume controls for vocals and accompaniment, allowing users to customize their singing experience according to their preferences. Users can also create online karaoke rooms, invite friends to sing together in real time, and enjoy voice chat and social interaction.

By continuously expanding its song library and offering diverse music-based interactive experiences, Melody Party continues to strengthen its music ecosystem. Through SING A SONG, the platform aims to create an accessible, highly interactive online music social space.

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SOURCE Melody Party

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Drawing new strength from 20-year legacy, IAACA calls on global counterparts to join annual conference to fortify integrity

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October 27, 2026

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MARRAKECH, Morocco, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA), an independent and non-political anti-corruption organisation with over 190 member anti-corruption authorities (ACAs) worldwide, will co-host IAACA Annual Conference 2026 in Marrakech, Morocco next month together with the Independent Commission Against Corruption of Hong Kong, China (ICAC) and the National Authority for Probity, Prevention and Fight Against Corruption of Morocco (INPPLC) to chart a path for the global graft fight and explore cutting-edge approaches to tackle emerging corruption challenges.

Themed “Building on 20 Years of Legacy: Drawing Strength from the Past, Guarding Global Integrity for the Future”, the international event will not only mark the 20th anniversary of the IAACA, but also provide a dynamic forum for IAACA members to exchange insights and enhance co-operation.

Calling on international counterparts to participate in the conference scheduled for November 25, IAACA President Mr Woo Ying-ming, who also serves as ICAC Commissioner, said that “As the IAACA marks its 20th anniversary, the conference will bring together global anti-corruption community at a pivotal moment for collective action. I anticipate that the valuable insights and new approaches generated through the international synergy will chart a resilient strategic path for us to navigate integrity risks and draw strength from our shared legacy to guard global integrity for generations to come.”

During the conference, renowned international experts from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Basel Institute on Governance, the International Anti-Corruption Academy, and global anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies and institutions will shed light on harnessing artificial intelligence in the fight against corruption, safeguarding integrity within global climate and biodiversity frameworks and analysing global corruption measurement and systemic effectiveness.

Following the conference, the ICAC, the INPPLC, the IAACA and the UNODC will co-organise a training seminar on leveraging AI in combating corruption.

While the ICAC and INPPLC will share how AI and new technology can reshape the future of anti-graft enforcement and corruption prevention, the UNODC will provide a global perspective on using AI models in financial crime investigations and addressing the operational relevance, legal robustness and adaptability across jurisdictions.

For details of the conference and training, please visit:
https://www.icac.org.hk/icac/iaaca-morocco-2026/index.html

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SOURCE International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA)

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Viettel moves 100 million subscribers to home-grown cloud-native charging in three months – with zero downtime

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45 minutes ago

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October 27, 2026

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HANOI, Vietnam, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Viettel High Technology Industries Corporation (Viettel High Tech), part of Viettel Group, has migrated more than 100 million subscribers and some 5,000 tariff plans at Viettel, Vietnam’s largest mobile operator, to vOCS 4.0, its in-house cloud-native charging system. The three-month cutover ran on a live national network with no service disruption.

Replacing a charging system is one of the riskiest projects an operator can undertake, which is why many stick with legacy platforms. Viettel High Tech reduced the risk through real-time data synchronization, parallel running and a phased cutover, with instant rollback at every stage.

The project won the Telecom Review Excellence Awards 2026 prize for Best Technology Deployment in Asia, a first for a Vietnamese company.

What it means for operators:

Scale: more than 300,000 transactions per second at latency below 5 milliseconds, across 2G–5G and fixed services on one platformLower cost: up to 50% less hardware investment than the previous generation, by sharing infrastructure with the networkAgility: new tariff plans in hours instead of days, new features three times faster and deployments about 30% fasterResilience: two active data centers about 2,000 km apart and automatic recovery in under two minutes

Viettel High Tech developed every core layer in-house, from a telecom-grade cloud-native platform and NFV-MANO orchestration to real-time charging, subscriber and balance management.

“Passing rigorous tests of real-time self-diagnosis and self-recovery is what allows an operator to keep its promise of 24/7 service to customers,” said Luu Manh Ha, CEO of Viettel Networks, which operates the system on Viettel’s network in Vietnam. “Above all, owning the charging system means an operator is not dependent on foreign vendors – it safeguards digital sovereignty and preserves business flexibility.”

“The charging system is where an operator’s business strategy turns into revenue in real time,” said Nguyen Minh Quang, CEO of Viettel High Tech. “We believe vOCS 4.0 is ready to help operators worldwide capture the value of 5G and digital services.”

In 2017, vOCS 4.0’s predecessor, vOCS 3.0, replaced a foreign vendor’s platform for 90 million Viettel subscribers. Across both generations, vOCS serves more than 220 million subscribers in 11 countries. Viettel High Tech now offers vOCS 4.0 to operators worldwide.

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SOURCE Viettel Group

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