Iain is available for hire
Hire IainIain MacKinnon
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Location
Fareham, United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since
April 1, 2022
Iain is an accomplished professional with substantial international experience specializing in forecasting, debt issuance, capital and liquidity management, tax strategy, and processes and controls improvement. With a reputation for being excellent at communicating with C-suite management and working collaboratively and creatively with all stakeholders, Iain brings significant experience in developing business plans with credible earnings, balance sheets, liquidity, and tax analysis.
Career Highlights
Group Treasurer
HSBC
Head of Tax
HSBC
Head of Tax
Barclays
Education Highlights
Bachelor of Law Degree
University of Edinburgh
Certification Highlights
ATII – Associate of Taxation Institute Incorporated
Chartered Institute of Taxation (UK)
ACA – Chartered Accountant Qualification
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
Case Studies
Expertise
Work Experience
Group Treasurer
2016 - 2021
HSBC
- Maintained revenue and expense projections, cash flows, dividends, and fundraising: throughput above US$ 50 billion per annum. I was effectively the CFO for 50+ holding companies at the top of the HSBC Group.
- Consolidated and improved the regulatory TLAC and MREL issuance program management of $25-30 billion per year, focusing on credit spread management, debt investor relations, currency, and interest rate management.
- Established new daily liquidity systems and processes for stress outflow reporting with a 270-day LCR enhanced outlook and five to six billion calculations a day using Google Cloud-based systems in 50+ countries. Dealt with data privacy issues.
- Delivered significant improvements to the HSBC recovery planning and resolution assessment framework–UK CCAR equivalent–through a major investment program of more than $250 million.
- Upgraded the interest-rate risk management systems (QRM) group-wide to meet and anticipate future interest rate changes, regulatory reporting, and stress testing requirements. The improvements meant re-negotiating.
- Introduced new accounting, forecasting, and reporting systems, with COSO processes and controls for HSBC's parent key holding companies to replace spreadsheet-based methods.
- Presented and maintained new, improved monthly group and business-wide processes and controls for capital utilization forecasting to deliver capital and double leverage.
- Coordinated the capital management of private client life and endowment insurance with banking capital, ensuring that capital funding and liquidity would be available in stress.
- Provided a revised pension risk management oversight of 90+ benefits and defined contribution schemes in the UK, US, Hong Kong, Europe, and Latin America. Successfully enhanced the interest rate hedging program and revised investment strategies.
Focus areas: Treasury & Liquidity Management, Reporting, Taxation, Corporate Tax Planning, Financial Analysis, Pitch Decks, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Valuation, Structuring of Funds, Excel 365, Revenue & Expense Projections, Financial Modeling, Accounting, Fundraising, CFO, P&L Forecasting, Cash Flow Management, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Forecasting, Budgeting, Cash Flow Modeling, Financial Management
Head of Tax
2011 - 2016
HSBC
- Introduced enhanced and simplified tax risk management processes allowing the group to better report and account for income taxes and deferred taxes. Settled many legacy issues to reduce capital requirements.
- Simplified and overhauled the operational tax reporting systems worldwide so that management could improve controls over systems and processes and related reporting requirements. It included VAT, stamp duties, bank levies, payroll, FATCA, and CRS.
- Enhanced group-wide stress scenario tax forecasting and reporting systems linked to capital stress testing and reporting. This involved 5-year outlooks with loss and deferred tax scenarios, bank levy calculations, and disposal gain tax alternatives.
- Streamlined and reduced the number of legal entities in the group from 1500+ to just over 500 in four years, significantly decreasing operational risk, reputational risk, costs, and FATCA and CRS requirements.
- Introduced and enhanced tax transparency system processes and controls like FATCA, CRS, and similar requirements, around client onboarding and maintenance to reduce KYC/AML and reputational risks. This involved close liaison with fiscal authorities.
- Managed and delivered tax advice on a high number of M&A deals, including the disposal of over 50 businesses in multiple countries.
Focus areas: Reporting, Taxation, Recovery and Resolution Planning, Corporate Tax Planning, Financial Analysis, Valuation, Structuring of Funds, Excel 365, Revenue & Expense Projections, Financial Modeling, Accounting, Fundraising, P&L Forecasting, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Forecasting, Budgeting, Cash Flow Modeling, Financial Management
Head of Tax
2007 - 2011
Barclays
- Established clear, simplified SOX level income tax reporting systems, processes, and controls; new VAT and interest withholding SP&Cs. Introduced an enhanced oversight of private and investment bank clients' tax planning structures.
- Delivered significant value on key M&A and issuance transactions: ABN acquisition, $50 billion bid; Qatari fundraising, $7 billion; Lehman acquisition structure, $45 billion on assets; BGI shares $13.5 billion disposals; and more.
- Designed and delivered a multi-jurisdictional tax capacity forecasting system for the investment bank structuring tax team.
Focus areas: Corporate Tax Planning, Regulatory Capital Management, Taxation, Reporting, Financial Analysis, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Valuation, Structuring of Funds, Excel 365, Revenue & Expense Projections, Financial Modeling, Accounting, Fundraising, P&L Forecasting, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Forecasting, Budgeting, Cash Flow Modeling, Financial Management
Partner
2001 - 2006
Deloitte
- Worked on multiple tax-based acquisition structures for a major US private equity group and successfully structured some of the largest private equity deals in Europe–Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and the UK–between 2003 and 2006.
- Delivered significant value on SP&A negotiations on the interplay between price, tax, and tax indemnity: $72 million recoveries on one deal and £5 million on another.
- Managed tax planning and restructuring for US, UK, and European clients, delivering debt push down to mitigate income tax line costs.
Focus areas: Private Equity, Taxation, M&A (Sell-side), Reporting, Corporate Tax Planning, Financial Analysis, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Valuation, Structuring of Funds, Excel 365, Revenue & Expense Projections, Financial Modeling, Accounting, Fundraising, P&L Forecasting, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Forecasting, Budgeting, Cash Flow Modeling, Financial Management
Education
1975 - 1979
Bachelor of Law Degree in Law and Justice Administration
University of Edinburgh - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Certifications
AUGUST 1986 - PRESENT
ATII – Associate of Taxation Institute Incorporated
Chartered Institute of Taxation (UK)
SEPTEMBER 1983 - PRESENT
ACA – Chartered Accountant Qualification
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
Collaboration That Works
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
1
Share your needs
Discuss your requirements and refine your scope in a call with a Toptal domain expert.
2
Choose your talent
Get a short list of expertly matched talent within 24 hours to review, interview, and choose from.
3
Start your risk-free talent trial
Work with your chosen talent on a trial basis for up to two weeks. Pay only if you decide to hire them.
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring