-
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.
Election jitters start to impact NZ business confidence; Australia closes gap
Election jitters in New Zealand boardrooms and a hard-hitting Australian budget have seen the gap in business confidence levels between the two countries narrow sharply over the last three months.
New Zealand business confidence for the next 12 months has dropped 18%, from 88% in first quarter of this year to 70%, while Australia’s has rebounded from 36% to 50%, according to the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) which surveyed businesses in 34 economies. New Zealand confidence levels have been higher than Australia since 2011.
Mark Hucklesby, Partner and National Technical Director, Audit, for Grant Thornton New Zealand said the shadow of the elections is definitely starting to fall on New Zealand businesses.
“I have been in several boardrooms over the last few weeks where the impact of the elections has been discussed. It’s clear that the offshore customers of many New Zealand businesses are seeking views on the likely outcome of our pending election.
“One thing that these offshore customers want is stability. Even though the National Party has a strong majority, the quirks of MMP leave overseas business leaders with a sense of unease which in turn dents confidence among New Zealand business.
“This survey was conducted before the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate rise and I suspect this move has probably further eroded confidence levels given its impact on exchange rates,” he said.
Hucklesby said that despite the drop in confidence levels, New Zealand is still ranked sixth in the world, one place lower than last quarter. India (86%), Ireland (84%), United Kingdom (80%), Germany (79%) and the United States (74%) are ahead of us.
“This is still a very good ranking. If you look at the rise in confidence throughout the rest of the world, especially in Australia where business confidence has climbed to its highest level since 2010, then there is no reason to think that the New Zealand economy will not continue to perform strongly.
“The influence of Australia on New Zealand cannot be underestimated. They are still our second biggest trading partner after China and a buoyant economy in Australia is beneficial to New Zealand. Australia’s strong business performance through the Global Financial Crisis and the fact they did not slip into recession was a real positive for this country.
“I firmly believe that the ruthless budget delivered mid-May in Australia helped their business confidence level. They knew that something drastic had to be done and the budget delivered some tough measures. Also, one should not forget that while their budget figures aren’t great, their economy is still ticking over strongly. Good growth figures coming out of India and China have also helped Australia,” he said.
Other key questions included in the IBR included:
Are businesses in China still predicting slow growth?
While economic optimism remains slightly depressed (30%), business growth prospects have improved
- 47% expect to raise profits (up from 16% in Q1) and 61% expect to increase revenues (up from 31% in Q1)
- suggests businesses are feeling more confident in their own growth potential even if doubts remains in the wider economy over local debt levels
What are the prospects for India following the election of Modi?
Indian businesses are the most optimistic in the world again (86%)
- 93% expect to see revenues climb over the next 12 months, 90% profits
- 76% expect to hire more workers
While their stock markets have increased noticeably, the economies in both Japan and the US have slowed sharply in Q1 - what does the data say about the outlook?
Seems to have little impact on the US which ranks fifth globally for optimism (74%)
- however revenue, profit and employment expectations are slightly down on Q1 but remain well above global average;
- the proportion of businesses concerned about a shortage of orders has also risen from 14% to 22% over the past quarter
- Japanese businesses are less optimistic about the economic outlook (down to 5% from 17%), however this marks the third straight quarter of positive optimism
- despite the increase in the sales tax from 5% to 8%, 15% of businesses expect to increase profits over the next 12 months., up from 1% in Q1
- regulations/red tape has risen 5pp as a constraint to 38%
Why is there such a divergence between developed and developing markets?
The divergence between the performance of developed and developing markets has certainly become more pronounced over recent quarters
- G7 optimism has risen for three straight quarters (53%) due to brighter growth prospects in UK, US, Japan, Germany
- BRIC economy confidence (36%) has slipped slightly since Q1; China confidence remains relatively low (see above) and Brazil (32%) is not receiving the World Cup boost the government hoped for
How has the situation in Ukraine affected the results?
Businesses in Russia are actually more optimistic (15%) in the economic outlook than they were in Q1 (6%) - perhaps they are hoping for a more assertive Kremlin, further evidenced by the conclusion of the Russia-China gas deal
- however, most neighbouring eastern European states have seen big slides in optimism: Poland (down 20 percentage points), Baltics (down 9 pp), Georgia (down 12 pp)
- has not dampened confidence in Europe more broadly (up 6pp to its highest since 2007)
- however, Russian business expectations for revenue (down 42pp) and profit (down 39pp) have dropped sharply
- Poland (down 20pp), Baltics (down c.10pp) have seen similar falls in growth prospects
In light of the European election results, held at the end of May, what messages can be drawn from the data?
Optimism in the EU has risen to its highest since 2007 at 43%
- Eurozone optimism also up 10pp to 35%
- suggests popular discontent with the EU does not extend to businesses
- however, divergence between France (-14%) and Germany (79%) still very evident
- Italian businesses still show little optimism (6%) but Spain continuing to recover (28%)
- Ireland (84%), UK (80%) and Germany (79%) occupy three of top four optimism positions
- all three economies are expecting to see big export growth over the next 12 months
Given the political situation in Thailand, why is optimism so high?
Thai business confidence has risen from -10% in Q1 to 13% today
- businesses like certainty so the military stepping in to take control, with the promise of further elections at least offers more security and an end to the violence
- tourism is important to the Thai economy so greater security should also attract visitors
Further enquiries, please contact:
Mark Hucklesby
Grant Thornton New Zealand Partner and National Technical Director, Audit
T +64 9 308 2534
M +64 21 664 585
E mark.hucklesby@nz.gt.com