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Why Grant Thornton
Whether you’re growing in one market or many, looking to operate more effectively, managing risk and regulation, or realising stakeholder value, our firms can help.
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Culture and experience
Grant Thornton’s culture is one of our most valuable assets and has steered us in the right direction for more than 100 years.
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Global scale and capability
Beyond global scale, we embrace what makes each market unique, local understanding on a global scale.
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Join our network
In a world that wants more options for high quality services, we differentiate in the market to grow sustainably in today’s rapidly changing environment.
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Leadership governance and quality
Grant Thornton International Ltd acts as the coordinating entity for member firms in the network with a focus on areas such as strategy, risk, quality monitoring and brand.
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Africa
24 member firms supporting your business.
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Americas
31 member firms, covering 44 markets and over 20,000 people.
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Asia-Pacific
19 member firms with nearly 25,000 people to support you.
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Europe
53 member firms supporting your business.
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Middle East
8 member firms supporting your business.
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Business consulting services
Our business consulting services can help you improve your operational performance and productivity, adding value throughout your growth life cycle.
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Business process solutions
We can help you identify, understand and manage potential risks to safeguard your business and comply with regulatory requirements.
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Business risk services
The relationship between a company and its auditor has changed. Organisations must understand and manage risk and seek an appropriate balance between risk and opportunities.
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Cybersecurity
As organisations become increasingly dependent on digital technology, the opportunities for cyber criminals continue to grow.
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Forensic services
At Grant Thornton, we have a wealth of knowledge in forensic services and can support you with issues such as dispute resolution, fraud and insurance claims.
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Mergers and acquisitions
We work with entrepreneurial businesses in the mid-market to help them assess the true commercial potential of their planned acquisition and understand how the purchase might serve their longer-term strategic goals.
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Recovery and reorganisation
Workable solutions to maximise your value and deliver sustainable recovery.
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Transactional advisory services
We can support you throughout the transaction process – helping achieve the best possible outcome at the point of the transaction and in the longer term.
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Valuations
We provide a wide range of services to recovery and reorganisation professionals, companies and their stakeholders.
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IFRS
At Grant Thornton, our IFRS advisers can help you navigate the complexity of financial reporting from IFRS 1 to IFRS 17 and IAS 1 to IAS 41.
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Audit quality monitoring
Having a robust process of quality control is one of the most effective ways to guarantee we deliver high-quality services to our clients.
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Global audit technology
Our global assurance technology platform provides the ability to conduct client acceptance, consultations and all assurance and other attestation engagements.
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Corporate and business tax
Our trusted teams can prepare corporate tax files and ruling requests, support you with deferrals, accounting procedures and legitimate tax benefits.
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Direct international tax
Our teams have in-depth knowledge of the relationship between domestic and international tax laws.
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Global mobility services
Through our global organisation of member firms, we support both companies and individuals, providing insightful solutions to minimise the tax burden for both parties.
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Indirect international tax
Using our finely tuned local knowledge, teams from our global organisation of member firms help you understand and comply with often complex and time-consuming regulations.
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Transfer pricing
The laws surrounding transfer pricing are becoming ever more complex, as tax affairs of multinational companies are facing scrutiny from media, regulators and the public
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Africa tax desk
A differentiating solution adapted to the context of your investments in Africa.
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Banking Holding banking to account: the real diversity and inclusion pictureWe explore how the banking sector can continue to attract, retain and nurture women to build a more diverse and inclusive future.
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Sustainability From voluntary to mandatory ESG: How banks can future-proof their operationsAs we move from voluntary ESG initiatives to mandatory legislation, we explore what the banking sector needs to prioritise.
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IFRS IFRS 9 - Audit of Expected Credit LossesGPPC releases The Auditor’s response to the risks of material misstatement posed by estimates of expected credit losses under IFRS 9
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growthiQ Steering your company to long-term successHistory has something important to tell us about the difficulties of steering a business to long-term success – through seismic shifts in technology, consumer demands and product development. With that in mind it’s unsurprising that over half the world’s largest companies in the early 1900s had shut their doors by the late 1990s. Some, however, have endured.
