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Why Grant Thornton
Whether you’re growing in one market or many, looking to operate more effectively, managing risk and regulation, or realising stakeholder value, our firms can help.
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Culture and experience
Grant Thornton’s culture is one of our most valuable assets and has steered us in the right direction for more than 100 years.
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Global scale and capability
Beyond global scale, we embrace what makes each market unique, local understanding on a global scale.
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Join our network
In a world that wants more options for high quality services, we differentiate in the market to grow sustainably in today’s rapidly changing environment.
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Leadership governance and quality
Grant Thornton International Ltd acts as the coordinating entity for member firms in the network with a focus on areas such as strategy, risk, quality monitoring and brand.
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Africa
24 member firms supporting your business.
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Americas
31 member firms, covering 44 markets and over 20,000 people.
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Asia-Pacific
19 member firms with nearly 25,000 people to support you.
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Europe
53 member firms supporting your business.
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Middle East
8 member firms supporting your business.
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Business consulting services
Our business consulting services can help you improve your operational performance and productivity, adding value throughout your growth life cycle.
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Business process solutions
We can help you identify, understand and manage potential risks to safeguard your business and comply with regulatory requirements.
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Business risk services
The relationship between a company and its auditor has changed. Organisations must understand and manage risk and seek an appropriate balance between risk and opportunities.
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Cybersecurity
As organisations become increasingly dependent on digital technology, the opportunities for cyber criminals continue to grow.
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Forensic services
At Grant Thornton, we have a wealth of knowledge in forensic services and can support you with issues such as dispute resolution, fraud and insurance claims.
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Mergers and acquisitions
We work with entrepreneurial businesses in the mid-market to help them assess the true commercial potential of their planned acquisition and understand how the purchase might serve their longer-term strategic goals.
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Recovery and reorganisation
Workable solutions to maximise your value and deliver sustainable recovery.
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Transactional advisory services
We can support you throughout the transaction process – helping achieve the best possible outcome at the point of the transaction and in the longer term.
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Valuations
We provide a wide range of services to recovery and reorganisation professionals, companies and their stakeholders.
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IFRS
At Grant Thornton, our IFRS advisers can help you navigate the complexity of financial reporting from IFRS 1 to IFRS 17 and IAS 1 to IAS 41.
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Audit quality monitoring
Having a robust process of quality control is one of the most effective ways to guarantee we deliver high-quality services to our clients.
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Global audit technology
Our global assurance technology platform provides the ability to conduct client acceptance, consultations and all assurance and other attestation engagements.
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Corporate and business tax
Our trusted teams can prepare corporate tax files and ruling requests, support you with deferrals, accounting procedures and legitimate tax benefits.
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Direct international tax
Our teams have in-depth knowledge of the relationship between domestic and international tax laws.
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Global mobility services
Through our global organisation of member firms, we support both companies and individuals, providing insightful solutions to minimise the tax burden for both parties.
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Indirect international tax
Using our finely tuned local knowledge, teams from our global organisation of member firms help you understand and comply with often complex and time-consuming regulations.
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Transfer pricing
The laws surrounding transfer pricing are becoming ever more complex, as tax affairs of multinational companies are facing scrutiny from media, regulators and the public
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Africa tax desk
A differentiating solution adapted to the context of your investments in Africa.
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Banking Holding banking to account: the real diversity and inclusion pictureWe explore how the banking sector can continue to attract, retain and nurture women to build a more diverse and inclusive future.
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Sustainability From voluntary to mandatory ESG: How banks can future-proof their operationsAs we move from voluntary ESG initiatives to mandatory legislation, we explore what the banking sector needs to prioritise.
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IFRS IFRS 9 - Audit of Expected Credit LossesGPPC releases The Auditor’s response to the risks of material misstatement posed by estimates of expected credit losses under IFRS 9
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growthiQ Steering your company to long-term successHistory has something important to tell us about the difficulties of steering a business to long-term success – through seismic shifts in technology, consumer demands and product development. With that in mind it’s unsurprising that over half the world’s largest companies in the early 1900s had shut their doors by the late 1990s. Some, however, have endured.
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International Financial Reporting Standards Implementation of IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’The auditor’s response to the risks of material misstatement arising from estimates made in applying IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’
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IFRS Get ready for IFRS 17After twenty years of development the IASB has published IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’, find out more.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - Sector analysis Clear patterns of damage from COVID-19 across the industriesThe index results for 12 key sectors of the mid-market reveal just how much or little the various parts of the economy were impacted by COVID-19.
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Not for profit Mission: possible – putting impact at the heart of charityGlobal charitable continues to decline and charity leaders are increasingly looking at their own unique impact journey.
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Access to finance Raise finance to invest in changePrepare your business to raise finance to invest in change.
