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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.
Charitable industry at risk if standards reduced
28. May 2019Questions raised regarding basic registration requirements in the Department of Internal Affairs’ call for Charities Act 2005 submissions need careful consideration. There are 27,000 charities in New Zealand; they spend $17 billion and manage $58 billion in assets, so a basic level of standards is essential.
The Department of Internal Affairs has questioned whether requirements associated with maintaining registration are actually working. These standard requirements include maintaining charitable purpose, annual reporting, financial reporting requirements, compliance requirements along with considerations around Governance of the charitable organisations. These serve as the safety measures to ensure transparency within the sector and when executed correctly, they function well and serve an important purpose.
The DIA discussion document states many small charities struggle to meet these standard reporting requirements. Current financial reporting is managed under a 4-tier system based on expenditure incurred in the previous two years. Fifty eight percent of tier 4 charities (those with under $125,000 in annual operating payments) successfully met the minimum reporting requirements in 2018 and only 50 percent of all charities filed their returns on time.
Although it might be tempting to do away with a minimum standard for smaller organisations, a better approach would be to further simplify the systems in place that are set up to expedite the reporting process for smaller entities. The reality is that every charity should be able to report how much money it has. Tier 4 reporting requirements are based on ‘Simple Format Cash Reporting’; it’s the most basic level of financial reporting possible and it would be reckless to lower the standards any further.
Kiwis are among the most generous people in the world when it comes to donating either their time or money they have spare to the causes that are important to them. There must be a basic standard to maintain public trust; removing this puts the whole charity sector at risk. If reporting isn’t timely and transparent, then the level of trust the public has in the sector will be severely diminished along with their investment generosity towards these charitable organisations.
Another suggestion made in the discussion document is to challenge the level of reserves and spending funds available; however, there should not be a measure of maximum reserves or donation levels because:
- there is no need for these measures if the organisation is maintaining transparency by adhering to their financial reporting requirements
- a call on cash to make payments may result in non-cash assets being sold to raise cash funds for distribution
- charities could be forced to make donations or payments for projects that otherwise wouldn’t get funding
- no other sector (with the exception of banking) is required to hold a minimum or maximum level of reserve
- to maintain the sustainability of the organisation, it is better to be taking a longer-term view rather than pay out reserves in the short term; this will allow governance to undertake a set strategy and utilisation of funding in accordance with a long term strategy.
There are some limited advantages; the charitable spend would likely increase within the sector and there would be some tier 4 organisations encouraged to use a level of the substantial reserves that they have built up. For example, the top one hundred tier 4 charities have over $800 million in assets, and many are old trusts that have gathered reserves over time and now pay out very little to the community.
An area where standards could improve is governance structure, currently it is questionable whether some organisations’ governance is fit for purpose. Many organisational founding documents haven’t been reviewed in decades or modernised which means in some situations the people being elected do not have the expertise required for the governance position they hold.
An alternative change for Governance we would encourage is to reduce the number of board member positions in organisations. Often, we see clients with an excessive number of board members and consider streamlining the number of seats at the board table would assist in the Boards usefulness to the organisation.
Another question posed in the DIA document is “Do you think the Australian governance standards could be adapted to work in New Zealand?”, is worth considering as a way of improving charity governance. In Australia there are minimum standards charities must meet to remain charitable, operate lawfully, and be run in a way where they are answerable for their actions. A formal leadership structure for all charities would help build a governance resource with depth that can serve both individual organisations and the wider society.
For the charitable industry to have a sustainable future, we must take stock of what is working and what needs to change. This is an opportunity to create a governing document that will nurture a robust and dynamic charitable industry that New Zealanders can trust.