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International Financial Reporting Standards Implementation of IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’The auditor’s response to the risks of material misstatement arising from estimates made in applying IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’
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IFRS Get ready for IFRS 17After twenty years of development the IASB has published IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’, find out more.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - Sector analysis Clear patterns of damage from COVID-19 across the industriesThe index results for 12 key sectors of the mid-market reveal just how much or little the various parts of the economy were impacted by COVID-19.
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Not for profit Mission: possible – putting impact at the heart of charityGlobal charitable continues to decline and charity leaders are increasingly looking at their own unique impact journey.
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Access to finance Raise finance to invest in changePrepare your business to raise finance to invest in change.
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Private equity firms Private equity in the mid-market: reshaping strategies for 2021When the global COVID-19 pandemic stormed across the globe in early 2020, the private equity sector was hit hard but deals are coming back to the market.
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Mid-market businesses Getting ready for private equity investmentOur specialists explore how private equity firms are now working with their portfolios and how the mid-market can benefit from investment.
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Mid-market businesses Myth-busting private equityNervous about partnering with Private Equity? We explore some of the common myths we come across when speaking to mid-market businesses about PE investment.
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Public sector Helping build the government of tomorrow, todayLearn about the Grant Thornton US public sector team.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - Sector analysis Clear patterns of damage from COVID-19 across the industriesThe index results for 12 key sectors of the mid-market reveal just how much or little the various parts of the economy were impacted by COVID-19.
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Industries European Real Estate PodcastJessica Patel, Tax Partner at Grant Thornton UK speaks with tax partners and directors across the network to share their insights on the real estate market and some of the challenges.
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Industries European Real Estate PodcastJessica Patel, Tax Partner at Grant Thornton UK speaks with tax partners and directors across the network to share their insights on the real estate market and some of the challenges.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Retail How retail is positioning for successCOVID-19 provided some hard lessons for the retail industry. It is time to turn those into sustainable and well executed growth strategies in 2021.
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Telecoms Can tech and telecom leverage economic headwindsAs most businesses brace for an economic downturn, tech and telecom could see new prospects. But, to turn the headwinds to your advantage, you need to find your unique opportunities and risks.
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Technology Mid-market tech companies lead the way on diversity and inclusionWe explore how the mid-market tech sector can continue to build and nurture a culture that’s increasingly more diverse and inclusive for women.
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Tax Resetting global tax rules after the pandemicBusinesses are seeing rising challenges, and finance heads are dealing with a range of new measures. To say the next 12 months are critical for businesses is an understatement.
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TECHNOLOGY International tax reform: the potential impact on the technology industryIn this article, we’ve summarised key elements of the global tax reform proposals, their potential impact on technology industry and advice from our digital tax specialists on what technology companies can do to prepare.
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Telecoms Can tech and telecom leverage economic headwindsAs most businesses brace for an economic downturn, tech and telecom could see new prospects. But, to turn the headwinds to your advantage, you need to find your unique opportunities and risks.
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TMT TMT industry: Fully charged or on standby?Our research revealed five key trends that resonated with Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) industry leaders around the world. We asked a panel of our experts from UK, US, India Ireland and Germany, to give us their reaction to the findings.
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Cybersecurity One size fits nothingTechnology companies must adopt a new approach to digital risk: those that successfully develop a reputation for digital trust by demonstrating an unwavering commitment to cyber security and data privacy will be able to carve out a competitive advantage.
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Technology, media & telecommunications Why it’s time for a 5G reality checkFigures suggest the mobile sector is maturing. While data usage continues to soar, mobile revenues are expected to flatten out over the next few years.
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International business Mid-market businesses lifted by rising tide of optimismOptimism among global mid-market business leaders rose to 67% in the first half of this year and they are markedly more optimistic about their prospects with global optimism having increased by 8%.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Hotels COVID-19: Checking in with the hotel industry one year onCOVID-19 provided some hard lessons for the hotel sector. It is time to turn those into sustainable and well executed growth strategies.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
- By topic
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Women in Business 2024
2024 marks the 20th year of monitoring and measuring the proportion of women occupying senior management roles around the world.
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COP28: Mid-market firms should seize the opportunity from adaption and innovation
COP28 was the first time there has been a global stocktake on progress against the Paris Agreement.
