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Budget 2026 could be a turning point for New Zealand’s construction sector — but only if it delivers certainty, not just stimulus. Our Property and Construction Services Leader, Dan Lowe says the constant message he’s hearing from the market is a reliable infrastructure pipeline, faster consenting, and fairer procurement settings are critical to restoring confidence, supporting investment, and helping construction businesses plan for long-term growth.

Residential aged care throughout New Zealand remains under pressure, but simply injecting more government funding may not solve the problem. Pam Newlove, our Retirement Villages and Aged Care Services Lead says Budget 2026 is the perfect opportunity to lay the groundwork for a major overhaul of the current system. She explores how refundable accommodation bonds could unlock investment, fund new facilities, reduce pressure on hospitals, and create a more sustainable future for aged care providers, residents and families across the country.

For civil construction businesses, margins and machinery only tell part of the story about their value. In this article, Louisa Meredith and Matt Thomson cover the operational, governance and financial factors that can make your business more resilient, more profitable and ultimately more attractive to acquirers long before any sale is on the table:

New Zealand’s food sector has avoided major supply chain disruption so far this year, but rising fuel, freight, insurance and input costs are continuing to squeeze margins and cashflow across manufacturing, wholesale and retail. Joel Gauntlett says these are no longer temporary economic conditions; they are now part of normal trading. He reveals what the more resilient businesses are focusing on to cope with this perpetual volatility.

If the margins in your construction business are already razor thin, rising fuel and material costs could push profitability even closer to the edge. Matt Hannah explains why accurate job costing, real-time financial visibility, and stronger systems have never been more important for construction businesses. He covers where risk is building across the sector, how poor costing can quietly erode profits, and the practical steps you can take to protect your cashflow, improve decision making, and strengthen your business for the years ahead.

Owning a mortgage-free home has traditionally been the optimal situation for the Kiwi retiree. But for many people, that’s not an option as an increasing number of New Zealanders are approaching retirement as renters. Dan Lowe, property and construction services leader at Grant Thornton New Zealand looks at how build to rent developments could support our elderly population.

Discover how to increase your chances of achieving a successful business sale.

Two questions are on the horizon for New Zealand’s public benefit entities (PBEs). First, is your organisation ready for two new accounting standards: PBE IPSAS 47 and 48? The second big question is whether you have a clear, well-communicated strategy when it comes to your reserves.

Aotearoa has recently seen several high-profile data breaches, affecting healthcare services, a law firm and a community networking site. For companies that experience breaches, the result is significant reputational and financial damage.

With Government setting out proposed changes to the Retirement Villages Act, alarm bells will be well and truly ringing for many operators already struggling under a challenging business model.

Internal audit functions across New Zealand are facing a sobering reality. Budgets are tightening, teams are shrinking, all while the risk environment continues to expand. Enter, AI. But, how does AI fits into your 2026 IA toolkit? What are some of the AI adoption trends in New Zealand? And where is the technology is heading next?

For retirement villages, there’s one area of complexity where the correct treatment can really pay dividends, and that’s GST. However, it can get complicated for retirement village operators; it’s easy to get wrong and can be very expensive to fix.

NZ IFRS 18 is coming, whether you’re ready or not. The sooner you start thinking about it, the smoother and more cost-effective the transition will be. We’ve been hearing quite a few of the same questions from Kiwi organisations, so we’ve put together the following list of the most commonly asked questions which address some of the more tricky issues you’ll face with NZ IFRS 18.

Big changes could be coming for earthquake-prone buildings in New Zealand. Proposed reforms aim to cut red tape, shift to a more risk-based system, and potentially save building owners billions. For many, this could mean fewer buildings on the EPB register and far more affordable remediation. Grant Thornton partner Matt Hannah and Matt Williams from BMC Consult reveal what might this mean for your building’s value, rent, insurance or lending:

You’ve heard it all before: Kiwi tradies are moving to Australia because they can earn far more money. But if wages are so much higher, why is construction cheaper in Australia?

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (“ACFE”), NFPs lose about 5% of revenue annually to fraud, and small businesses globally have an annual median loss to fraud of $200,000.