Synergistic Shifts: Wahaj Siddiqui, Founder and COO, Simpla.ai, and Founder and Managing Director, Oblique Consult "Our vision is to transform how businesses approach financial compliance and reporting—from what many see as burdensome technical requirements into strategic advantages they can leverage for better decision-making."

As an entrepreneur who sits at the helm of of two ventures that work hand in hand, Wahaj Siddiqui -founder and COO, of UAE-based tax and accounting compliance solutions firm Simpla.ai, and founder and Managing Director at UAE-based financial advisory Oblique Consult- is all too familiar with how synergistic collaborations can create much needed shifts within an ecosystem. "What we're creating at Simpla represents a fundamental shift in how businesses access financial expertise," Siddiqui notes. "By combining the depth of knowledge from our years at Oblique Consult with the transformative power of AI, we're building something that's greater than the sum of its parts.

Indeed, both of Siddiqui's entrepreneurial pursuits began like most startups do: through the observation of some striking loopholes in the financial ecosystem. But by combining the solutions of both his companies, Siddiqui has been able to strike two targets with one bow.

"Our journey began with a simple observation: businesses needed faster, more accessible financial guidance without sacrificing accuracy or depth," he explains. "Simpla was born from this insight, not to replace traditional advisory services, but to complement and enhance them. The challenges businesses face in navigating complex financial regulations will only increase in the coming years. With Simpla and Oblique working in tandem, we're uniquely positioned to help them not just survive this complexity, but thrive within it."

"I believe we're at the beginning of the most significant transformation the financial advisory industry has ever seen, and I couldn't be more excited about leading that change," Siddiqui declares. "The future belongs to those who can combine deep domain expertise with cutting-edge technology—and that's exactly what we're doing at Simpla." Check out our exclusive full-length interview with Siddiqui below:

For starters, please talk to us about what is your long-term vision for your businesses?

Having spent nearly two decades navigating accounting and tax regulations across the GCC, and especially through my experience founding and leading Oblique Consult, I had the opportunity to see firsthand how businesses interact with advisory services. Oblique has successfully provided high-quality advice to a diverse portfolio of clients—from Fortune 500 companies to regional startups and governments. But through these experiences, I noticed a consistent market gap: businesses urgently needed real-time, high-quality tax and accounting insights, often needing answers instantly to make informed strategic decisions.

Even with Oblique's robust consulting framework, traditional models inherently face practical limits in terms of immediate responsiveness. I envisioned a complementary solution—one that harnesses technology to instantly bridge this time-sensitive gap without sacrificing quality or accuracy. That vision gave birth to Simpla.ai.

Simpla was created to enhance, rather than replace, the advisory model by leveraging AI to instantly answer complex, jurisdiction-specific questions like: "How do I treat intercompany transactions under the UAE's new corporate tax regime?"—something businesses previously had to wait days for.

In terms of our long-term vision, Simpla aims to become an indispensable AI-driven financial co-pilot for businesses—not just providing immediate answers but proactively offering strategic recommendations that uncover opportunities and mitigate risks. By combining the best of human financial expertise and cutting-edge technology, we aim to elevate the standard of financial advisory services across the MENA region and beyond.

How did your past entrepreneurial experience (particularly in founding Oblique Consult) help you while creating Simpla?

Building Oblique Consult gave us the perfect laboratory to create Simpla. When you scale a financial advisory firm serving over 60 clients across six countries, you develop insights that simply can't be theorized.

Oblique wasn't just a consulting business - it was a masterclass in understanding exactly where traditional financial advisory succeeds and where it falls short. Every client question, every regulatory challenge, every late-night clarification call became data points that shaped our vision for what Simpla needed to be.

The diversity of our client base at Oblique proved invaluable. Working with Fortune 500 companies to regional startups to government entities showed us the universal pain points that transcend company size and sector. We didn't need to guess what problems to solve - we had thousands of real-world examples documented across years of client interactions. Our perfect record in regulatory audits and less than 3% client attrition at Oblique taught us something critical: in financial advisory, there's no room for "mostly right." This precision mindset is encoded in Simpla's DNA. We built validation systems that hold our AI to the same standards we maintain with our human advisors at Oblique.

