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Business valuations
We offer expert valuation advice in transactions, regulatory and administrative matters, and matters subject to dispute – valuing businesses, shares and intangible assets in a wide range of industries.
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Capital markets
You need corporate finance specialists experienced in international capital markets on your side if you’re buying or selling financial securities.
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Complex and international services
Our experience of multi-jurisdictional insolvencies coupled with our international reputation allows us to deliver the best possible outcome for all stakeholders.
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Corporate insolvency
Our corporate investigation and recovery teams can help you manage insolvency situations and facilitate the best outcome.
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Debt advisory
An optimal funding structure for your organisation presents unprecedented opportunities, but achieving this can be difficult without a trusted advisor.
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Expert witness
Our expert witnesses analyse, interpret, summarise and present complex financial and business-related issues which are understandable and properly supported.
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Financial models
A sound financial model will help you understand the impact of your decisions before you make them. Talk to us about our user-friendly models.
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Forensic and investigation services
We provide investigative accounting and litigation support services for commercial, matrimonial, criminal, business valuation and insurance disputes.
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Independent business review
Is your business viable? Will it remain viable in the future? A thorough independent business review can help your organisation answer these fundamental questions.
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IT forensics
Effective ESI analysis is integral to the success of your business. Our IT forensics experts have the technical expertise to identify, preserve and interrogate electronic data.
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Mergers and acquisitions
Grant Thornton provides strategic and execution support for mergers, acquisitions, sales and fundraising.
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Raising finance
Raising finance - funders value partners who can deliver a robust financial model, a sound business strategy and rigorous planning. We can guide you through the challenges that these transactions can pose and help you build a foundation for long term success once the deal is done.
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Relationship property services
Grant Thornton offers high quality independent advice on the many financial issues associated with relationship property from considering an individual financial issue to all aspects of a complex settlement.
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Restructuring and turnaround
Grant Thornton’s restructuring and turnaround service capabilities include cash flow, liquidity management and forecasting; crisis and interim management; financial advisory services to companies and parties in transition and distress
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Transaction advisory
Our depth of market knowledge will steer you through the transaction process. Grant Thornton’s dynamic teams offer range of financial, commercial and operational expertise.
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Virtual asset advisory
Helping you navigate the world of virtual currencies and decentralised financial systems.
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Corporate tax
Grant Thornton can identify tax issues, risks and opportunities in your organisation and implement strategies to improve your bottom line.
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Employment tax
Grant Thornton’s advisers can help you with PAYE (payroll tax), Kiwisaver, fringe benefits tax (FBT), student loans, global mobility services, international tax
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Global mobility services
Our team can help expatriates and their employers deal with tax and employment matters both in New Zealand and overseas. With the correct planning advice, employee allowances and benefits may be structured to avoid double taxation and achieve tax savings.
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GST
GST has the potential to become a minefield and can be expensive when it goes wrong. Our technical knowledge can help you minimise the negative impact of GST
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International tax
International tax rules are undergoing their biggest change in a generation. Tax authorities around the world are increasingly vigilant, especially when it comes to global operations.
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Research and Development
R&D tax incentives are often underused and misunderstood – is your business maximising opportunities for making claims?
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Tax compliance
Our advisers help clients manage the critical issue of compliance across accountancy regulations, corporation law and tax. We also offer business and wealth advisory services, which means we can provide a seamless and tax-effective offering to our clients.
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Tax governance
Mitigate tax risks and implement best practice governance that will stand up to IRD scrutiny and audits.
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Transfer pricing
Tax authorities are demanding transparency in international arrangements. We businesses comply with regulations and use transfer pricing as a strategic planning tool.
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Audit methodology
Our five step audit methodology offers a high quality service wherever you are in the world and includes planning, risk assessment, testing internal controls, substantive testing, and concluding and reporting
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Audit technology
We apply our audit methodology with an integrated set of software tools known as the Voyager suite. Our technology has been developed to produce quality audits that are effective and efficient.
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Financial reporting advisory
Our financial reporting advisers have the expertise to help you deal with the constantly evolving regulatory environment.
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Business architecture
Our business architects help businesses with disruptive conditions, business expansion and competitive challenges; the deployment of your strategy is critical to success.
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Cloud services
Leverage the cloud to keep your data safe, operate more efficiently, reduce costs and create a better experience for your employees and clients.
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Internal audit
Our internal audits deliver independent assurance over key controls within your riskiest processes, proving what works and what doesn’t and recommending improvements.
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IT advisory
Our hands on product experience, extensive functional knowledge and industry insights help clients solve complex IT and technology issues
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IT privacy and security
IT privacy and security should support your business strategy. Our pragmatic approach focuses on reducing cyber security risks specific to your organisation
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Payroll assurance
Our specialist payroll assurance team can conduct a review of your payroll system configuration and processes, and then help you and your team to implement any necessary recalculations.
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PCI DSS
Our information security specialists are approved Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) that have been qualified by the PCI Security Standards Council to independently assess merchants and service providers.
