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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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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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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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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.
Social media brings opportunities and challenges to charity sector
05 Sep 2017Whether we like it or not, social media is an integral part of everyday life, and charities, like all other organisations, should be considering the impact social media can have, and incorporating it into their objectives and longer term strategies.
Considered by some as “slacktivism” - an exercise that appears to do good while achieving very little - there is little doubt that social media can be a powerful tool in the sector. In 2014, £8m was raised for Cancer Research UK in six days, thanks to the No Make-up Selfie Campaign, and in the same year, the Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than $115m for the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Association.
Ultimately the outcome of the ice bucket challenge was the discovery of a gene variant associated with motor neurone disease, by a scientist funded with the proceeds of that initiative.
Twitter’s mission statement is “To give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers”; Facebook UK’s is to “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together”. The potential impact that social media can have is huge for charities, allowing them to share snippets of information, engage in a short exchange of views and gauge whether a particular issue is important to audiences.
According to a report published by Grant Thornton in 2016, 72% of the top 100 charities in England and Wales are active on all three of the main social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn); only 6% do not use any. Their Twitter accounts average 196,000 followers, more than twice that in 2015, when the figure was 94,000. The trend continues with charity CEOs; 43% of the top 100 charities’ CEOs have a Twitter account, with an average following of 2,400.
From a governance perspective it is vital that charities and their boards consider the risks and opportunities involved with social media. Trustee’s should be considering the following; what part does social media play in our strategic plan; who reports to the board about social media strategy and outcomes, and what is their level of experience; do we have guidelines for those staff and volunteers using social media and how do we encourage use while mitigating risk; what resources have we allocated to social media projects and how do we measure our return on investment; and can we use social media to reach new beneficiaries?
Whether it is seizing opportunities as part of the next viral campaign, or tweeting a new press release, social media is one of the most crucial and visible channels for charities, and it can be a cost-effective way of self-promotion and attracting of new stakeholders and beneficiaries. Charities should ensure that social media is high on their agenda, identifying benefits and potential risks, to help support the charity achieve its objectives.