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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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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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TECHNOLOGY International tax reform: the potential impact on the technology industryIn this article, we’ve summarised key elements of the global tax reform proposals, their potential impact on technology industry and advice from our digital tax specialists on what technology companies can do to prepare.
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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 sees business optimism reach record high
Grant Thornton's latest International Business Report (IBR) sees optimism among mid-market business leaders reach a record high with 74% optimistic about the outlook for their economy over the next 12 months.
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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
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.
“Governments and people want businesses to pay their fair share of tax. This goes to the heart of the 1% versus 99% debate that has gathered pace in the wake of the global financial crisis and subsequent COVID 19 pandemic,” says Vikas Vasal, global head of tax, Grant Thornton International.
“The global minimum tax ushered in by OECD Pillar 2 is the most decisive stage of policymakers' response to this public pressure. It’s not just the ambition of Pillar 2 that is so significant, but also the international consensus that surrounds it, with over 130 countries agreeing to implement the new measures.”
What is Pillar 2 and why does it matter?
Pillar 2 imposes a minimum 15% corporate tax on multi-national enterprises (MNEs) with over €750 million in global turnover. As such, Pillar 2 aims to end what US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has described as the 'race to the bottom' on corporate tax rates worldwide. By requiring ‘top-up’ taxes where the effective tax rate (ETR) of a multinational enterprise (MNE) in a jurisdiction is below the 15% threshold. Pillar 2 would also make it much harder to minimise tax by recording profits in low tax jurisdictions and costs in high tax counterparts.
OECD Pillar 2 runs alongside Pillar 1, which requires qualifying businesses to register and pay tax where they create value rather than just where they have a physical presence, including e-commerce sales initiated outside the jurisdiction. Crucially, the qualifying turnover for Pillar 2 is much lower than Pillar 1 (€750 million as opposed to €20 billion), bringing thousands of companies into the net.
How much tax each business pays and where they pay it could change under Pillar 2, in some cases quite significantly. The big question is how much and where. The only way to answer this is to assess the impact on the specific business. This in turn requires the capabilities to make what is likely to be a complex enterprise-wide evaluation.
Why the delays to enacting Pillar 2?
Agreement in principle is one thing. Enacting Pillar 2 in national legislation and applying it in practice is another. Even with the latest OECD guidelines (Model Rules), there is considerable room for variations in interpretation and implementation in different jurisdictions. The complexities of imposing a globally binding minimum tax rate across multiple jurisdictions, subsidiaries and affiliates are heightened by the changing priorities emanating from rising inflation and the current geo-political situation.
Six reasons why businesses should act now on Pillar 2
With the introduction of Pillar 2 delayed, why should businesses act now rather than waiting? Early preparation could provide valuable competitive advantages ranging from strengthening the brand reputation to more informed operational planning and better understanding and control of costs. Conversely, doing nothing could increase the costs and exacerbate the risks.
1. Tax is under the spotlight
With tax contributions and fairness in the public’s sights, a last-minute approach to Pillar 2 implementation could make it harder to evaluate, communicate and manage the potential reputational risks surrounding how much tax the business pays and where.
2. It’s going to disrupt the cost base
Respondents in our IBR survey expect their effective tax rate (ETR) to rise by 4.6% on average. This is an unprecedented jump, adding to the pressures of already rising costs.
With tax making up such a significant proportion of costs, it’s important to run detailed forecasts of jurisdictional and group-wide impacts, how this can be managed and how to begin communicating this to boards, investors and other key stakeholders.
3. It’s a massive task
With little more than a year before Pillar 2 comes into force in some jurisdictions, the clock is ticking.
Most of the respondents in our survey are confident that they can cope with the demands. But as we’ve found in our work with a range of different businesses on Pillar 2, the more they delve into the detail and seek to apply the model rules to their particular operations, the more they recognise the complexities of implementation and ongoing compliance. Key hurdles include a new global tax return drawing on data that may never have been collected before (eg from each jurisdiction rather than just division).
“Allowing implementation planning and execution to slip is a significant risk, especially if the business is forced to throw in huge amounts of extra resources in a last-minute bid to get over the line in time. What’s also clear is that reliance on people and spreadsheets to meet the compliance burden is unfeasible. Implementation requires a major step-up in data sourcing, process automation and integration of tax into enterprise resource planning systems, all of which takes time,” says Christina Busch, partner and head of international tax, Grant Thornton Germany.
4. Restructuring needs to take account of Pillar 2
As business models change and operational relocation and restructuring gather pace, Pillar 2 needs to be an integral part of scenario evaluation and strategic planning. Without this, unforeseen costs could derail plans – we explore the strategic implications of Pillar 2 in the next article in this series.
5. The delays are creating a vacuum of uncertainty and risk
While some countries are delaying, others are keen to press ahead. In the UK, legislation introducing Pillar 2 will be implemented in the coming Finance Act. The Netherlands has recently published a draft bill on Pillar 2 called 'Minimum Tax Rate Act 2024', inviting input from different stakeholders. Germany has announced that draft legislation will be available within the first quarter 2023, and that it would be prepared to implement its interpretation of Pillar 2 unilaterally, rather than waiting for agreement among the other EU member states.
The more jurisdictions go it alone, the greater the uncertainty and complexity of tax management across the different markets in which the business operates. For example, it’s conceivable that some countries might impose a lower qualifying threshold for minimum tax than the OECD Model Rule €750 million. It’s therefore important to be ready for what looks set to be a confusing patchwork of different local rules before Pillar 2 finally fills the vacuum.
6. No escape
Ultimate parent entities (UPEs) in countries that delay or choose not to introduce some form of Pillar 2 would still feel the impact in the dozens of jurisdictions that do, putting them at risk of tax disputes, double taxation and litigation.
Get up to speed on Pillar 2
Far from being a welcomed pause, pushing back the deadlines on Pillar 2 could actually create more risk and more work down the line. Acting now not only paves the way for smoother and more cost-effective implementation, but also a more joined-up approach to tax that builds it into the overall business and tax strategy.
In the next article is this series, we look at how Pillar 2 fits into the wider shake-up in business and operating models worldwide. We round off the series with a five-point action plan that businesses can begin executing now.
For support on Pillar 2 implementation, contact your local Grant Thornton team, or one of the contributors below.
Those with the confidence, agility and knowhow to build operational and business model changes, required by Pillar 2 and other international tax changes, into their wider business strategy will increase resilience and minimise disruption when the changes happen.
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