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Process improvement
As your organisation grows in size and complexity, processes that were once enabling often become cumbersome and inefficient. To maintain growth, your business must remain flexible, agile and profitable
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Procurement/supply chain
Procurement and supply chain inputs will often dominate your balance sheet and constantly evolve for organisations to remain competitive and meet changing customer requirements
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Project assurance
Major programmes and projects expose you to significant financial and reputational risk throughout their life cycle. Don’t let these risks become a reality.
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Risk management
We understand that growing companies need to establish robust internal controls, and use information technology to effectively mitigate risk.
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Robotic process automation (RPA)
RPA is emerging as the most sophisticated form of automation used to help businesses become more agile and remain competitive in the face of today’s ongoing digital disruption.
Here in New Zealand, we still only have a few known cases of coronavirus, which is encouraging. However, the economic symptoms of COVID-19 are likely to be extremely widespread – and they may be just as tough to recover from. This outbreak has highlighted just how dependent our economy is on the rest of the world, both in terms of our export market and how much of our product is sourced from and manufactured offshore.
There has been a noticeable increase in anxiety levels throughout the business community in recent weeks. For businesses which run on tight margins, especially in the worst-affected industries, this is going to be an extremely challenging year. There is a sense of imminent complications for all businesses: large and small, international or domestic.
Being squeezed in three directions
Cashflow is the lifeblood of every business, but keeping it flowing could become a lot tougher in the months ahead. As the economy slows down, businesses are likely to have pressure applied in three key areas:
- Buying supplies is soaking up cash. Businesses are concerned they will run out of essential products, so they’ve been buying-up large at full price or even at inflated prices. Some exporters sent goods overseas weeks ago, but the products haven’t yet ‘landed’ or been cleared due to various restrictions and quarantines happening in those countries. Stock levels are also becoming dangerously low as factories are shutdown or operating at a reduced capacity. They are looking for alternative suppliers, but this takes time and normally an increased cost. Often payment is required up front with these new relationships as well. The impact on their working capital is considerable.
- Sales are down. Hospitality clients have been the worst affected so far, but this will ripple outward across almost every sector of the economy. Less cash coming in means it’s tougher to pay staff and suppliers.
- Clients will be slower to pay. This can become a chain reaction: your clients are late paying you, so you don’t have the money to pay your suppliers on time, and so on. It is incredibly important to stay on top of your work in progress and debtor situation.
All this is happening at the worst time of year for many businesses – coming off the holiday period with reduced trading days and right before the year’s biggest tax burden is due.
What help is available?
Talk to your bank
The Reserve Bank has implemented a regulatory initiative to defer new bank capital rules by a year. This will reduce the burden on financial institutions at this time of uncertainty, but also give banks the headroom to lend around $47 billion more than expected during a global incident like this.
The banks themselves are saying they will look for ways to support cash-strapped businesses, including temporary interest-only repayments, restructuring or increasing business loans and loan consolidation. It is important that these are options are explored sooner rather than later to increase the cash “headroom” for your business.
Government support
The Government’s $12.1b stimulus package for New Zealand businesses is significant; it’s worth 4% of GDP, and is bigger than the packages provided in Australia and the UK on a per capita basis.
As anticipated, to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, the package includes wage subsidies and a cash injection for the health sector; here are the key points businesses needs to be aware of:
Wage subsidies: a $5.1b wage subsidy scheme has been put in place, which pays a lump sum of up to $150,000 to employers - $350 per week per part time worker, and $585.80 per week per full time worker from today. To qualify for this subsidy, your business will need to declare a loss of at least 30% in revenue compared to last year for any month between January 2020 and the end of the scheme in June 2020, and you will need to take active steps to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19 on your business by demonstrating that you have spoken to your bank about your situation. Businesses can apply for this funding now and receive the cash within five days’ time.
Employee self-isolation incentive: to stem the spread of COVID-19 by encouraging workers to self-isolate, $126.5m has been allocated to cover 14-day isolation periods, or an employee’s entire period of sickness. This covers employees, contractors, and the self-employed. The sum allocated for each individual is also $350 per week per part time worker, and $585.80 per full time worker. Employers are still required to meet their current sick leave obligations to employees over and above this incentive.
Tax changes and options
Upcoming provisional income tax to pay? Inland Revenue is offering tax relief and income assistance to those affected by the coronavirus downturn, including re-estimating your provisional tax, early refunds and payment in instalments. You may also be able to get an extension to your filing date for income tax returns, and penalties on late filings for PAYE and GST may be remitted.
There’s also a significant change for smaller taxpayers (residual income tax under $5,000) that would have otherwise been paying provisional tax in the 2020-21 tax year; they will benefit from immediate cashflow as they can now defer the payment of their tax to 7 February 2022. The estimated total of this cashflow is $350 million in the 2020/21 fiscal year.
Outlasting the outbreak
Our Government is well-positioned to support the economy, with surpluses and more ability to borrow than many of our trading partners. The spending will probably start with infrastructure, which generates jobs and improves our quality of life in the long run.
As unexpected as COVID-19 has been, downturns are an inevitable feature of the economic cycle – and we will get through it. This outbreak will eventually come to an end. And if your business outlasts the virus, you should be stronger for the experience.