A new initiative spearheaded by ICAEW’s Corporate Finance Faculty is bringing together leading players across corporate finance to lead the charge against cyber-security threats in the dealmaking world.

ICAEW has established an expert taskforce that rallies the leading professional bodies and representative groups of market participants involved with dealmaking and investment, including representatives from ICAEW member firms, to share best practice across the sector and help mitigate cyber-security risks.

Participants include the Law Society, UK banks represented by trade body UK Finance, the London Stock Exchange, the Takeover Panel, the Association of Corporate Treasurers, and private equity body the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. 

David Petrie, Head of Corporate Finance at ICAEW and chair of the initiative’s taskforce, says the increasingly volatile and fast-moving nature of cyber-security risks has prompted better mechanisms to inform and share best practice.

A guideline produced by ICAEW’s Corporate Finance Faculty – and due to be published on ICAEW’s website later this month – sets out to help advisers, investors and businesses understand and manage cyber risks during a corporate finance transaction, from maintaining secure firewalls, keeping data safe when it is exchanged between parties in a deal and having good cyber-security protocols in place. 

Petrie says the attractiveness of the UK as a place to do deals hinges on a dealmaking environment that is both competitive and secure. An increased focus on cyber security sits alongside efforts to reform audit and corporate governance that aims to boost the competitiveness of the UK on the international dealmaking stage. 

“We’re leading the way in ensuring that all market participants are aware of the threats while seeking to stem the flow of additional regulation that only serves to make dealmaking more difficult. It is extremely important that dealmaking is an investment activity not slowed down by regulatory requirements,” he says.

“The world is an increasingly unstable place. And while cyber-security breaches don’t always make the headlines, the nature of the threats to the transfer of information between businesses and their funders has changed. Confidence in capital markets relies on information around company transactions being kept confidential. So it is extremely important for maintaining the integrity and confidence in our capital markets.”

The official launch of the initiative will take place at a free, in-person event at Chartered Accountants’ Hall on Wednesday 31 January and is open to all ICAEW members and their guests. Attendees will be welcomed by Mark Rhys, ICAEW’s President and the headline speaker will be a leading senior official from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), who will update attendees on the most recent threats. Former ICAEW CEO Michael Izza will join Ian Jeffery, CEO of The Law Society on a panel discussion emphasising the importance of this initiative to members of the accounting and legal professions. 

The cyber-security initiative undertaken by the faculty follows the launch of the government’s National Cyber Security Strategy 2022-2030, which aims to make the UK one of the most secure and attractive digital economies in which to live, do business and invest. 

Earlier this week, the government published a draft Code of Practice on cyber-security governance to help directors and senior leaders shore up their defences from cyber threats. The Code recommends that cyber security should be on an equal footing with other threats, such as financial and legal pitfalls, and directors should set out clear roles and responsibilities across their organisations to boost protections for customers and safeguard their ability to operate safely and securely.

Cyber security is a subject close to ICAEW’s heart. In October last year, the Institute marked the 20th anniversary of global Cyber Security Awareness month with a series of resources addressing cyber security and advice on mitigating the risks.

Ten years ago, ICAEW published its last guideline on cyber security and hosted an event at Chartered Accountants’ Hall, opened by Lord Willetts, the then Minister for Universities and Science. Since then, the changing nature of the threat has prompted the government to establish the NCSC, part of GCHQ. 

• Find full details of ICAEW’s free, in-person event in London on 31 January and book your place at Cyber Security in Corporate Finance: Managing the latest threat.
• Access a wealth of ICAEW resources on cyber security and how to protect your business published by ICAEW in October 2023 to mark the 20th anniversary of global Cyber Security Awareness month.