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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.
Is 2020 shaping up to be a bumpy journey?
10 Mar 2020Green shoots of early spring have begun to emerge, that is, for those that have managed to weather storms Ciara, Dennis and…Jorge. As we look forward to summer, it is worth pausing to consider where we are heading economically, in 2020 and beyond, both locally and further afield.
Questions business leaders are asking include: How is my business going to fair in 2020, now ten months out from the end of the Brexit implementation period? Will my supply chain hold up to the pressure of changes in the way we will have to work, and to the new trading requirements? How will I meet the skills gaps which will inevitably arise from the end of free movement? All of which are perfectly reasonable considerations.
When the UK formally left the European Union on 31st January 2020, the attention of the global economy was beginning to turn towards the prospective out-workings of the implementation agreement, and the 11-month transition period. Now, the threat of a potential pandemic in relation to ‘Novel Coronavirus’ (‘Covid19’), which emerged in the economic powerhouse that is China seems to be impacting across all regions. The personal and economic impacts of this threat are beginning to have a significant ripple effect.
If there is one thing that global markets do not enjoy, it is uncertainty. Whilst we had much political uncertainty in 2019 in the run up to Brexit, which caused high volatility in the markets, this has now been displaced by fears surrounding public health, and indeed the regular updates from the World Health Organisation.
Accordingly, we have seen the global markets react with even more adverse shocks, as Coronavirus fears continue to grip investors across the world. Britain's top index, the FTSE 100, has just reported its worst week since the 2008 financial crash. Further, the OECD has cut its growth forecasts for all major economies.
So, what does this all mean for us in Northern Ireland? Needless to say, the ongoing uncertainty is set to continue to bring, market volatility and economic pressures. The supply of goods will be affected, especially those relying on goods incoming from China. Large events are being postponed, including Ireland’s Six Nations game with Italy, and more widely, tourism will inevitably be adversely affected. Shops are beginning to run low on product from China, and dairy exports from Northern Ireland have been disrupted, with orders cancelled. Some firms are even advising employees to work at home to minimise its transmission, part of the government’s advice for its ‘containment phase’. As firms count the cost, they will likely ponder whether they are too globally exposed to such events.
It is difficult to predict how 2020 will play out in economic terms, but what is clear is that the downside risks to growth are gathering pace. Business leaders may not have all the answers, but they must focus on the things they can control and stay agile as new information emerges.