-
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.
Food and Beverage exports in Europe
Food & Beverage (F&B) executives globally are ready to expand via exports. This is especially clear here in Europe, where in 2013 the EU28 became the world’s top exporter of agricultural and food products, outperforming the United States, Brazil, China and others.[1] Exports also are helped by new technologies that extend shelf life, limiting perishability and maximising profits on exported goods. This is significant in the context of approximately 40% of the US food supply going to waste — some US$165 billion in discarded products.[2] But when evaluating the opportunity F&B executives need to be aware of the challenges they face, such as shifting regulatory environments and new labeling standards.
F&B executives' desire to expand is matched by considerable demand for exports around the world. In China and India, personal incomes are rising and demand for Western goods is growing. For example, most milk consumed in China is ultra-high temperature (UHT) treated – and consumption has risen from 18 million pounds in 2010 to 331 million pounds in 2013.[3] African countries are also joining the demand for more dairy, which is often referred to as riding the protein race. With technological developments to extend shelf-life, these markets are increasingly accessible options for dairy exporting countries. For companies in Europe (there is significant excitement in Ireland) where a decades-old quota restriction is about to be lifted, and in other countries considering less-restrictive quotas, exports like this can be a path to sustainable growth — and profits.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is also generating export enthusiasm. Currently under negotiation between the US and EU, the TTIP has the potential to be the largest free-trade deal ever. It promises to boost export markets on both sides of the Atlantic, and could include harmonisation of food standards. The US market has just opened to Irish beef, and there are further opportunities on both sides, such as American chickens in French markets.
As always, large companies with well-established relationships, infrastructure and export experience will be in a strong position to take advantage of a liberalised export climate. Yet the unique nature of F&B, driven by fast-moving trends, offers opportunities for firms of every size. Small and midsized F&B companies with popular products can ramp-up with outsourced production and quickly have products on tables around the world. These 'mittelstand' firms (the term used in Germany for the companies credited with that country’s economic growth) hold a major advantage over larger competitors: agility.
Yet savvy F&B executives will temper their enthusiasm for exports with a dose of caution. Consumers can be fickle, and a product’s popularity can be fleeting. Regulatory challenges can also be daunting, and it's important to conduct due diligence before entering new markets – including some economic forecasting. While the US economy has rebounded, recent news regarding the global economy has been less encouraging: Europe and Japan remain sluggish, and China’s economy is slowing (7.4% growth in 2014, its worst performance in 24 years).[4] But it's not all bad news, and there are some key questions export-minded executives can think about to maximise their chance of success. For example:
- have you accurately estimated potential demand for your products?
- have you done a detailed analysis of export costs, including production, logistics, and merchandising?
- do your products meet regulatory standards? This can involve costly changes to product formulas, raw materials, packaging and labeling.
- can you track and monitor your product's quality and safety, from growers and producers to customers around the world?
Careful F&B executives are reviewing their export plans with knowledgeable advisors and revising as necessary before expanding overseas. Equally importantly, they are partnering with people on the ground in these new markets who have the technical processes and expertise to help them succeed.
To learn more about how Grant Thornton how can help you achieve your international ambitions, download Expanding horizons today.
Ciara Jackson is national leader of food and beverage at Grant Thornton Ireland
[1] 'Agricultural trade in 2013: EU gains in commodity exports,' 2013
[2] 'Wasted: How America is losing up to 40 percent of its food from farm to fork to landfill,' NRDC Issue Paper, August 2012
[3] 'Chinese demand for dairy products spurs US exports,' Food Safety News, 3 December 2014
[4] 'China's economic growth slowed to 24-year low of 7.4 percent in 2014,' US News & World Report, 20 January 2015