But the most powerful insight came from watching how our clients at Oblique integrated advisory guidance into their operations. We noticed that the most valuable advice wasn't just technically correct - it was delivered in a way that made it immediately actionable. This observation fundamentally shaped how Simpla structures and presents information. Oblique showed us not just what needed to be built, but why it needed to exist. This deep understanding is what separates Simpla from generic AI tools that lack real-world advisory experience. We're not technologists who decided to tackle financial advisory - we're financial advisors who recognized how technology could transform our industry.

Please briefly explain the services Simpla offers and who your target market is.

Imagine having a tax expert and IFRS specialist in your pocket, available day and night, ready to answer your most urgent financial questions instantly – That's Simpla. When a CFO or finance manager needs immediate clarity on corporate tax implications, VAT requirements, or complex accounting treatments under IFRS, they simply ask a question and receive an accurate, jurisdiction-specific answer in seconds – not hours or days.

We've completely reimagined how financial advisory works. No more waiting for consultants to respond, no more sifting through dense regulations, no more uncertainty when making critical financial decisions. Just simple, immediate, expert guidance powered by sophisticated AI that understands the nuances of both tax regulations and accounting standards across the entire MENA region.

I'm particularly proud of how we've designed the platform to address the full spectrum of financial challenges businesses face. Users can type questions in natural language about anything from revenue recognition under IFRS 15 to tax treaty interpretations, or upload financial statements and contracts for comprehensive analysis.

While we designed Simpla to serve businesses of all sizes, we've seen particularly enthusiastic adoption among three groups: First, SMEs and startups that tell us they finally have access to the same quality of financial guidance on both tax compliance and IFRS accounting treatments that was previously available only to larger enterprises with dedicated specialists. Second, growing companies navigating the increasingly complex regulatory and accounting landscape—especially those implementing new IFRS standards or dealing with the UAE's corporate tax regime, who need immediate clarity on how specific regulations and accounting principles apply to their unique situations. Third, businesses operating across multiple GCC countries who've previously struggled with inconsistent compliance and accounting approaches and are now using Simpla to harmonize their financial strategies.

What truly sets us apart is that we're not just another AI chatbot. The expertise behind Simpla comes from our years of hands-on advisory experience at Oblique Consult, where we continue to work with clients on their most complex financial challenges across both tax and accounting domains.

And this is just the beginning of what Simpla can do. Very soon, our platform will allow you to upload your tax invoices for compliance verification, financial statements for comprehensive review, and contracts to determine your obligations under both tax regulations and IFRS standards. All of these elements will be interconnected harmoniously to provide holistic guidance on how to best manage your compliance, while being personalized to the specific business segment you operate in. We're creating an ecosystem where your financial data works together to provide insights that no single analysis could offer.

Our vision is to transform how businesses approach financial compliance and reporting—from what many see as burdensome technical requirements into strategic advantages they can leverage for better decision-making. The combination of Oblique's human expertise and Simpla's technological capabilities creates a powerful synergy that will continue to evolve as we expand our platform's capabilities.

Let's delve into the role of AI at Simpla- firstly, please discuss how you've been able to prove the credibility of the financial data and other information used for the LLM. Also, please share some use cases of the type of data that is fed into the Simpla AI and how it has helped companies gain quick financial advice.

When we started building Simpla, I approached it with the same standard I've always applied at Oblique: would I stake my professional reputation on this advice? If the answer wasn't clearly "yes," we weren't ready. Credibility in financial advisory isn't optional—it's everything. We've built Simpla using a retrieval-augmented generation model that grounds every answer in authoritative sources rather than probabilistic generation.

Our knowledge foundation starts with primary sources—the actual text of tax laws, IFRS standards, FTA circulars, ZATCA guidelines, ministerial decisions, and international tax treaties. We maintain separate, country-specific data sets that prevent cross-contamination between jurisdictions, recognizing that similar terms might have different implications in UAE versus Saudi Arabia or Qatar.

But official publications only tell part of the story. Through our work at Oblique, we've observed how tax authorities and auditors actually apply these rules in practice. We've carefully studied their implications and incorporated them into Simpla's knowledge base. This helps bridge the critical gap between regulatory theory and real-world application.

