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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.
The digitalisation effect on the finance function
01 Oct 2019Organisations wishing to improve data-enabled decision-making and increase productivity should be looking to digitalise their finance function. Digitalisation is the change in social, business and economic behaviour on the adoption of new technology, and it has become part of our everyday life. These new technologies are being adopted by businesses to improve quality and productivity enabling them to compete and grow. Now it’s time for the finance function to join the parts and embrace digitalisation!
Digitalisation of the finance function is separated into two main components; those of providing insight with real time, data-enabled decision support, and those improving processes and reducing risk.
Insight can be provided via Advanced Analytics software, which assist in collecting, cleaning and analysing the raw data contained within the existing finance system, to provide businesses with enhanced meaningful information, used to accelerate decision support and uncover hidden growth opportunities.
An example of a technology that can improve a business process while reducing risk is Robotic Process Automation (RPA), this is the technology allowing computer software ‘known as a bot’ to emulate and integrate the actions of a human within digital systems. The bot can perform repetitive tasks quickly, efficiently, 24 hours a day and without error, whilst also costing less than an employee.
Complete digital transformation within a business can be complex, time consuming and expensive. Additionally, the ever-changing technologies and arrival of new solutions make it difficult for businesses to know where to start. Before embarking on this process, it is important for business owners and finance staff to proactively and systematically identify tasks and processes within their finance function that would benefit from digitalisation. Once these areas are identified, investment in the relevant technologies and capabilities can begin.
Communication of this process is important, as it will involve staff facing new challenges, including learning how to use new software, new processes, and understanding the potential impacts on their role. There is often a ‘fear factor’ of automation replacing people’s jobs. Our experience is this isn’t the case, and in fact RPA acts as a complementary tool allowing people to focus or more ‘value add’ activities in which they excel whilst the ‘bot’ takes on the mundane. Digitalisation does not have to mean a complete redesign of the existing finance function. On the market today, there are a wide varieties of solutions that sit alongside and complement existing legacy systems. They offer a relatively cheap, well-tested enhancement to existing systems.
In order for digitalisation to be successful, it is key to focus on a phased or pilot approach to implementing these new technologies. Focusing on successful delivery of smaller projects is a great way to build confidence around organisational change.
Digitalisation of the finance function will be an evolving process as new technologies emerge and create better solutions to manage the challenges of today’s fast-changing business environment. Embracing these digital tools can transform the finance function, add value to the business, whilst improving efficiency and reducing risk.
Even small businesses can benefit so all business owners and finance managers should consider how digitalisation could help them now.