Ethics Statement

Our ethical foundation

Veridian Analytics Limited was founded on a simple principle: New Zealand's small and medium businesses deserve the same standard of integrity, rigour, and ethical conduct that the largest financial institutions demand of themselves. As a firm operating at the intersection of data analytics and financial crime compliance, we hold ourselves to standards that go beyond minimum legal compliance — because the work we do protects businesses, their customers, and the integrity of New Zealand's financial system.

This statement sets out the ethical principles that govern how we conduct our business, support our clients, and handle the sensitive data entrusted to us.

01Integrity and independence

We provide our analysis, support, and compliance recommendations free from conflicts of interest. Where a potential conflict arises — for example, between commercial considerations and the accuracy of a compliance finding — we disclose it transparently and resolve it in favour of integrity, not convenience.

We will never adjust a risk assessment, compliance finding, or analytical conclusion to suit a client's commercial preference. Our value to clients depends entirely on the objectivity of our work.

02Confidentiality and trust

We recognise that our clients share commercially sensitive, financially material, and sometimes legally privileged information with us. We treat all client information with strict confidentiality, and:

• We do not disclose client information to third parties without authorisation, except where required by law (such as suspicious activity reporting obligations under the AML/CFT Act 2009).
• We apply the principle of least-privilege access internally — only personnel directly involved in a client engagement may access that client’s data.
• We never use one client’s data or insights to benefit another client, or for any purpose outside the scope of the engagement.

03Compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations

Veridian Analytics takes its role in New Zealand's financial crime prevention ecosystem seriously. In delivering AML/CFT support services, we are guided by:

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) international standards on combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
• New Zealand’s AML/CFT Act 2009 and its associated regulations and codes of practice.
• The reporting obligations owed to the New Zealand Police Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Where our work identifies activity that may require regulatory reporting, we support clients on their obligations in accordance with the law. We do not assist any client in structuring transactions, activities, or disclosures in a manner designed to evade detection, reporting, or regulatory scrutiny. We will decline or terminate any engagement that asks us to do so.

04Data ethics and responsible analytics

We believe that data should be used to create genuine value and protect against genuine harm — never to mislead, manipulate, or unfairly disadvantage individuals or businesses. In our analytics work, we commit to:

• Accuracy — presenting findings based on sound methodology, validated data, and transparent assumptions.
• Fairness — designing and reviewing analytical models to avoid embedding unfair bias against any group, customer segment, or business type.
• Transparency — explaining our analytical methods to clients in plain language, so that decisions informed by our work are genuinely understood, not taken on blind trust.
• Proportionality — collecting and analysing only the data necessary to answer the question at hand, consistent with data minimisation principles under the Privacy Act 2020 and international frameworks such as the GDPR.

05Anti-bribery and anti-corruption

We do not offer, give, solicit, or accept bribes or improper inducements of any kind, in New Zealand or in any jurisdiction in which we may operate. Our support work in financial crime compliance requires us to model the highest standard of conduct we ask our clients to uphold.

06Respect for the people behind the data

Behind every dataset, transaction record, and customer profile we analyse are real people. We are mindful that the consequences of compliance decisions — account closures and enhanced scrutiny — fall on real individuals and businesses. We support our clients to apply AML/CFT and risk controls in a manner that is proportionate, evidence-based, and free from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or any other protected characteristic.

07Professional development and accountability

Our team maintains current professional certifications — including CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist), Microsoft data analytics credentials, and the Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate — alongside ongoing professional education, to ensure our support reflects current regulatory expectations and technical best practice. We hold ourselves accountable to the professional and ethical codes of the bodies that issue these certifications, including ACAMS.

08Environmental and social responsibility

As a New Zealand business, we are mindful of our footprint and our role in the communities we serve. We favour digital-first, low-waste ways of working, and we are committed to supporting New Zealand's small business community — the backbone of the national economy — through accessible, high-quality compliance and analytics services.

09Speaking up

We encourage clients, staff, and contractors to raise concerns about any practice that may fall short of the standards set out in this statement, without fear of retaliation. Concerns can be raised confidentially at privacy@veridiananalytics.co.nz.

10Our promise

We will not compromise on integrity to win or retain business. We will not let commercial pressure shape a compliance finding. We will protect the data entrusted to us as if it were our own. This is the standard we hold ourselves to — not because the law requires it, but because it is the right way to do business.