Let me share a practical example. Recently, a client with operations spanning UAE free zones and mainland entities needed clarity on how the new corporate tax substance requirements would affect their transfer pricing documentation. Within seconds, Simpla provided detailed guidance on the specific evidence they'd need to demonstrate economic substance, citing Ministerial Decision 139 of 2023 and explaining its practical implications for their documentation requirements.

Another client used Simpla to navigate the complexities of implementing IFRS 16 for their lease portfolio. The system walked them through the practical calculations for right-of-use assets and lease liabilities, explained the disclosure requirements, and highlighted potential pitfalls specific to their industry.

What makes these interactions valuable isn't just the time saved—though reducing response times from days to seconds matters tremendously. It's the confidence users gain knowing every response is backed by specific regulatory citations and grounded in practical experience.

We continuously refine the system through multiple quality control mechanisms: confidence scoring that flags uncertain answers for human review, feedback loops that let users rate responses, and regular accuracy audits conducted by our financial experts. This commitment to "accountant-grade accuracy" is the same standard that's allowed Oblique to maintain a perfect record in regulatory matters. We've simply extended it to a new medium.

How do you ensure Simpla caters to the different accounting and tax regulations that apply to different geographies? Are there any steps you've put in place to ensure regular quality control?

We obsess over jurisdictional accuracy. While most financial tools treat regulations as interchangeable, we've built Simpla from the ground up to recognize that a VAT rule in the UAE might be fundamentally different from one in Saudi Arabia, even when they appear similar on the surface.

This isn't just about having different databases. We've architected our entire system around geographical precision. When a user in KSA asks about depreciation methods under IFRS, they get guidance that incorporates IFRS, ZATCA and SoCPA regulations. When a UAE business asks about tax groups, they get answers specific to Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 in the UAE.

Our approach has three pillars that work together seamlessly. First, we've built jurisdiction-specific knowledge silos that prevent cross-contamination of regulatory frameworks. Second, we maintain a dedicated team that continuously monitors regulatory changes across all six GCC countries we serve, ensuring our system reflects even the most recent ministerial decisions or FTA circulars. Third, we've developed a verification system that tags every response with its regulatory foundation and provides direct links to source documentation.

But we didn't stop there. We've implemented a rigorous quality control system that would make the most meticulous auditor proud. Every single response from Simpla undergoes confidence scoring, with lower-confidence answers automatically flagged for expert review. Our team runs weekly accuracy audits across all jurisdictions, systematically testing edge cases and regulatory intersections. And we've built feedback loops directly into the platform, allowing users to immediately flag any guidance they question - with each negative rating triggering instant review by our experts at Oblique.

This obsession with accuracy is why we've maintained the same perfect record in regulatory matters that made Oblique Consult successful. We're not interested in being a generic AI tool that occasionally gets things wrong. We're building a system that finance professionals can stake their reputations on - because we've staked ours on it.

According to you, is AI the future of financial advisories? How can the human touch still be maintained within such a landscape?

The question isn't whether AI is the future of financial advisory - it's how quickly the transformation will happen and who will lead it.

What we're witnessing is a fundamental reimagining of the entire advisory landscape. Traditional models where businesses wait days for expert guidance on time-sensitive questions are becoming obsolete. But that doesn't mean human expertise is becoming obsolete - quite the opposite. We've found that AI excels at tasks humans find tedious but crucial: instantly processing thousands of pages of regulations, identifying patterns across jurisdictions, and delivering consistent guidance on common scenarios. But AI alone can't replicate the strategic thinking that comes from decades of experience navigating complex financial challenges.

The future isn't AI or human expertise - it's a profound synergy between them. At Simpla, we're not trying to replace human advisors. We're liberating them from repetitive tasks so they can focus on what humans do best: strategic thinking, creative problem-solving, and building relationships of trust. Think about how the introduction of calculators transformed mathematics. They didn't eliminate the need for mathematicians - they allowed mathematicians to tackle more complex problems. We're doing the same for financial advisory.

This synergy is why Simpla and Oblique Consult operate as complementary forces. Simpla handles the immediate, knowledge-based queries that previously consumed our consultants' time, while our human experts at Oblique focus on complex strategic challenges that require nuanced judgment and industry experience. What excites me most is how this approach democratizes access to expertise. Small businesses that previously couldn't afford top-tier advisory can now access sophisticated guidance through Simpla, while still having the option to engage human advisors for their most complex challenges. We're not replacing the human touch - we're extending its reach. The companies that thrive in this new landscape will be those that embrace AI not as a replacement for human expertise, but as a powerful tool that amplifies it. At Simpla, we're not just adapting to this future - we're creating it.

