Podcast | Financial Currents with ZISHI

Financial services is under pressure to adapt. Fast. Regulation is shifting, AI is accelerating and expectations on leaders, managers and teams are changing almost monthly.

Financial Currents with ZISHI cuts through that noise. Each episode brings together leaders, innovators and practitioners shaping the future of financial services – focused on what genuinely moves the industry forward.

In Episode 1, Graham McConkey, Head of Regulatory & Compliance Services at ZISHI, sits down with ZISHI partner Jamie Philip, former MD within global financial services firm, to break down the forces reshaping the industry and what firms must do to stay ahead.

This chapter forms part of a wider conversation, where we go deeper into the sector’s unique practicalities and everyday realities:

• Why business and compliance can no longer operate as separate streams, and the gains to be made when they don’t.
• How understanding regulator motivations directly impacts profitability.
• The steadfast importance of practitioner-led, face-to-face learning as firms seek the advantages of real capability rather than box-ticking formalities.
• The culture of common sense: turning constant regulatory change into practical opportunity.
• What graduates need to focus on now ‒ understanding regulation, showing good conduct, building trust quickly and putting their learning into practice from day one.

Chapters

00:00 In the Real World
02:44 Regulatory Change
04:27 Turning Fear of Regulation into Buy-In
06:01 Vision, Motivation & Change Management
10:06 Irreplaceable Value of Face-to-Face Training in Financial Services
13:47 Training, Graduates & Face-to-Face Learning
16:08 AI Can’t Replace Empathy
18:58 Authentic Leadership
22:10 Advice for Graduates Entering Finance
27:41 Starting Out
29:02 A Culture of Common Sense
29:47 2026: A Regulatory Fork in the Road
30:55 Closing Thoughts