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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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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
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Americas
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19 member firms with nearly 25,000 people to support you.
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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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Technology Responding to slowing growth: why the tech industry faces a more challenging outlook in 2022We spoke to tech experts about industry trends that could affect companies over the next 12 months and what their short-term strategic priorities should be.
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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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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 businesses less optimistic, despite record numbers expecting increased profitability
A closer examination of the data offers some explanation of this apparent contradiction.
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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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Building a culture that champions diversity
Grant Thornton UAE has grown to have a team comprising more than 50 nationalities and this diverse staff has been key in building the inclusive culture of the firm.
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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: 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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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.
![insight featured image](/globalassets/1.-member-firms/global/insights/fs-playingfield-feature-image-1440x600.jpg)
We surveyed 377 Financial Services business leaders, as part of our Global business pulse research[i], on their outlook for 2021, what they perceive as the oncoming challenges and how they are preparing for the future. Our research uncovered five key trends that resonated with industry leaders around the world. We asked a panel of our experts from London, New York and Singapore, to shed light on the market sentiment behind the figures and to give us their top tips for the year ahead.
1. Going digital – there’s no time to waste
Our research showed, 56% of Banking, 54% of Insurance and 52% of Asset Management firms expect to increase their investment in IT over the coming year.
While digital transformation of Financial Services businesses is not new, it’s acceleration will be a key trend to watch in 2021.
“Digital has become a key focus,’ observes Sandy Kumar, Global Head of Financial Services and Business Risk Services and Partner at Grant Thornton UK. “There's been a compression in the time that clients are planning to implement transformation, the process is becoming more condensed. Investment in technology is a big area, along with the type of products that support it and people able to work with it to service clients in a more effective manner.”
The particular conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic could also be speeding this trend, as Emily Lai, Business Risk Advisory Partner at Grant Thornton Singapore, has witnessed: “Companies are accelerating their pace on digitisation, shifting their business online, and moving quicker than before to improve efficiency. In the months ahead I think a lot of companies might need to redeploy and invest in technology to stay relevant.”
The process will be necessarily more challenging for larger, more established organisations, according to Matthew Cooleen, Risk Advisory Services Partner at Grant Thornton US. “Large Financial Services companies are going to need to evolve and it’s harder for them than the new start-ups – it's like an aircraft carrier turning versus a speedboat. They’re dealing with legacy systems from the 90s, so upgrading their systems and upgrading their working methodologies to a more agile environment will be critical.”
2. A skills shortage threatens to frustrate growth
To compete and thrive in an increasingly digital marketplace, skilled labour is an essential requirement. Yet 65% of banking firms cited the availability of skilled workforce as a major constraint to growth, equally concerning as the current economic uncertainty. This unease also surfaced in the industry’s outlook on remuneration.
The vast majority of Financial Services firms plan to increase salaries in 2021 in line with inflation, with 35% of banking firms predicting above inflation increases, compared to 21% of other industries, indicating that a shortage of talent could hold many companies back.
“Everybody's in competition now for the brightest and the best,” Matthew explains. “The FinTech’s showed the allure of hockey stick growth and fast wealth accumulation, which means banks are now competing with Fintech and private equity; they need to start showing that they can be competitive and are willing to fight for the best talent.”
Yet Emily believes it’s not just a question of paying for talent: “It's very hard to hire people with the right skillset at the moment – demand for tech talent is very high right now, but the supply is weak. Border restrictions and tighter foreign worker policies are only aggravating the talent shortage.”
For Sandy, both these issues resonate. “Clients are looking at mobility, focusing on other markets, to attract the talent they need in order to overcome barriers. But there’s also a definite sense of needing to reskill people to create a more agile workforce, particularly around technology, to ensure that the business is future fit.
“Even in our own business, we need to think about how we actually invest in our people and look at infrastructure refinement. Nobody is likely to be rushing back into the office, so having a clear strategy and policy to support people to work from home is vital, especially putting a bigger focus on people's wellbeing – looking after your people's health, their mindset, and how they are operating is key.”
3. The new spirit of collaboration and innovation
Another area where the majority of Financial Services companies plan to invest more than other industries is Research and Development. With 52% of banking firms expected to increase spending in this area over the next year, it could indicate a need for new ways of working, new products, and new ways to grow. Across the board, our global team have all independently witnessed a growing tendency for business partnerships, collaboration and innovation; a positive takeout from the pandemic.
“Banks, asset management and insurance companies should leverage their allies and partnership opportunities to develop a fully digital ecosystem and get better access to technology innovation” says Emily. “In Singapore we are seeing banks collaborating with Fintech companies to offer e-commerce platforms. Even the traditional banks are going into crypto currencies and coming up with new ways of doing business to offer new solutions to their customers.”