What has been the most challenging aspect of building Simpla, and how did you overcome it?

The hardest challenge we faced wasn't technical—it was psychological. When we started building Simpla, we had to confront a fundamental question: could we create an AI system that delivered financial advice we'd personally stake our reputations on? Most AI systems out there are built with an acceptable margin of error. That might work for recommending movies or generating marketing copy, but it's completely unacceptable when businesses are making multi-million dollar decisions based on your advice. We needed something radically different.

Early in development, we faced a critical moment. Our system was providing technically correct information but missing crucial contextual nuance that any experienced advisor would catch. The easy path would have been to accept these limitations and move forward with disclaimers. But that wasn't the company we wanted to build.

So we tore everything down and rebuilt from first principles. We developed a proprietary validation architecture that cross-references every piece of advice against multiple authoritative sources. We created specialized training datasets based on the thousands of real-world cases we've handled at Oblique Consult. We built feedback loops that constantly refine the system's understanding of regulatory nuance. The breakthrough came when we stopped thinking of Simpla as an AI system that provides financial advice and started seeing it as a financial advisory system that happens to use AI. This fundamental shift in perspective changed everything about our approach.

We also made the critical decision to design Simpla with human oversight as a feature, not a fallback. Our system doesn't just flag low-confidence answers—it seamlessly escalates complex queries to our team of human experts, creating a continuous learning loop that makes the entire system smarter over time. This obsession with accuracy has paid off. Simpla has now resolved over 12,000 queries with precision that matches or exceeds traditional advisory services, while reducing response times from days to seconds. We've built something that truly delivers on the promise of AI in financial advisory—not by accepting limitations, but by refusing to compromise on what matters most.

Finally, what is next for Simpla in 2025?

2025 isn't just another year for Simpla—it's when our full vision begins to materialize. We're not just iterating; we're transforming what's possible in financial advisory. First, we're expanding beyond the MENA region to serve businesses in high-growth markets globally. We've proven our model works in one of the most complex regulatory environments in the world—now we're taking that expertise to new territories where businesses face similar challenges.

But geographic expansion is just the beginning. We're fundamentally reimagining how businesses interact with financial documents. Imagine uploading an invoice and having Simpla instantly validate its tax compliance, suggest the correct accounting treatment, and identify potential audit risks—all in seconds. Or scanning a complex contract and immediately receiving a comprehensive analysis of your obligations under both tax regulations and IFRS standards, with the system highlighting provisions that might create financial reporting challenges.

We're building predictive capabilities that will transform financial advisory from reactive to proactive. Instead of waiting for clients to ask questions, Simpla will analyze your business patterns and alert you to regulatory changes or opportunities before they impact your bottom line. Think of it as a financial early warning system that helps you navigate complexity before it becomes a problem. Our integration ecosystem will seamlessly connect Simpla with the tools businesses already use—from accounting software to ERP systems—providing real-time guidance within existing workflows. No more switching between systems or manually transferring information. Perhaps most exciting is our collaborative advisory network—a secure platform where financial professionals can share anonymized insights that continuously improve our AI's capabilities. This creates a virtuous cycle where every user benefits from the collective expertise of the entire network.

Unlike typical advisory firms that scale linearly with headcount, or generic AI platforms that lack domain expertise, Simpla scales exponentially while maintaining the depth of specialized knowledge that comes from our roots in hands-on advisory work at Oblique. By 2025, we aim to have Simpla serve as the indispensable financial co-pilot for thousands of businesses across multiple regions—democratizing access to world-class financial expertise and fundamentally changing how companies approach financial compliance and strategy. And throughout this journey, Oblique will continue providing the deep strategic advisory that informs and enhances everything we build.

As we look to the future, we remain committed to our founding principles: accountant-grade accuracy, immediate responsiveness, and practical guidance that businesses can actually use. We're not just building another AI platform—we're reimagining the entire financial advisory ecosystem. The future of financial advisory isn't about choosing between human expertise and technological efficiency—it's about creating something more powerful than either could achieve alone. That's what we're building at Simpla, and 2025 is just the beginning.