Fintech trends in M&A, AI, and income tax

Clayton Mitchell, Kevin Brand, Cody Lewis, David Moncure

In this webinar, our experienced fintech specialists cover the M&A life cycle, changes to income tax accounting disclosures, AI governance as applicable to fintech, and more.

Presenters

Clayton Mitchell, Principal, AI Governance
Kevin Brand, Partner, Consulting
Cody Lewis, Partner, Tax
David Moncure, Principal, Forensics Consulting

Webinar topics

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has developed guidance for insurers on AI use, including a model bulletin adopted in December 2022. This bulletin provides best practices for consumer protection, data privacy and security, vendor management, and transparency.
AI is transforming financial services, with applications in areas such as fraud detection, client onboarding, and investment recommendations. However, implementing AI also poses risks regarding data quality, interpretability, and bias that need to be managed. Companies should analyze their current data assets and governance as a first step before implementing AI-specific governance, and all AI results should be validated and verified by humans. Assessing data maturity can help determine a company’s readiness for further AI investments.
Crypto and digital assets and blockchain technologies are emerging areas in fintech, but they still face regulatory uncertainty. Understanding tax treatments and reporting requirements for crypto asset activities is important.
As fintech capabilities advance, financial services organizations need to consider the competitive landscape. M&As and partnerships can help bridge capability gaps, but cultural integration and talent retention remain challenges.
With rapid fintech change, talent strategy is crucial. Organizations need to reskill employees, attract tech talent, and make roles more agile.
Cybersecurity threats are increasing, especially for fintechs that manage sensitive consumer financial data. Having robust governance, access controls, and incident response plans in place is critical.
Data privacy regulations, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, are expanding in scope, affecting data-handling processes. Organizations need to confirm compliance across geographies.
Tax implications are an important consideration in M&A deals. The structure of the deal can affect the tax treatment. Steps such as conducting tax diligence and involving tax advisers early in the process can help maximize tax efficiency.