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Private equity firms Private equity in the mid-market: reshaping strategies for 2021When the global COVID-19 pandemic stormed across the globe in early 2020, the private equity sector was hit hard but deals are coming back to the market.
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Mid-market businesses Getting ready for private equity investmentOur specialists explore how private equity firms are now working with their portfolios and how the mid-market can benefit from investment.
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Mid-market businesses Myth-busting private equityNervous about partnering with Private Equity? We explore some of the common myths we come across when speaking to mid-market businesses about PE investment.
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Public sector Helping build the government of tomorrow, todayLearn about the Grant Thornton US public sector team.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - Sector analysis Clear patterns of damage from COVID-19 across the industriesThe index results for 12 key sectors of the mid-market reveal just how much or little the various parts of the economy were impacted by COVID-19.
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Industries European Real Estate PodcastJessica Patel, Tax Partner at Grant Thornton UK speaks with tax partners and directors across the network to share their insights on the real estate market and some of the challenges.
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Industries European Real Estate PodcastJessica Patel, Tax Partner at Grant Thornton UK speaks with tax partners and directors across the network to share their insights on the real estate market and some of the challenges.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Retail How retail is positioning for successCOVID-19 provided some hard lessons for the retail industry. It is time to turn those into sustainable and well executed growth strategies in 2021.
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Telecoms Can tech and telecom leverage economic headwindsAs most businesses brace for an economic downturn, tech and telecom could see new prospects. But, to turn the headwinds to your advantage, you need to find your unique opportunities and risks.
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Technology Mid-market tech companies lead the way on diversity and inclusionWe explore how the mid-market tech sector can continue to build and nurture a culture that’s increasingly more diverse and inclusive for women.
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Technology Responding to slowing growth: why the tech industry faces a more challenging outlook in 2022We spoke to tech experts about industry trends that could affect companies over the next 12 months and what their short-term strategic priorities should be.
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Tax Resetting global tax rules after the pandemicBusinesses are seeing rising challenges, and finance heads are dealing with a range of new measures. To say the next 12 months are critical for businesses is an understatement.
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Telecoms Can tech and telecom leverage economic headwindsAs most businesses brace for an economic downturn, tech and telecom could see new prospects. But, to turn the headwinds to your advantage, you need to find your unique opportunities and risks.
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TMT TMT industry: Fully charged or on standby?Our research revealed five key trends that resonated with Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) industry leaders around the world. We asked a panel of our experts from UK, US, India Ireland and Germany, to give us their reaction to the findings.
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Cybersecurity One size fits nothingTechnology companies must adopt a new approach to digital risk: those that successfully develop a reputation for digital trust by demonstrating an unwavering commitment to cyber security and data privacy will be able to carve out a competitive advantage.
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Technology, media & telecommunications Why it’s time for a 5G reality checkFigures suggest the mobile sector is maturing. While data usage continues to soar, mobile revenues are expected to flatten out over the next few years.
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International business Mid-market businesses lifted by rising tide of optimismOptimism among global mid-market business leaders rose to 67% in the first half of this year and they are markedly more optimistic about their prospects with global optimism having increased by 8%.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Hotels COVID-19: Checking in with the hotel industry one year onCOVID-19 provided some hard lessons for the hotel sector. It is time to turn those into sustainable and well executed growth strategies.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
- By topic
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Women in Business 2024
2024 marks the 20th year of monitoring and measuring the proportion of women occupying senior management roles around the world.
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COP28: Mid-market firms should seize the opportunity from adaption and innovation
COP28 was the first time there has been a global stocktake on progress against the Paris Agreement.
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Scanning the horizon: Mid-market sets sights on global trade growth
The latest International Business Report (IBR) data shows that mid-market businesses have high expectations for global trade.
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Mid-market businesses less optimistic, despite record numbers expecting increased profitability
A closer examination of the data offers some explanation of this apparent contradiction.
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Women in tech: A pathway to gender balance in top tech roles
Grant Thornton’s 2024 Women in Business data suggests we are far from achieving parity within the mid-market technology sector.
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Women in leadership: a pathway to better performance
What makes the benefits of gender parity compelling is the impact it can have on commercial performance.
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Women in Business 2024
2024 marks the 20th year of monitoring and measuring the proportion of women occupying senior management roles around the world.
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Women in business: Regional picture
We saw an increase in the percentage of senior management roles held by women, on a global level, but there are some significant regional and country variations.
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Pathways to Parity: Leading the way
To push towards parity of senior management roles held by women, who leads within an organisation is vital.
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Generating real change with a long-term focus
The most successful strategy to achieve parity of women in senior management is one which stands alone, independent of an ESG strategy.