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Scanning the horizon: Mid-market sets sights on global trade growth
The latest International Business Report (IBR) data shows that mid-market businesses have high expectations for global trade.
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Mid-market sees business optimism reach record high
Grant Thornton's latest International Business Report (IBR) sees optimism among mid-market business leaders reach a record high with 74% optimistic about the outlook for their economy over the next 12 months.
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Women in tech: A pathway to gender balance in top tech roles
Grant Thornton’s 2024 Women in Business data suggests we are far from achieving parity within the mid-market technology sector.
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Women in leadership: a pathway to better performance
What makes the benefits of gender parity compelling is the impact it can have on commercial performance.
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Women in Business 2024
2024 marks the 20th year of monitoring and measuring the proportion of women occupying senior management roles around the world.
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Women in business: Regional picture
We saw an increase in the percentage of senior management roles held by women, on a global level, but there are some significant regional and country variations.
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Pathways to Parity: Leading the way
To push towards parity of senior management roles held by women, who leads within an organisation is vital.
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Generating real change with a long-term focus
The most successful strategy to achieve parity of women in senior management is one which stands alone, independent of an ESG strategy.
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People at the heart of great business
Businesses have started to put guidelines and incentives in place, focused on driving employees back to the office.
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Focusing and developing a solid strategy around diversity, equity and inclusion
Grant Thornton Greece is pioneering a growing set of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives that centre around three strategic pillars.
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Ten considerations for preparing TCFD climate-related financial disclosures
Insights for organisations preparing to implement the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)’s Standards.
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COP28
COP28 was the first time there has been a global stocktake on progress against the Paris Agreement.
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Transition Plan Taskforce publishes its final disclosure framework
As organisations in the private sector make commitments and plans to reach net zero, there's a growing need for stakeholders to be able to assess the credibility of their transition plans.
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Promoting ESG excellence through tax
ESG considerations have never been more important for an organisation’s long-term success, but how can tax be used to add value to an ESG agenda?
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International business: Mid-market growth and expansion
The mid-market looks to international business opportunities for growth.
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Top five constraints to international business in the mid-market
Top five major constraints that are testing the mid-market’s ability to grow their businesses internationally.
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Brand and international marketing – breaking global barriers
Brand has been identified as a key driver of mid-market success when looking to grow and develop international business.
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The key to international business: Investing in people
How can recruitment and retention help grow international business?
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Building resilience in international business
Evolving supply chains and trade patterns amid ongoing global uncertainty.
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IFRS Alerts
IFRS Alerts covering the latest changes published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
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Example Financial Statements
General guidance for preparers of financial statements that supports the commitment to high quality, consistent application of IFRS.
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Insights into IFRS 2
Insights into IFRS 2 summarises the key areas of the Standard, highlighting aspects that are more difficult to interpret and revisiting the most relevant features that could impact your business.
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IFRS 3
Mergers and acquisitions are becoming more common as entities aim to achieve their growth objectives. IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’ contains the requirements for these transactions.
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IFRS 8
Our ‘Insights into IFRS 8’ series considers some key implementation issues and includes interpretational guidance in certain problematic areas.
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IFRS 16
Are you ready for IFRS 16? This series of insights will help you prepare.
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IAS 36
Insights into IAS 36 provides assistance for preparers of financial statements and help where confusion has been seen in practice.
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IFRS 17
Explaining the key features of the Standard and providing insights into its application and impact.
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Pillar 2
Key updates and support for the global implementation of Pillar 2.
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Global expatriate tax guide
Growing businesses that send their greatest assets – their people – overseas to work can face certain tax burdens, our global guide highlights the common tax rates and issues.
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International indirect tax guide
Navigating the global VAT, GST and sales tax landscape.
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Global transfer pricing guide
Helping you easily find everything you need to know about the rules and regulations regarding transfer pricing and Country by Country reporting for every country you do business with.
The Asia Pacific (APAC) region is ageing more rapidly than any in history[1]. And Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR) reveals that business leaders in the region view ageing as the most significant threat to their businesses over the next five years. It will reduce the supply of labour, increase wages, and potentially reduce competitiveness. But it isn’t all bad news. Health and medical technology (medtech) businesses are leading the way in identifying rich opportunities in this disruption.
