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Business Risk Services
Our Business Risk Services team deliver practical and pragmatic solutions that support clients in growing and protecting the inherent value of their businesses.
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Corporate Finance and Deal Advisory
We offer a dedicated team of experienced individuals with a focus on successfully executing transactions for corporates and financial institutions. We offer an integrated approach, with our corporate finance specialists working seamlessly with tax and other specialists to ensure that every angle is covered.
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Economic Advisory
Our all-island Economics Advisory team combines expertise in economics and business with a wealth of experience across the public and private sectors.
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Forensic Accounting
We have a different way of doing business by delivering real insight through a combination of technical rigour, commercial experience and intuitive judgment. We take pride in delivering responsive and tailored solutions to all our clients, capitalising on the wealth of experience housed within our Belfast and wider Forensics team
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People and Change Consulting
The Grant Thornton People & Change Consulting practice works with clients on these issues as well as on all aspects of how they attract, retain, engage develop, deploy and lead their people.
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Restructuring
We work with a wide variety of clients and stakeholders such as high street banks, private equity funds, directors, government agencies and creditors to implement solutions which provide the best possible outcomes.
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Technology Consulting
Motivating and assisting our clients to pursue, maintain and secure the benefits of digital solutions is at the core of our Digital Transformation teams' agenda and goals. We work with business leaders to deliver efficient digital strategies and operating models that provide new or enhanced capabilities.
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Corporate and International Tax
Northern Ireland businesses face further challenges as they operate in the only part of the UK that has a land border with a country offering a lower tax rate.
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Employer Solutions
Our team specialises in remuneration and incentive planning and works closely with employers, shareholders and employees to ensure that business strategies are aligned and goals achieved in the most tax efficient, cost-effective manner.
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Entrepreneur and Private Client Taxes
Our team of experienced advisors are on hand to guide you through any decision or transaction ranging from the establishment of new business ventures, to realising value on exit, to succession planning and providing for loved ones.
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Global Mobility Services
Grant Thornton Ireland offer a different approach to managing global mobility. We have brought together specialists from our tax, global payroll, people and change and financial accounting teams across Ireland and Northern Ireland, while drawing on the knowledge and insights of our global network of over 143 offices of mobility professionals to provide you with a holistic approach to managing global mobility.
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Outsourced Payroll
Our outsourced service provides valued service to over 150 separate PAYE schemes. These ranging from 1 to 1000 employees, working for micro, SME and global employers. The service is supported by the integrated network of tax and global mobility teams and the wider Grant Thornton network delivering a seamless service. Experienced staff deliver a personal service built around your business needs.
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Tax Disputes and Investigations
Our Tax Disputes and Investigation team is made up of tax experts and former HMRC investigators who have years of experience in dealing with a variety of tax investigations. Our expertise and insight can guide you through all interactions, keeping your cost at a minimum while allowing you to continue with the day to day running of your business.
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VAT and Indirect Taxes
At Grant Thornton (NI) LLP, our team helps Northern Ireland businesses manage their UK and global indirect tax risks which, as transactional taxes, can quickly become big liabilities.
Accountants Vs Machines
05 Mar 2019“The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again” is a great line from Justin Trudeau’s World Economic Forum speech. It is hard to go a day without seeing an article or a viewpoint in the media declaring Artificial Intelligence will make certain jobs redundant - but will it be the same for those roles carried out in the finance industry?
Technological advancements are at a faster pace than ever, with computers becoming more reactive and human-like in their responses and decision-making. In January, a round on the American television quiz show Jeopardy was won by a computer named Watson, beating previous quiz show champions.
The rapid pace of technology advancement will no doubt see computers performing some accounting and finance functions, and this is already happening. Recent innovations like mobile phone apps that can identify expenses from photographs of source documents, and automatically allocate them to the accounting records is already being widely used across a range of industries. In fact, last year HMRC confirmed it will begin rolling out artificial intelligences to review tax returns and issue tax penalties.
Deciding to implement such technology in business must be well planned and researched. It is important that management make the decision in the context of their particular business. For example, do they have the resources to employ this technology – certain pieces of software can be expensive and involve significant upfront costs before yielding any benefits. Do staff have an appetite to adopt this technology? To maximise effectiveness it is important that staff are trained and competent in using the technology on a regular basis. How secure is the software and the devices used? This is particularly important in the current world of big data, with the real risk of data breaches in large and small businesses across the world, not to mention compliance with data protection legislation.
Whilst it appears inevitable that technology is developing to take over the more repetitive or basic accounting and finance functions, there are some positive aspects for use of this technology by accountants and businesses. Not only will technology bring about new types of jobs that will be less repetitive and more interpretive (increasing employee job satisfaction), it will also free up management’s time to focus on value-adding activities. Activities that can add to revenue (such as focusing on new markets, products and clients) or reduce costs within a business.
If firms are looking to the future but aren’t open to change, they will lose competitive advantage. As Northern Ireland businesses increasingly compete on a global scale, the adoption of robotics and technologies is essential. Rather than seeing technology as a threat, accountants and businesses should see it as a growing opportunity.