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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.
Start of the year is proving to be a challenge
27 Mar 2018As we approach the end of Q1 2018, many will be reflecting on what has been a challenging start to the year.
There has been a significant number of job loss announcements across GB and NI, with the manufacturing, construction and retail sectors being particularly badly affected.
Household names, both locally and nationally, have entered insolvency processes and, whilst the true financial impact on their supply chains is, at this stage, unknown, it is likely to be significant.
It is a little early to carry out the post-mortem and conclude on the exact reasons why these businesses failed. Businesses rarely fail for one reason alone; there is usually a combination of both micro and macro-economic factors. Changing consumer and technological trends, together with decisions that, with the benefit of hindsight, management may have made differently, may also play a part.
Locally, many of the recent jobs lost were highly skilled, and replacement work in the same sectors may not be readily available. Support may be necessary to facilitate retraining, and there may be a concern that the lack of a functioning devolved government in Northern Ireland will be detrimental to the prospects of suitable, timely assistance.
Another factor, looming increasingly large, in the background is Brexit. The date, 29 March 2019, should be at the forefront of every business person's mind. What Brexit is going to look like for NI and its full potential impact on businesses here is still largely unknown.
However, it isn’t all doom and gloom. Business failures can often create opportunities for others to build sustainable businesses going forward.
For businesses that are not in critical danger, but are beginning to witness a drop in financial performance, there is an opportunity for these businesses to review and consider if their business model is right to secure their medium to long term future. To ensure this, businesses need to remain agile and alert to change, adapting their business model as necessary.
This could range from refocusing on their core business i.e. phasing out a loss making division, to better management of the working capital cycle, seeking an alternative structure of finance e.g. invoice or trade financing, or seeking to de-risk through hedging foreign exchange etc.
There are a lot of negatives above, but we must remember that NI businesses have been through even tougher times before, and have survived and flourished. If businesses are put on the correct footing now, they can grow to become household names in the decades to come.