Valter Pinto

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Intelligent Bio Solutions fireside chat. Thank you all for joining us today. My name is Valter Pinto, Managing Director at KCSA Strategic Communications. And today, I’m joined by Harry Simeonidis, President and CEO; and Peter Passaris, Vice President of Product Development. Earlier this month, the company submitted its 510(k) premarket notification package to the FDA for its intelligent Fingerprinting Drug Screening System, seeking clearance from the FDA to enter the U.S. market.

We’re hosting today’s call for management to have an opportunity to provide investors with more detail as to where we stand in the FDA process, more information regarding the data submitted to the FDA and provide a look ahead as to what to expect next. Before we begin, quickly, I’d like to remind everyone that statements made during today’s fireside chat may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Actual results may differ materially due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. For a detailed discussion of some of the ongoing risks and uncertainties in the company’s business, I refer you to the company’s reports filed periodically with the SEC, including its annual report on Form 10-K and for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, and the investor materials under the company’s Investor Relations website.

The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. I want to thank

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It’s entirely possible other governments have been the victim of rogue AI agents.

Former Australian government cybersecurity adviser Alastair MacGibbon told the BBC he’d heard whispers that several others have been notified of similar recent breaches by OpenAI agents.

“Some have chosen to not be public – that’s every government’s choice on how it wants to handle these things,” the CyberCX chief strategy officer said. “The [Australian] government chose a time to release this to gain maximum publicity which is their wont to do.”

Revealing a data breach can of course be a risky strategy for governments – it leaves them vulnerable to criticism that their security systems aren’t up to scratch. But the fact that no sensitive information was leaked put Australia in a stronger position to use the incident.

“Nobody has died,” says the University of Queensland’s associate professor Michael Noetel, who studies AI risks. “This is another canary in the coal mine. This sort of loss-of-control incident, even though it’s minor now, is what CEOs are worried about getting worse over time.”

Though Australia has made a name for itself by taking a stand against social media companies, taking up the AI mantle now is another way for Australia to rein in big tech, says Tama Leaver, professor of internet studies at Curtin University in Perth.

“It’s impossible to say for sure, but it seems incredibly likely that this was very carefully planned.”

SYDNEY — Sydney-based financial planning and accounting firm AGS Financial Group has completed the full acquisition of Hartley Financial and Tax & Wealth, expanding its regional footprint and absorbing established advisory talent amid tightening competition across Australia’s wealth management industry.

The strategic acquisition adds approximately $2.6 million in annual revenue to AGS Group. The deal integrates Hartley’s established client base and operations across three physical office locations—two in New South Wales and one in Victoria—into AGS’s broader multidisciplinary service network.

Geographic Expansion and Talent Acquisition Rationale

The acquisition provides AGS Financial Group with immediate physical hubs in markets where the firm already maintained client relationships and prospective leads but lacked local operational facilities. Under the integration structure, Hartley’s offices in Picton and Sutherland in New South Wales, as well as Parkdale in Victoria, will join AGS’s existing office network spanning North Sydney, Norwest, Hurstville, Miranda, South Melbourne, and Brisbane.

To streamline operations following the transaction, Hartley’s former Mascot office in New South Wales was closed, with existing clients redirected to nearby branches in Picton and Sutherland or offered continuous digital service options. Founder David Hartley is staying involved through the transition phase to ensure operational continuity for long-standing clients.

“What attracted us to Hartley was that we didn’t need to change how they work to make this fit,” stated Paul Bolstad, Chief Executive Officer of AGS Financial Group, regarding the transaction. “They run the same integrated model we do, with planning, tax, accounting, and lending under one roof, and they hold the same values. Their focus has never been the single transaction, it’s the end outcome and the relationship behind it.”

Navigating Post-Royal Commission Talent Shortages

Beyond physical expansion, the acquisition directly addresses structural talent shortages across the Australian financial advice sector. Industry-wide regulatory reforms introduced following the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation, and Financial Services Industry led to elevated professional standards and education requirements, resulting in a contracting pool of qualified financial planners nationwide.

