More than 200 people showed up yesterday for the Bermuda FATCA Forum, hosted by KPMG.

Following closely on the heels of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act proposed regulations that were released by the US Internal Revenue Service, the interactive session provided insights into the newly released proposed regulations and their Bermuda implications.

KPMG FATCA experts Charles Thresh, Catherine Sheridan Moore, James Berry, Will McCallum and Mindy Schmidt led the discussion, with participation on the Q&A panel by John Foxon of HSBC, considering the operational impact that the IRS guidelines might have on the investments, banking, fund administration, trust and insurance industries in Bermuda.

Discussion covered a wide range of topics, including who should own a Bermuda company’s FATCA programme; which aspects of a company’s business model should be reviewed or changed; which key business players should be involved in implementations; and, sign-off issues.

KPMG discussed its three-phase methodology for delivering a structured approach towards FATCA compliance.

The panel agreed that the time for Bermuda companies to act on FATCA is now.

Useful website: www.kpmg.bm/fatca