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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.
Budget 2012: Exporting our way to prosperity
Despite our geographic isolation, New Zealand does have a fundamental advantage to our domestic blues, through our exports.
Having moved New Zealand’s economy wholly into the global market some years ago, the productive sector has become a key factor in the health and well-being of our country through growing the economy and enhancing the welfare of New Zealanders. Such a market place positioning also means that New Zealand is highly susceptible to the vagaries of international markets. We only have to look at the last few years to confirm that, in some respects, no matter what we do domestically, we are too small to make a real impact on global events and instead must ride the wave of uncertainty in foreign markets, economies and finances.
Despite our geographic isolation, New Zealand does have a fundamental advantage to our domestic blues, through our exports.
The strength of world-wide commodity prices has been the saviour of the New Zealand economy since the GFC in 2008, as it has sheltered the real impact on New Zealanders of world events. However, recent drops in world commodity prices, which have not been offset by an adjustment to foreign exchange rate changes, reflect our susceptibility in this area as well.
While our relative remoteness provides benefits in isolating us from a tag-along effect of being close to poorly performing economies, the cost of delivering to foreign markets and the increased focus on carbon footprints means our exporters are operating at a distinct disadvantage to foreign competitors.
Our advantage until now has been the efficiency of our operations, in some part driven by the propensity of New Zealanders taking up new technology, and a market driven efficiency through a lack of government incentives to hide poor performance.
This advantage will not last long, and the globalisation of business and technology is squeezing the timing delay before other economies and businesses catch up with New Zealand.
The problem has been exacerbated over recent years through a general lack of investment in the productive sector, through an over-investment in the property sector, and a drop in productivity. This has been highlighted in the Tax Savings Working report earlier this year, which strongly advocated a policy shift to ease the exposure to worldwide volatility and create an environment for savings.
The Green Party have more recently focussed squarely on a lack of capital gains tax as the reason for the obsession with the property sector, linking it to a turn away from the productive sector from which New Zealanders have earned their income.
It is clear that productivity gains and an improvement in our export sector will deliver greater wealth to New Zealand.
The Government has made moves along this path, recognising that a structural change to policy and business is required to fundamentally make a difference. While it has until now been “tinkering around the edges”, the 2012 Budget provides the platform for the fundamental changes.
Already we have seen moves towards change in government department inputs and structures with a desire to move more towards effective outputs through innovation. The recent welfare changes are also intended to remove the incentive to rely on long-term welfare.
What the export sector needs is:
- Greater certainty relating to foreign exchange, something which is not easy to achieve, but which interest rate management in the short-term may facilitate
- Investment in technology to enhance efficiency and international competitiveness
- Investment in training to ensure the skills shortage is addressed
- Enhancement of the economic relationships between Australia and New Zealand to make it easier to do business with our largest trading partner
- A reduction in government bureaucracy and red tape to enable more time to be spent on wealth generating activities
- Certainty for our foreign trade delegates in their roles and desired outcomes as they act as our advocates overseas
- Enhancement of our foreign tax rules to ensure New Zealand business stays in New Zealand to drive our export growth, rather than shifting New Zealand businesses offshore
- A policy focus on productive businesses rather than non-productive activities for wealth generation
What we need to see from the Government in the 2012 Budget is detailed development of these initiatives to drive our export-led growth, which will in turn provide further insulation from the vagaries of internal markets, economies and finances.
Further enquiries, please contact:
Greg Thompson
Partner, Tax
T +64 (0)4 495 3775
M+64 (0)21 281 7332
E greg.thompson@nz.gt.com