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People at the heart of great business
Businesses have started to put guidelines and incentives in place, focused on driving employees back to the office.
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Focusing and developing a solid strategy around diversity, equity and inclusion
Grant Thornton Greece is pioneering a growing set of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives that centre around three strategic pillars.
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Ten considerations for preparing TCFD climate-related financial disclosures
Insights for organisations preparing to implement the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)’s Standards.
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COP28: Mid-market firms should seize the opportunity from adaption and innovation
COP28 was the first time there has been a global stocktake on progress against the Paris Agreement.
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Transition Plan Taskforce publishes its final disclosure framework
As organisations in the private sector make commitments and plans to reach net zero, there's a growing need for stakeholders to be able to assess the credibility of their transition plans.
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Promoting ESG excellence through tax
ESG considerations have never been more important for an organisation’s long-term success, but how can tax be used to add value to an ESG agenda?
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International business: Mid-market growth and expansion
The mid-market looks to international business opportunities for growth.
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Top five constraints to international business in the mid-market
Top five major constraints that are testing the mid-market’s ability to grow their businesses internationally.
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Brand and international marketing – breaking global barriers
Brand has been identified as a key driver of mid-market success when looking to grow and develop international business.
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The key to international business: Investing in people
How can recruitment and retention help grow international business?
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Building resilience in international business
Evolving supply chains and trade patterns amid ongoing global uncertainty.
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IFRS Alerts
IFRS Alerts covering the latest changes published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
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Example Financial Statements
General guidance for preparers of financial statements that supports the commitment to high quality, consistent application of IFRS.
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Insights into IFRS 2
Insights into IFRS 2 summarises the key areas of the Standard, highlighting aspects that are more difficult to interpret and revisiting the most relevant features that could impact your business.
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IFRS 3
Mergers and acquisitions are becoming more common as entities aim to achieve their growth objectives. IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’ contains the requirements for these transactions.
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IFRS 8
Our ‘Insights into IFRS 8’ series considers some key implementation issues and includes interpretational guidance in certain problematic areas.
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IFRS 16
Are you ready for IFRS 16? This series of insights will help you prepare.
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IAS 36
Insights into IAS 36 provides assistance for preparers of financial statements and help where confusion has been seen in practice.
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IFRS 17
Explaining the key features of the Standard and providing insights into its application and impact.
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Pillar 2
Key updates and support for the global implementation of Pillar 2.
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Global expatriate tax guide
Growing businesses that send their greatest assets – their people – overseas to work can face certain tax burdens, our global guide highlights the common tax rates and issues.
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International indirect tax guide
Navigating the global VAT, GST and sales tax landscape.
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Global transfer pricing guide
Helping you easily find everything you need to know about the rules and regulations regarding transfer pricing and Country by Country reporting for every country you do business with.
There may be a storm brewing in some of the world’s largest economies as businesses come to terms with a skilled worker shortage. Are technology and mobility two options for businesses struggling to find talent?
In Canada, the US, UK, Japan and many other established economies, there is a deepening crisis in labour shortage. Businesses are increasingly struggling to attract the talent required to grow. According to Grant Thornton’s International Business Report, 40% of business leaders around the world cited a lack of skilled workers as a growth constraint. In the US, skills concerns saw an 8pp increase to their highest level ever at 38%. In China, concerns also rose 8pp, to 38%. And in Germany, there was a leap of 25pp to 74% in Q2 2018.
In many markets there isn’t a lot of excess capacity in the workplace. Economies are approaching full employment, so we’re starting to see skills gaps reappear as well as the emergence of new ones. Worldwide unemployment has fallen to 5.2%, the lowest level seen in almost 40 years, owing to factors such as lower wages and the gig economy.(i) While the global skills gap is expected to worsen, it’s already having an impact on businesses. Some are unable to grow because they cannot increase the volume of skills they need to expand capacity to produce more goods or services.
Several factors are driving this trend, including an ageing population and declining work-age populations in some countries. Meanwhile, rapidly advancing technology is putting businesses under increasing pressure to acquire the advanced digital skills required to support developments such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation and blockchain technology.
“It’s not just tech-specific roles; the ability to write and understand code is going to be more important in other disciplines as we already see in finance. I don’t think there is a single industry right now that doesn’t need more talent,” says Eric Nguyen, senior manager of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton’s AI practice in Canada. “In Montreal alone, we see a huge demand for AI, and there is a lot of talent missing for engineering, software development and data science.”
See how your region views the skills shortage compared to others
Can technology narrow the skills gap?
Ironically, technology is both a cause and – and at least partially – a solution to the skills gap. The high demand for tech skills is a symptom of what technology can do for businesses. As the demand for skills rises so does investment in innovation and new business solutions. In Germany, for example, expectations for tech investment have increased by 5pp to 49%.