Sandy sees a similar picture in the UK. “I think we will see some of the big retail banks align themselves much more closely with the big tech firms to improve their operations. They will have to do that rather than doing it all themselves, like Apple, Google and Amazon’s partnership around smart home tech.
“It’s a two-strand approach, offensive and defensive: defensive being how can you do the things you do more effectively, and offensive being how can you get to a bigger customer base in a more deliberate way, where people buy into your underlying product. To achieve both, I think partnerships will be important.”
Matthew agrees: “I think we’ll see collaboration between online retailers, social platforms and banks too. The one strength that the large financial institutions have is capital. And that's what the Fintech partners need. Because of that fact, I think we can expect to see many more Fintech partnerships and acquisitions. We’re seeing a new connectivity there that we hadn't seen before.”
4. Get ready for changes in customer behaviour
Another unifying trend across all three areas of Financial Services can be seen in their preparation for a recovery: all three sectors indicated they are already planning for changes to customer behaviour or competitive dynamics in varying degrees ( Asset Management 45%, Banking 28% and Insurance 36%). Our panel have all observed a new urgency of response to recent changes in customer behaviour during the pandemic.
Matthew explains: “During the pandemic we’ve seen a significant jump in mobile banking registrations contrasting with a big fall in branch transactions. This trend should permanently change the banks’ view on how to steer their consumer business going forward – companies need to implement what they've learned with COVID-19. I believe that this is a long-term fundamental shift in the ability to operate with agility, to speed up credit decisioning, and introduce new flexible working, workplaces and organisational strategies.”
“Things are becoming more competitive,” agrees Emily. “You may come up with new innovative ways to attract your customers, because there’s been a generation shift to the younger demographics, like millennials, who actually prefer digital channels. But businesses need to make the digital customer experience user-friendly for every audience, especially for the elderly. It needs to be more convenient, more personalised, easy and secure. Security is very important.”
“How you connect with clients is more important than ever,” Sandy concurs. “If you look at the vulnerable, the elderly, they may not be as acclimatised to digital. Suppliers need to consider if they are investing enough in educating their customer base and using platforms that will allow us to deal with those people and protect them against cybercrime and fraud.
“I also think that the gap between big and small business will narrow through new customer-led technology. Newer entrants who have leaner operating models may well be more successful, as long as they're able to convince customers that they have a solid, robust new product.”
5. Look on the bright side of life
The research showed that over 40% of Financial Services businesses have grown revenue by more than 5% in the last 12 months, far more than the businesses who have lost a similar percentage of revenue. In addition, the majority are either optimistic or very optimistic about the economy in 2021 (in banking, this ranges from 63% in the EU to 73% across APAC and 74% in the Americas). But where does the optimism spring from and is it realistic?
“I recognise the feeling of optimism,” says Sandy. “I think Financial Services is the vehicle through which governments execute their programmes, bringing liquidity to market. It’s fundamental to all of society – we save our money, we borrow from them, we trade through them – it creates a lot of movement and opportunity.
“Volatility in the market since March has meant that banks and organisations in the trading environment have seen a tremendously good year for themselves. We are likely to be entering a recession, and there will be a squeeze for the customer base which will mean less profit, but that doesn't mean no profit.
“I think it's a positive outlook, but COVID-19 still has a big impact on confidence. Until the pandemic subdues around the globe it continues to be the single biggest barrier to growth.”
“We’re emerging from an embattled position,” admits Matthew, “but 2020 was a good year for Financial Services in the US, and with renewed fiscal stimulus, the outlook is optimistic. Interest margins haven’t been impacted as much as one would think and the banks have adequate reserves to deploy and throw at emerging risks.
"In general, non-hospitality corporate entities have performed well through the pandemic and I do believe that there's general optimism that the vaccine is going to be impactful such that a mean reversion to normalcy should occur. At the heart of it all, I think the strength of the US infrastructure and economy is really showing itself.”
Emily sees the same possibilities in APAC: “Financial Services will be one of the key sectors driving the growth in Singapore and the economy is expected to rebound and grow. But it really depends on how well COVID-19 plays out with a vaccine now available, how effective it is and how the distribution works across all countries.”
Top industry tips for the year ahead.
Having reviewed the research and compared it to the trends they are witnessing in their areas, we asked our experts what Financial Services firms should be focusing on in 2021.
We are currently working with Financial Services firms around the world to address the latest industry issues and achieve their strategic ambitions amidst the pandemic. For support navigating the year ahead, get in touch with your local Grant Thornton Financial Services adviser.
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i. Visit our Global business pulse methodology section for more.