Meet KPMG, Platinum Sponsors

There’s not many consultancy firms that can genuinely say they have been involved in the Medtech and Pharma sectors in Ireland since the late 70’s but so it is with KPMG. And although Mary McGinley, Director Tax, can’t claim to have been there since those early days, she has been inspired by what she has seen in recent years….

We caught up with Mary to discover why KPMG has been such a great sponsor of  Medtech Rising over the years and to learn about the kind of support KPMG offers local companies operating in the global Medtech space.

Welcome Mary, can you tell us about the kind of services KPMG offers that are important specifically to Medical Device companies and Medtech businesses?  

Of course – we work right across the spectrum; from multi-nationals through to early-stage start-ups. We also support a lot of Irish privately-held companies; many of these spun out of multi-nationals where entrepreneurs worked and left to set up their own businesses, often founding medical device companies or working with related technologies. But here’s a whistle-stop tour of the kind of expertise and advice we give in the context of Medtech businesses…..

R&D Tax Credits and Intellectual Property incentives

A lot of these businesses are investing in R&D so good advice around optimising tax credits is important. The new-ish Knowledge Development Box relief offering a 6.25% tax rate on income from IP developed in Ireland is becoming more popular with clients and complements the existing tax allowances for IP assets.

Corporate finance and transaction support

We help with fund-raising too, often to acquire new complementary businesses, R&D, expansion into new markets or capital investment. And then there’s the companies that are looking to sell part of the business which may be non-core to their strategy. And of course there’s the clients that are looking for an outright sale of their business to realise the benefits of all of their hard work

Tax Efficient Exits 

For some entrepreneurs, the dream is to have a good idea, develop it to commercial product, secure regulatory approval and to sell the business to a multi-national that has the existing infra-structure to roll the product out globally. Naturally it’s not quite as simple as it seems but we certainly have the expertise to add real value in this context – we can help prepare the business because we know the boxes it needs to tick, help identify potential purchasers, we advise on the sales process and of course we will make sure that things are handled in a tax efficient manner.

Growing International Markets

On the other hand, many of our clients are going for international growth and looking to expand into bigger markets. One of the challenges here is to get the right corporate structure at the outset. Another key consideration is to balance international tax rules with local Irish tax laws – even within the EU, tax regimes can vary considerably. The fact the we are a global firm ourselves is a big help here because we have access to local expertise across each continent yet our clients get a unified recommendation on their tax affairs – that’s a major plus for our clientele.

Regional Employee Support

This global aspect to our own business is also a great support for employees who find themselves moving to a new overseas location; they can tap into our local office and expertise in that region and the advice given is then seamless. There’s a comfort factor in having continuity in terms of advice and support when there’s a lot of growing pains and change going on within an organisation.

 

And how did KPMG get involved in its long-standing association with Medtech Rising?

We’ve sponsored the event for many years and we wanted to be a Platinum sponsor because this really is a flagship conference for the industry in Ireland. Besides meeting prospective clients ourselves, it allows us to facilitate networking between our existing clients – who often end up doing business together. That’s a very powerful opportunity for all of us and it’s great to be able to do that networking in a relaxed, informal way over the two days.

Guide to the Future

I’m based at the Galway office myself which makes the event very handy for me but I should point out that KPMG has offices across Ireland! From my own perspective, this is a really dynamic and inspiring industry to be involved in. I love to learn about current innovations, what medical device companies are doing and so on – the convergence of digital with Medtech is a hot topic right now so I’m looking forward to hearing all about that. And I admire the fact that the people in this business are so passionate about what they do and really feel they are making a difference to the world – making treatments more accessible, applying new tech to improve the quality of life for seriously ill people, giving hope where there was none – it is very  inspirational. KPMG has brought out a guide, Medical devices 2030,  which reflects how dynamic things are – it’s a great read for anyone involved in the business

Walk the Talk!

To wrap up, what I’d like to say in terms of Medtech Rising is that it’s an amazing opportunity for Irish business to get to grips with the cutting edge innovations and Medtech leadership thinking from around the world. This conference is a chance to network now with a view to collaborating into the future. Irish business are so well placed to leverage off each-others’ strengths because not only are we a small community and a hub of excellence for Medtech, we are also generous with our time and sharing ideas and expertise is where it can all kick off.  

It’s not an event I’d miss and I know it’s expected to  book out this year so I’d really encourage everyone to secure their tickets now – and I’m looking forward to meeting everyone in Galway this December.