-
Business consulting services
Our business consulting services can help you improve your operational performance and productivity, adding value throughout your growth life cycle.
-
Business process solutions
We can help you identify, understand and manage potential risks to safeguard your business and comply with regulatory requirements.
-
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.
-
Cybersecurity
As organisations become increasingly dependent on digital technology, the opportunities for cyber criminals continue to grow.
-
Forensic and investigation 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.
-
Mergers and acquisitions
Globalisation and company growth ambitions are driving an increase in M&A activity worldwide. 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.
-
Recovery and reorganisation
Workable solutions to maximise your value and deliver sustainable recovery
-
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.
-
Valuations
We provide a wide range of services to recovery and reorganisation professionals, companies and their stakeholders.
-
IFRS
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are a set of global accounting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) for the preparation of public company financial statements. 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.
-
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.
-
Global audit technology
We apply our global audit methodology through an integrated set of software tools known as the Voyager suite.
-
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.
-
Direct international tax
Our teams have in-depth knowledge of the relationship between domestic and international tax laws.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Innovation and investment incentives
Dynamic businesses must continually innovate to maintain competitiveness, evolve and grow. Valuable tax reliefs are available to support innovative activities, irrespective of your tax profile.
-
Private client services
Our solutions include dealing with emigration and tax mitigation on the income and capital growth of overseas assets.
-
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
-
Tax policy
Tax policies are constantly evolving and there are a number of complex changes on the horizon that could significantly affect your business.
-
Outsourcing Changes to the Outsourcing legislation, specifically when offshoringSignificant changes to the dynamic of the financial services sector in recent years have shifted the paradigms in how we work. The increased digitisation of the workforce, changes in business models, globalisation, and remote working capabilities have led to a new approach to the delivery of services.
-
Asset management Inflation and tax planningThe recent onset of rapid inflation is an unwelcome development that is having a widespread impact on US businesses and tax planning.
Rising exports amongst reasons to be optimistic
Twelve months on from the first Grant Thornton Future of Europe report the situation in the eurozone remains difficult. Growth rates are flat, if not negative, and moves to integrate states more fully through a banking union – in order to break the link between weak banks and weak sovereigns – are not moving as quickly as many would like. The messy bailout of Cyprus and the rejection of austerity measures by the Portuguese courts have renewed fears that the eurozone could break up.
In Spain, we are deeply embroiled in the troubles of the currency union. The economy shrank by 0.8% in the final quarter of 2012 and by 1.4% across the year. Output remains more than 5% below its 2008 peak and is forecast to contract by a further 1.6% this year. The government is trying to reign in bloated state and regional budgets, yet net government debt is expected to reach 84% of GDP by the end of this year, up from 57% in 2011. The deficit is not expected to fall within the 3% range mandated by the European Commission until 2014. Unemployment is touching 27%, rising to 57% for young people – only Greece is suffering more in this regard.
However, I also see some encouragement in the labour market. Spain is undergoing a severe and painful internal devaluation which has seen unit labour costs fall by 10% from their 2009 peak. This is increasing the competitiveness of Spain as a place to do business. The decision of Nissan to invest €130m in its Barcelona plant was based upon agreements with trade unions to limit wage increases and recast working conditions. And Nissan are not the only car giants looking at Spain. Ford, Renault and Volkswagen are all expanding production to take advantage of the low wages which make our country an ideal location from which to manufacture and export automobiles.
Given the current necessary fiscal adjustments, domestic demand is not going to get Spain growing again, at least not in the short to medium-term. I am therefore encouraged by the increasingly global outlook of our businesses. Data from The Economist suggests that the number of exporting businesses increased to 130,247 in 2012, 28.4% higher than in 2008. Moreover, despite weak regional and global demand, figures from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness suggest Spanish merchandise export earnings stand 20.3% higher than they did in 2007. This compares very favourably to the much-vaunted German export machine which saw an increase of just 13.7% over the same period. And all the while, Spain is reducing its dependence on its neighbours: the share of merchandise exports to the EU fell to 62.8% in 2012, down from 70.7% in 2008. Our current account deficit has been slashed to just 0.8% and I expect it to climb into surplus in the short term.
To suggest that globalisation is the answer to all of Spain’s woes is too simplistic. Many challenges remain before growth and jobs return to the economy. And the solution for many of them will require further difficult negotiations between EU members. However, where others see a crisis, we at Grant Thornton see an opportunity. Spain is a great country, a fact our most dynamic business leaders are exporting all over the world every day.
See our unique take on the eurozone crisis which has now been viewed more than 1.3m times on YouTube.
José María Fernández is Managing partner of Grant Thornton Spain.