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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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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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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
Our team is led by cloud business experts who tailor services to the needs of your organisation, from strategy and implementation to ongoing services assurance.
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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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Organisational & cultural change
The key to sustainable and future growth is a unified organisation operating within a strong cultural context, where transparency and communication are the priority for Kaimahi, and where visible leadership means walking the talk – but where does that journey begin?
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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.
A tax friendly rebuild
The blueprint that was released recently for the rebuild of central Christchurch is a bold, ambitious and exciting plan. Once achieved, it will represent a significant change to the way we live, work and play “in town”. While the outline has been described as visionary (one commentator hopes a natural catastrophe will visit his city so that it would get a similar revamp), the devil will be in the detail.
Of particular note is the inevitable compulsory acquisition of land required to create the designated precincts, including “the frame”, new central library, convention centre and bus interchange. When it comes to the taxation of land sales, a disposal of land “includes compulsory acquisition under any Act by the Crown, a local authority or a public authority.”
The Income Tax Act contains a number of provisions that deal specifically with the taxation of profits from land sales, including:
- Land acquired with the purpose or intention of disposing of it;
- Land acquired for the purpose of a business relating to dealing in land, land development or building;
- Land acquired while the person, or someone associated with them, has a business of dealing in land or developing land, and it is sold within 10 years of acquisition (or within 10 years of completing improvements in the case of a building business);
- Commencing more than “minor” work to develop or subdivide the land within 10 years of acquiring it;
- Major developments involving “significant expenditure” being carried out on the land (regardless of how long it’s been owned);
- Where land is sold within 10 years of acquisition and at least 20% of any profit is attributable to a zoning change or resource consent.
The existing rules contain numerous exemptions for residential land, business premises, farm land and investment properties but they are not uniform and don’t always apply.
Those exemptions are set to be augmented by a special Canterbury earthquake one. Last week, a supplementary order paper was released. Its purpose is to ensure that the provisions dealing with the disposal of land within 10 years of acquisition will “not apply to a person and land or buildings purchased by the Government from the person under…the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act.” That should provide some comfort to land owners who might otherwise be caught by the 10 year rule.
The proposed legislation also provides a number of further tax measures to provide tax relief from the aftermath of the earthquakes. For example, current rules mean that insurance receipts for deductible items (like repairs and maintenance) are income when received; the proposed changes will allow the income to be deferred until it can be offset against the related expenditure. Other measures ensure that the provisions introduced last year for depreciation rollover relief on replaced assets work as intended.
Some of the changes will provide relief from otherwise potentially unfair outcomes. For example, to be able to claim depreciation on an asset normally requires that the asset is used or available for use in earning income. That’s hard to establish if your coffee-machine is still stuck in the middle of the red zone. Such assets will now be treated as available for use – even if the earthquakes mean they’re not.
The proposed amendments range as far as considering the effect of damage to property resulting from the Canterbury earthquakes on the calculation of a multi-national company’s group debt percentage, which affects the ability of such companies to claim interest deductions in New Zealand under the thin capitalisation rules.
When surveying the damage wreaked on Christchurch by the earthquakes, the first thought is unlikely to be “Oh dear, this might hurt my tax position”. These proposed changes, like those already introduced, at least go some way to lessening that particular pain.
Further enquiries, please contact:
Geordie Hooft
Partner, Tax
Grant Thornton New Zealand Ltd
T +64 (0)3 379 9580
E geordie.hooft@nz.gt.com