Ageing population tips the balance in APAC
Globally, nearly two billion people are expected to be over 60 by 2050 – triple the figure in 2000. The OECD predicts that the world’s old-age support ratio (the number of people aged 20 to 64 per every person aged over 65) will reduce from 4.2 in 2008 to 2.1 by 2050. In the APAC region, it's even more marked. In China the old-age support ratio will plummet from 7.9 to 2.4 by 2050. This is a situation made worse by the country’s former “one-child policy”, meaning many Chinese families have a 4-2-1 structure (four grandparents, two parents, one child).
These changes are not, however, happening evenly across the region. North Asia is ageing more rapidly than the south. To the north, Japan has the oldest population in the world, with 26.3% of its citizens over 65, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO)[1]. The OECD predicts this will only get worse, with the country’s old age support ratio falling to 1.2 by 2050. In Australia, the proportion of over 65s is expected to peak in 2026, with the cost of care rising through that period and around one in four of the population over 75 by 2025.
Further south, India presents a different demographic challenge. Here, 65% of the population is under 35, and the country is keen to take advantage of this so-called “demographic dividend”. Some economists predict that India will be the third largest economy in the world by 2050. But even such relatively “young” economies are not exempt from the impact of ageing over the longer term. The OECD predicts India’s old age support ratio will also fall from 11.2 to 4.5 by 2050.
What are the risks for the healthcare sector?
Ageing in APAC is putting pressure on health budgets throughout the region. The tax base to fund healthcare services for the elderly could disappear within 15 years. In Singapore, for example, health inflation is running at 9.6%, and health currently counts at 12.6% of its entire spend.
Cost pressures and local country dynamics are forcing a lot of change in the APAC region’s aged care. The Australian economy, for example, is at a crossroads in its aged healthcare provision with less government funding dedicated to traditional care models already at capacity.
The introduction of Consumer Directed Care has transformed home care. Darrell Price, Principal and National Head of Health & Aged Care at Grant Thornton Australia’, explains: “Consumers have more choice of providers, services and pricing models and competition is mounting.”
Meanwhile, as competition has increased, scrutiny of the quality of care has resulted in a Royal Commission putting the sector under pressure and investigating care quality in residential facilities, retirement living and in-home care. With squeezed margins, a lot of the not-for-profit organisations are struggling.
Another challenge for the region is the supply of skilled workers to service expanding demand in the healthcare sector. Shoichiro Mitani, partner at Grant Thornton Japan, says: “In Japan, a shortage of skilled workers has become a serious problem across a range of industries, and is particularly acute in aged care and medical services. Ageing populations and declining birth rates in other countries will also make it extremely difficult for Japan to recruit exceptional international workers.”
Another challenge for the region is the supply of skilled workers to service expanding demand in the healthcare sector. Shoichiro Mitani, partner at Grant Thornton Japan, says:
“In Japan, a shortage of skilled workers has become a serious problem across a range of industries, and is particularly acute in aged care and medical services.
Ageing populations and declining birth rates in other countries will also make it extremely difficult for Japan to recruit exceptional international workers.”
Just as businesses across APAC face up to the potential challenges presented by this ageing population, it is clear there are significant opportunities for businesses in the region. Far from a gloomy scenario, as APAC ages faster than other global regions, so there is the potential for businesses to develop businesses and solutions that can later be exported globally.
Broad opportunities for healthcare investors
Despite the headwinds, the opportunities for lending to the health and aged care industry in the region are broad. Almost half the participants at a recent Grant Thornton Banker’s Boot Camp in Australia nominated the health and aged care sector as having the most robust prospects for future lending growth.
Darrell Price, Principal and National Head of Health & Aged Care at Grant Thornton Australia, comments:
“There is increasing interest from the private equity sector in aged care. In the process of increasing competition and diversification of the market, private equity firms have realised there is money to be made in consolidations.”
A lot of smaller players, especially in rural areas, are throwing up their hands and private equity firms are looking to mop them up. Those transactions are beginning to roll through. We’ll start to see a lot of the small operators merge into larger groups to create scale.”