While AGS actively cultivates new advisory talent internally, acquiring established firms allows wealth managers to rapidly expand professional capacity without incurring extended recruitment timelines. By bringing Hartley’s experienced advisers, brokers, and tax specialists into its corporate structure, AGS expands its client servicing capacity while maintaining operational efficiency.

The transition updates the licensing framework for Hartley’s wealth management practice, bringing financial advice operations under AGS’s primary license as an Authorised Representative of Akumin Financial Planning. Meanwhile, Hartley’s existing client base gains access to specialized AGS practice areas, including comprehensive retirement modeling, aged care strategy, estate planning, and self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) administration.

Strategic Objectives Driving the Acquisition

• Absorbing experienced financial advisers, mortgage brokers, and accountants to mitigate industry-wide talent shortages following regulatory reforms.
• Securing established physical office locations in Picton, Sutherland, and Parkdale to support existing local client leads and regional market presence.
• Consolidating operational back-office functions while integrating specialized advisory services across SMSF administration, aged care planning, and risk management.

Industry Outlook and Wealth Management Consolidation

The transaction highlights an ongoing wave of corporate consolidation across Australia’s mid-tier wealth management and accounting sectors. As compliance overheads rise and client demand for multidisciplinary wealth solutions grows, integrated advisory firms are increasingly leveraging mergers and acquisitions to achieve operational scale.

As integration proceeds, market analysts expect mid-sized advisory groups to continue acquiring independent boutique practices. By pairing localized client service models with centralized compliance, lending, and tax infrastructure, consolidated wealth management firms aim to capture greater market share across competitive regional demographics.

Record-high diesel prices are squeezing American farmers during harvest season, raising the risk that higher production costs could eventually hit consumers at the grocery store.

Pivot Bio CEO Chris Abbott joined FOX Business’ Taylor Riggs on “Mornings with FOX Business” to discuss how rising diesel and fertilizer costs are pressuring farmers and threatening to push food prices higher.

High diesel prices are driving up costs for farmers and threatening higher food prices. (Mark Mirko/Connecticut Public / Getty Images)

Diesel prices have climbed to a national average of $6.51 per gallon as global supply disruptions tied to conflicts in Iran and Ukraine strain fuel markets. U.S. farmers depend heavily on diesel to run tractors, combines and other equipment, making the surge particularly painful during harvest season.

NATIONAL AVERAGE PRICE FOR DIESEL HITS NEW RECORD HIGH AMID IRAN CONFLICT

“If you think about the ripple effect of that, higher diesel and input costs mean the marginal acre may come out of production or the marginal investment doesn’t happen. And so you get lower yield. When you get a lower yield, you get [a] higher price. So it can be a vicious cycle as input costs rise very quickly,” Abbott said.

Abbott said stronger corn prices could encourage higher productivity and help soften the blow, but he warned the pressure may not disappear quickly.

“We certainly look like we’re facing higher food prices and higher protein prices for at least a year or so to come,” he said.

PETER SCHIFF PREDICTS ECONOMIC ‘DOWNTURN,’ HIGHER OIL PRICES: ‘I DON’T THINK IT’S OVER’

The fuel crunch is hitting an agricultural sector already facing elevated input costs. Abbott said fertilizer prices are also moving higher as growers begin making purchases for 2027, adding another layer of uncertainty for farm budgets.

“There’s no other solution for our farmers in the United States… We must get the cost of farming and the volatility down, full stop. You cannot argue that,” Abbott said. “And so you need new technology. You need new support programs for growers to adopt innovation, to take that cost down.”

A FRESH MIDTERM HEADACHE FOR THE GOP JUST HIT A NATIONAL RECORD

Abbott also expressed skepticism that short-term restrictions on diesel exports would solve the underlying problem, arguing that fuel operates in a global market and temporary supply controls would do little to address the structural pressures facing producers.

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