UPDATES

AI in deals in action

ICAEW’s Corporate Finance Faculty held an AI in Corporate Finance: Theory to Practice webinar last month, welcoming 475 online attendees. The event was chaired by ICAEW head of corporate finance David Petrie.

In the introductory comments, ICAEW president Malcolm Bacchus said: “Over this past year we have seen a step change in the development, improvement and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in all fields. Corporate finance firms have moved from talking about AI to investing in it and using it in practice. While it still presents challenges, it is now being used in almost every field of deal management, due diligence and investment advice.”

There were then presentations by four speakers:

• Jan Chan, transactions and corporate finance partner and AI lead, EY;
• Graham Dotchin, corporate finance partner and head of data analytics and AI, Azets;
• Toby Popplewell, deals generative AI leader, PwC; and
• Kerry Westland, partner and head of the innovation group, Addleshaw Goddard.

Chan spoke about the application of AI in the early stages of the deal cycle, outlining how EY uses AI to predict future trends. He said: “We’ve got a policy of not looking to automate, but to augment our staff and provide the best solution to help our staff work across a number of different aspects of deals.”

Dotchin spoke about preparing a business for sale and how AI can be applied to valuations. He also pointed out the advantages of bespoke or adapted AI software. 

Popplewell outlined the many AI applications around due diligence and how its AI software is revolutionising the process and timescales involved in report writing. One benefit, which he demonstrated, was how to extract particular information from a vast body of documents within a virtual data room. Westland, meanwhile, covered legal due diligence. “The biggest blockers for using AI in law is around accuracy. There have been news stories about ‘hallucinations’ and lawyers citing cases that don’t exist. If we cannot guarantee that level of accuracy then our lawyers won’t use these tools.” 

A recording of the webinar is available here. Last year the faculty launched the AI in corporate finance hub.

Career success: navigating power and politics

Last month, the Corporate Finance Faculty held another career event at Chartered Accountants’ Hall.

The guest speaker for ‘Career Success – Navigating Power and Politics’ was John R Hughes, director of Radical Strategy, a consulting practice that often deals with issues of power and politics in the workplace. He gave ‘jargon-free’ tips for young corporate financiers on how to navigate office politics and achieve their goals. 

Hughes gave practical advice on increasing influence, maintaining integrity and embracing challenges.

Derek Blair, who will take over as ICAEW president in May this year, also gave a short speech.

David Petrie, ICAEW head of corporate finance, said: “I received some very positive feedback from people at various stages in their careers. Everyone took something different from John’s fascinating and carefully considered session.

“And Derek’s speech highlighted to our younger members that ICAEW exists to serve and support them throughout their careers – that message came through loud and clear.”

The free event, which is now a regular in the Corporate Finance Faculty calendar, was attended by a broad range of those in M&A, and involved a lively networking event after the speeches. Details of the next career event will be published in due course.

Middle East Panel changes

Grant Thornton partner and head of financial advisory Salmaan Khawaja has become chair of the Corporate Finance Faculty’s Middle East Panel. He trained as a chartered accountant with EY and in 2003 joined Grant Thornton’s corporate finance team. He spent two years on secondment at the Takeover Panel and joined the Corporate Finance Faculty’s Takeover Code Working Group. In 2018, he was promoted to partner and moved to Dubai as head of financial advisory for the Middle East region. He holds the ICAEW Corporate Finance qualification and has been a member of the Middle East Panel since 2019. 

Khawaja succeeds Richard Dingle, EY partner and head of strategy and transactions for the UAE, who was chair from January 2023. Ajvinder Sahota, senior director in EY’s MENA strategy and transactions team, replaces Dingle on the panel. Anshul Gupta, head of KPMG’s lower gulf deals advisory team, has also joined the panel. Before KPMG he spent 10 years with HSBC.

Honorary fellowship

ICAEW’s head of corporate finance, David Petrie, has been appointed as an Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Finance at Bayes Business School, University of London. The appointment runs for an initial three-year period to 28 February 2028. In being given the role, he has been sponsored by Dr Naaguesh Appadu, who for 15 years has been a researcher in the M&A Research Centre at Bayes Business School.

The voluntary role will involve contribution to the university’s academic work, including research, seminars, collaborations, mentoring, networking and providing expert advice.

“It really is an honour to be appointed to this role and I’d like to thank Naaguesh for sponsoring me, as well as Professor Scott Moeller, the director of the M&A Research Centre,” said Petrie. “Apart from being very interesting for me personally, it will enhance the strong relationship we at the faculty have built with the M&A Research Centre over two decades now. The research produced by the business school into M&A is incredibly interesting and relevant to the faculty and our members. I look forward to having input and directing that for our mutual benefit.

CONSULTATIONS

10-year infrastructure strategy

The Corporate Finance Faculty has submitted comment on behalf of the ICAEW on the UK government’s proposed 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy. In its response, the faculty said it welcomed the development of such a strategy as a “joined-up plan was essential to address the legacy of underinvestment in UK infrastructure”. It also noted that “stability will be key to removing the uncertainty that has hampered investment”, specifically requesting that the Spending Review 2025 four-year capital budgets are aligned with this 10-year strategy.

Among the other specific points:

• there is a need for clarity about the government’s priorities for infrastructure overall and by sector;
• budget certainty and planning reform must be used to speed up existing projects;
• risks need to be shared to encourage new investment, while also protecting the taxpayer;
• no return to PFI, but public private partnership arrangements can work if designed well; and
• lessons from the failure of the levelling-up strategy must be avoided.

In preparing its response, the faculty worked with ICAEW’s public sector team as well as many other members of ICAEW.

Business growth service announced

David Petrie, ICAEW head of corporate finance, attended Goldman Sachs’ launch event for the bank’s The Growth Agenda report for small businesses at Lancaster House. Gareth Thomas MP, small business minister, announced a government consultation on the establishment of a Business Growth Service. 

Petrie said: “It was an opportunity to highlight to the minister two things: that better business advice is the key to unlocking more finance for growth; and that targeted fiscal incentives will be required for pension funds if they are to invest in those smaller companies where there is truly a shortage of capital.

The consultation can be viewed here. The faculty will be submitting a response on behalf of ICAEW and faculty members by the deadline of 8 May 2025. Any members who wish to input to the faculty response should email comments to Katerina Joannou by 30 April 2025.