Some investment opportunities are born out of new trends and new business models. As Price explains, in the US, “university hospitals are creating hub and spoke facilities, building little day surgeries and overnight stay surgeries providing basic services, with the main hospitals servicing more complex procedures.”
“This trend is picking up in Australia, with private investors building day hospitals. Meanwhile, Japan is also looking at how they invest in these property developments with a view to bringing in specialists and tenants that can provide the service offering.”
Similar trends can be seen in China. As part of its National Planning Guideline for the Healthcare Service System (2015–2020)[2], the Chinese government is seeking to provide a higher number of community-based senior care and assisted living services. This will both improve the provision for the ageing population and alleviate the burden on large-scale hospitals.
As one of the countries facing the most serious ageing crises, Japan has naturally seen changes to traditional residential care models. Conventional retirement accommodation for older adults used to be less like homes and more like medical facilities, says Mitani. “Elderly residences with services are now more commonly being promoted. Although care staff are there during the day, attendant services and day care services are provided by external providers and older adults can choose which services they sign-up for, depending on the care they need.”
This is not a cheap option, however, as rents are typically high. Providing affordable accommodation and care to elderly patients on lower incomes remains a challenge for dynamic businesses to grapple with.
The power of medtech to cut the cost of care
There are huge opportunities for businesses to harness technology in the delivery of health and aged-care services. Medtech is rapidly developing, with doctors providing consultations through distributor technologies in the home via mobile devices.
In Australia, it is largely bigger players that are investing in this technology, with telecoms giant Telstra a major investor in medtech, health services and robotics. According to Price, “a patient in one location can be operated on 1,000 kilometres away using robotic operating tools with localised nursing support.” Wearable devices and related technology are being used to monitor blood glucose, blood pressure and temperature in real time and provide early indicators of problems such as heart attacks.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries – and Thailand in particular – is a hotspot for this electronic health and medtech boom. Ian Pascoe, managing partner of Grant Thornton Thailand, says:
“It is a stand-out sector in terms of investment, with huge opportunities between software firms and medical health groups. In countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, proper medical records are sparse.
There is a desire to change this and introduce electronic records to improve both healthcare and accountability. Some companies, even those unrelated to the medical sector, are seeking to partner with non-governmental organisations to fund the development of e-health records for medical companies.”
Businesses can unlock growth through cross-region collaboration
Medtech isn’t the only area where cross-region cooperation will be key to unlocking growth opportunities. APAC has an extraordinary capability for collaboration and sharing funds, skills and services across the region. This presents diverse opportunities for businesses.
As Price explains, “we’re seeing Australian providers look to deliver services across Asia. And institutional investors from elsewhere are looking to invest in the Australian market to learn what we do and how we do it, with the view to exporting these ideas back to other countries.”
He cites the example of Bolton-Clark, a large Australian not-for-profit organisation, that is working with provincial Chinese governments in southern China to advise on the development and management of aged-care facilities. “They've done it very effectively,” says Price. “And the model is being tested elsewhere. Some facilities are already completed and operational. Bolton-Clark takes a management lead and provides expertise, training, education and some clinical oversight on how services are set up. The Chinese are keen to pay and train people to deliver and develop the service.”
Alongside Grant Thornton Thailand and Grant Thornton Japan, Price has also been working with a large Asian insurer looking at ways to vertically integrate its investments to develop large aged-care facilities. When consumers get to an age where they want to start drawing down on their insurance, the insurer places them into their facilities to create synergies.
“We've been working with our colleagues at Grant Thornton Thailand to help a client looking to take Japanese capital, Australian expertise and Thai property and development capability to build integrated facilities. The Grant Thornton network allows us to connect with our colleagues to assist clients with international growth opportunities.”
Seize the opportunities as demand continues to grow
With APAC’s ageing population ever increasing, health and medtech businesses are leading the way in providing cutting-edge solutions to the ageing crisis. This challenge is not limited to APAC and the rest of the world is watching. How the region approaches caring for the elderly and rebalancing its economies will inform other regions and sectors. The one certainty is that demand will only grow, creating rich opportunities for business disruptors.
To find out how your business can lead the way and create innovative solutions to these pressing social challenges, contact your local business advisor via granthornton.global.
[1] Live Long and Prosper: Aging in East Asia and Pacific, World Bank 2016