The LCN Legal Podcast

What does enterprise AI actually look like in practice? In this episode, Xiaofang and Paul speak with Candy Liu, Strategic Global Account Lead at Microsoft, about how large organisations are adopting AI in the real world. From Microsoft Copilot and AI agents to hackathons, governance, and change management, Candy breaks down what works, what fails, and where businesses should start. They discuss w...

Paul Sutton talks to Robin Hart – a Principal in Charles River Associates’ Transfer Pricing Practice, based in the San Francisco Bay Area – about the current status of Amount B. With an expected start date of 1 January 2025, and many important factors still unclear, it is a very significant challenge for many multinationals. Paul and Robin’s discussion covers: A recap of what Amount B is intended...

Paul Sutton talks to Mick Edmondson, who specialises in the project management of complex cross-border restructurings, including legal entity reduction / corporate rationalisation and digital transformation programs. They look at how to manage large-scale projects so that they deliver the intended results, the different methodologies that are appropriate in different situations, and some of the te...

Paul Sutton talks to Sam Barrett – Managing Director, Americas Operating Model Effectiveness, which is part of the International Tax practice at Ernst & Young LLP – about operating model effectiveness and global value chain projects. What are they, what do they try to achieve, and how can they be implemented successfully? Paul and Sam’s discussion covers: What operating model effectiveness aim...

Paul Sutton discusses the concept of Pareto optimality and its practical application in transfer pricing with Philippe Penelle, a Ph. D. economist with 25 years of TP experience. Philippe specialises in the valuation of intellectual property and the pricing of contractual contingent and derivative provisions. He is a former leader of the Washington National Tax Transfer Pricing Office of a Big Fou...

Paul Sutton and Borys Ulanenko discuss the role of AI in benchmarking for transfer pricing, including the practical problems that AI can address, how AI can help TP professionals to demonstrate that their benchmark analyses are robust, and some common misconceptions around the use of AI. Borys is the founder of ArmsLength. AI. This platform introduces AI solutions to complex tax challenges, stream...

Paul Sutton talks to Sue Bonney, an independent ESG adviser who works with senior people in some of the UK’s largest and most important organisations. In that role she helps business leaders to shape strategic responses to the responsible business agenda and ESG. Paul and Sue discuss: Four ‘lenses’ through which to view ESG issues The right way to approach ESG in order to see tangible and useful r...

The book, ‘Intercompany agreements for transfer pricing compliance: a practical guide’ was first published in March 2019. A revised edition will be published in September this year. Paul Sutton talks about the reasons for writing the original version, the cases and developments since then which have prompted the update, and how the new version will be different. Paul explains: Who the book is for...

Paul Sutton talks to Filippo Miotto, Transfer Pricing Director at BDO Australia, about the transfer pricing aspects of intangibles, particularly in the light of the ATO’s recently updated draft Practical Compliance Guidelines. Paul and Filippo discuss a range of issues around the draft Practical Compliance Guidelines (PCG) issued by the Australian Taxation Office, including: Why intangibles tend t...

Paul Sutton talks to Spencer Ho from RoyaltyStat, which recently became part of Exactera. RoyaltyStat is an industry-leading online database of royalty rates extracted from license agreements and interactive transfer pricing analytics. Paul and Spencer discuss a range of issues around intra-group franchising arrangements, including: a high-level perspective on how franchises work as between unconn...

Paul Sutton and Paul O’Regan discuss the contractual allocation of risk in transfer pricing. The discussion includes an explanation of why functional analysis alone is not sufficient to delineate transactions for transfer pricing purposes; examples of specific contractual clauses that can deal with risk, and how these relate to each other; and three other key factors which must be taken into accou...

Paul Sutton looks at the German Finance Ministry’s June 2023 update to its Administrative Principles on Transfer Pricing. The new version confirms some fundamental points that multinationals and transfer pricing professionals need to be aware of. Perhaps the most important is a very clear and specific position regarding ex ante price setting, and the need for intercompany agreements to be implemen...

Paul Sutton talks to Mark Supperstone, Managing Partner of the corporate restructuring specialists Resolve, about how an office-holder in a formal corporate restructuring process involving a UK entity would look at related party transactions in the period leading up to the restructuring. They also consider what implications this has for group structures, and what practical steps legal entity direc...

Paul Sutton and Paul O’Regan discuss LCN Legal’s 5-step process for creating and implementing ICAs. This has been developed over many years, and is designed to ensure that in a tax audit, the group's ICAs will support its TP position. Paul Sutton explains the firm’s 5-step process for creating and implementing effective ICAs. In the course of explaining each stage in detail, he highlights the impo...

Paul Sutton and Paul O’Regan discuss the profit splits method. Of the five main TP approaches, it’s unique in that it looks at the relative contributions of more than one party, but is it really ‘a method for the brave’? We look at the kinds of scenarios in which this method is appropriate, the role that intercompany agreements play in implementing it, and some of the practical issues around ensur...

Intercompany agreements can have seemingly small defects which can cause serious problems. Our ICA Healthcheck is designed to be a quick and easy way to spot these, as Paul Sutton explains in this episode of The LCN Legal Podcast.   Discrepancies between a group’s intercompany agreements and the transactions as described in its TP documents are an ‘easy win’ for tax authorities when seeking to rai...

An in-depth discussion by Paul Sutton and Melbourne-based tax disputes specialist Andy Bubb. They look at three cases that are currently ongoing in Australia: Pepsi, Singtel and Mylan. For each case, they:   Review the current progress of the litigation Analyse the specific issues in question Identify key learning points for transfer pricing professionals. Want more insights on transfer pricing, l...

An in-depth discussion with Akshay Kenkre, a transfer pricing and cross-border tax specialist based in Mumbai. As India is not a member of the OECD, and has not formally adopted the OECD TP Guidelines, its TP laws and procedures are very different. In this podcast we discuss a number of those differences, including:   India's approach to benchmarking The requirement for a chartered accountant to c...

In 2022, the UK Upper Tribunal’s judgment in HMRC v BlackRock sparked a lot of comment – and not a little consternation – around the transfer pricing community. LCN co-founder Paul Sutton discusses the implications in detail. How the case changes things, and how it doesn’t How the Upper Tribunal’s position differed from the previous First-tier Tribunal judgment The most important implications for...

Target Margin is a frequently used transfer pricing model, and one which particularly lends itself to limited risk distribution arrangements. LCN co-founder Paul Sutton discusses the implications in detail. When Target Margin arrangements are most likely to be suitable The two main options when drafting the pricing clause of the ICA, and how to choose which one to use The importance of looking at...