Michel Besner is general manager at Catallaxy, a subsidiary of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, providing blockchain solutions and support for businesses. He says: “Where technology optimises processes by simplifying tasks, demand for some types of jobs disappears.” Other technologies such as Robotic process automation (RPA) and machine learning are also enabling automation and scale opportunities that have not necessarily been there before.
Technology is limiting the impact of skills shortages across most business functions including finance, accounting, marketing and in the manufacturing and logistics sectors. The additional benefit is that while automation and technology remove some of the more basic tasks, existing employees have more capacity to add value in areas where machines can’t.
Automating decision-making processes reduces workloads
“AI is helping businesses now with the skills gap through automation of decision-making and helping human interactions with machines in daily operations,” says Eric. He recently worked with a company’s purchasing function whose team of 20 analysts make hundreds of decisions daily to determine the company’s correct inventory levels.
“With the integration of technology and AI they were able to predict the optimal level inventory for each of their products. They automated the decision-making for which supplier to call, which product, and how much to buy. This automation reduced the workload of the team, and they were able to work on other more complex tasks like looking for new products.”
Reacting to future technology is key to anticipating skills needs
However, for organisations considering digital processes as a response to issues such as skills shortages, the speed of deployment and return on investment is key. Emmanuelle Muller-Schrapp, finance and IT transformation partner at Grant Thornton France says: “The big challenge is to identify sustainable solutions that quickly add value at the right cost.”
While businesses can deploy technology to fill and support specific roles needed today, over the long-term they need an approach that is fully adaptable to emerging technology and its impact on skills.
Mark O’Sullivan, partner at Grant Thornton UK, says businesses should embrace technological advances. “We always say to people who are considering any digital project to try to ignore the scars of the past and to understand that the rules have changed around what a technology project looks like these days and it can be done much more quickly and cost-effectively.
Michel agrees. “Senior managers need to be more sensitive to changes in technology, some ignore the early signals, and when they react it’s too late.” He adds: “Companies also need to work more closely with universities and help them understand what skills need developing, so graduates enter business with the right skill sets.”
Sourcing new international talent
Many businesses are increasingly turning to international workers where much-needed skills are hard to come by locally.
AURAY Sourcing(ii), a subsidiary of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, was set up to provide a turnkey solution to support Canadian businesses in their recruiting and employee mobility needs, thereby addressing their specialised labour shortage. Pierre Lapointe, AURAY Sourcing’s Vice-President, says: “The economy is going at full speed right now, and to fuel that speed, we need to have growing production and therefore more workers.”
Canada is currently attractive to overseas workers. Businesses in Quebec, for example, are sourcing skills notably from French speaking countries as well from countries in Asia, Latin America and eastern Europe and see worker mobility as a valuable means of sustainable production and commercial activities.
However, recruiting in a different country is not without its challenges. Michael Monahan, assistant managing principal of human capital services, Grant Thornton US says: “If you’re working out how to recruit, retain and motivate people across the globe, the challenge of doing it when physically removed from the culture and country is even more immense.”
A strategic approach to recruiting international workers can limit delays
Using a worldwide network of recruiters, AURAY Sourcing focuses on the skills that are most needed locally and are therefore those whose visa applications have the best chance of being approved. But it is a lengthy procedure, and although there is a fast track for some skills, it can take up to eight months for a company that is unfamiliar with the process of recruiting overseas.
Growing businesses are looking for an end-to-end solution that manages recruitment and relocation, all the way through to integration. “This is a key component of recruiting international workers. Integration is essential because you want workers to stay,” says Pierre.
Traditional talent management still matters
While new solutions can be sought to meet demand, learning and development programmes remain critical to skills strategies, particularly as employees recognise the need for life-long learning and keeping their skills relevant.
Keely Woodley, head of human capital at Grant Thornton UK, agrees that education is key. “Providing training for people entering the workforce, as well as for those already there, will help close the skills gap at the medium to high level – and these are the types of jobs that really drive an economy forward."
People, processes and technology are the three areas that drive an organisation. If you align the decisions that are made around technology to your strategy, you’ll make better business decisions. Harnessing technology to develop your skills strategy, to educate existing employees and to find new sources of talent, will together help to address the skills deficit.
For more information about how to develop your skills strategy, please contact Pierre Lapointe, Mark O'Sullivan, Keely Woodley or your local Grant Thornton office.
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(i) Financial Times - Global unemployment hits lowest point for 4 decades
(ii) AURAY SourcingTM is a subsidiary of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton. The service offering is backed by the expertise of its sister subsidiary, AURAY Capital whose team of professionals has over 25 years of experience in helping immigrant investors move from overseas to settle in Québec.