ICAG Partners' "Shift, Sift, Scale" framework for agentic AI has helped financial institutions cut middle- and back-office costs by 50-60% and reduce manual processing time by up to 90%, according to the boutique risk and strategy consultancy. The approach lets banks, asset managers, and private equity firms outsource operational processes to AI agents that operate under human supervision and compliance guardrails.
Founded in 2021 by former Oliver Wyman senior partner Subas Roy, the London- and New York-based firm now has more than 50 experts advising on AI governance, risk, and compliance. Research from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance shows that 81% of financial services firms already use AI to some degree.
Outsourcing value creation to AI agents
Roy said private equity firms and investors often miss critical value creation opportunities. "Clients and firms often lose between $10 million to $100 million per portfolio asset by missing key value creation opportunities," he said. "Value must be created in a faster way with precise operational execution. Sequence matters more than technology."
The Shift, Sift, Scale method begins with moving middle- and back-office functions - fund administration, NAV calculations, regulatory reporting, accounting - to ICAG's strategic partners. Those processes are then streamlined with agentic modeling toolkits, and finally scaled with AI solutions that run inside a structured layer of human oversight.
Gopal Kuchibhotla, partner and head of risk at ICAG, said that when agentic AI handles "80-90% of the mid and back-office processes," firms can "grow 10x or 15x at a much lower cost and headcount." Roy added that clients have reported audit-ready output, full traceability, and regulatory compliance alongside the efficiency gains.
As AI for Finance moves from pilots to scaled deployment, the need for auditable, compliant systems becomes critical. Ish Joshi, associate partner at ICAG, said businesses now treat AI as "a moat, but also a reason to exist in this new world."
Automating governance, risk, and compliance
ICAG also offers an end-to-end solution for governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) management. Its agents identify relevant regulations, map client controls to potential risks, and flag duplicate or inconsistent data. Kuchibhotla explained that the tools "address the duplication and inconsistencies that are present in controls data that gets captured in companies across the board." Results flow into an explainable dashboard for the chief risk officer.
The agents work with whatever GRC platforms a client already uses, acting as a filter at the source. That means risk coverage remains continuous without requiring a rip-and-replace overhaul of existing systems.
Effective AI for Executives & Strategy requires treating policy-bounded design as a core capability - not a legal check box. Roy said the challenge is no longer technical. "The gating factor is no longer capability, but rather trust, control, and governance," he said. "The winners in the next couple of decades will be those fintechs and investors that pair ambition with disciplined, policy-bounded design."
What comes next
ICAG plans to scale its agentic AI solutions and expand its team further. While currently self-funded, Roy said the firm may consider external investment if a partner brings not only capital but also distribution, technology, and market access - as long as it preserves ICAG's expert-led model. "Any investment and partner we do take on will need to be in the service of maintaining ICAG's vision of remaining an expert-led organisation with deep expertise," he said.
Why this matters for finance professionals
Firms that bolt AI ambition onto rigorous, auditable control frameworks can unlock large cost savings without surrendering oversight. For risk, compliance, and operations leaders, the message is clear: agentic outsourcing that carves out 80-90% of manual back-office work is already happening, and the next wave of competitive pressure will fall on those who ignore the governance layer that makes it safe.
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