-
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.
-
Capital markets
You need corporate finance specialists experienced in international capital markets on your side if you’re buying or selling financial securities.
-
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.
-
Corporate insolvency
Our corporate investigation and recovery teams can help you manage insolvency situations and facilitate the best outcome.
-
Debt advisory
An optimal funding structure for your organisation presents unprecedented opportunities, but achieving this can be difficult without a trusted advisor.
-
Expert witness
Our expert witnesses analyse, interpret, summarise and present complex financial and business-related issues which are understandable and properly supported.
-
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.
-
Forensic and investigation services
We provide investigative accounting and litigation support services for commercial, matrimonial, criminal, business valuation and insurance disputes.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Mergers and acquisitions
Grant Thornton provides strategic and execution support for mergers, acquisitions, sales and fundraising.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
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.
-
Virtual asset advisory
Helping you navigate the world of virtual currencies and decentralised financial systems.
-
Corporate tax
Grant Thornton can identify tax issues, risks and opportunities in your organisation and implement strategies to improve your bottom line.
-
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
-
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.
-
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
-
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.
-
Research and Development
R&D tax incentives are often underused and misunderstood – is your business maximising opportunities for making claims?
-
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.
-
Tax governance
Mitigate tax risks and implement best practice governance that will stand up to IRD scrutiny and audits.
-
Transfer pricing
Tax authorities are demanding transparency in international arrangements. We businesses comply with regulations and use transfer pricing as a strategic planning tool.
-
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
-
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.
-
Financial reporting advisory
Our financial reporting advisers have the expertise to help you deal with the constantly evolving regulatory environment.
-
Business architecture
Our business architects help businesses with disruptive conditions, business expansion and competitive challenges; the deployment of your strategy is critical to success.
-
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.
-
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.
-
IT advisory
Our hands on product experience, extensive functional knowledge and industry insights help clients solve complex IT and technology issues
-
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
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
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
-
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.
-
Risk management
We understand that growing companies need to establish robust internal controls, and use information technology to effectively mitigate risk.
-
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.
What are the professional attributes that relationship property lawyers look for most in their forensic accountant? The latest New Zealand Relationship Property Survey by Grant Thornton and the New Zealand Law Society asked practitioners to list the three most important attributes a forensic accountant should have in giving expert advice in relationship property matters. The findings contain valuable insights for practitioners and experts alike.
The survey findings show forensic accountants (including business valuers) regularly, and increasingly, form part of the team that relationship property lawyers assemble to advise their clients. In the last two years, nearly half (46%) of practitioners had instructed a forensic accountant, up from 42% in 2017.This finding also highlights the team approach many practitioners now take to best advise their clients on relationship property matters.
In that period the most common instructions were for share and business valuations and s15 (economic disparity) calculations, with 94% and 60%, respectively, having given instructions. New Zealand’s economy is characterised by many owner-operated businesses, so it is unsurprising business and share valuations were easily the most common instruction.
Of those lawyers who had instructed a forensic accountant, 65% said that the most important attribute was a good knowledge of relationship property law, which underlines the technical nature of this area. We take this to mean that lawyers want their accountant’s focus to remain on the “numbers”, but numbers that are soundly based on the appropriate legal principles and precedent.
This finding appears consistent with a substantial increase in the use of forensic accountants for the calculation of s15 (economic disparity) claims, one of the more technical and precedent based areas.
The lawyers surveyed also stressed the importance of an independent forensic accountant, with 63% putting this in their top three. This finding strongly suggests most relationship property lawyers are not interested in a “hired gun” but an expert who will consider the issues on their merits and is cognisant of their overriding duty to assist the court impartially on matters within their expertise.
The requirement for independence is also consistent with another survey finding: a significant 11% increase in lawyers who had used a single joint forensic accountant in the last two years. In 2017 only 27% of practitioners had used this approach, jumping to 38% in 2021.
Cost effectiveness was also identified as an important attribute for forensic accountants, again a substantial increase from the 2017 survey results. The 2021 survey covered the first two years of the pandemic, so this might be attributable to budget restraints imposed by Covid-19. It is also important to note cost effectiveness implies value for money and is not the same as lowest cost.
Finally, it is interesting to observe a marked decrease in those practitioners who require their forensic accountant to have expert witness experience. While 36% put this in their top three attributes in 2017, this has now decreased to 21% of practitioners. This may reflect lawyers becoming increasingly comfortable this experience is unlikely to be needed given relationship property cases usually settle out of court. It may also reflect the limited number of forensic accountants in New Zealand with experience of giving expert evidence in court.
