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Audit approach overview
Our audit approach will allow our client's accounting personnel to make the maximum contribution to the audit effort without compromising their ongoing responsibilities
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Annual and short period audit
At P&A Grant Thornton, we provide annual and short period financial statement audit services that go beyond the normal expectations of our clients. We believe strongly that our best work comes from combining outstanding technical expertise, knowledge and ability with exceptional client-focused service.
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Review engagement
A review involves limited investigation with a narrower scope than an audit, and is undertaken for the purpose of providing limited assurance that the management’s representations are in accordance with identified financial reporting standards. Our professionals recognize that in order to conduct a quality financial statement review, it is important to look beyond the accounting entries to the underlying activities and operations that give rise to them.
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We make it a point to keep our clients abreast of the developments and updates relating to the growing complexities in the accounting world. We offer seminars and trainings on audit- and tax-related matters, such as updates on Accounting Standards, new pronouncements and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issuances, as well as other developments that affect our clients’ businesses.
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Tax advisory
With our knowledge of tax laws and audit procedures, we help safeguard the substantive and procedural rights of taxpayers and prevent unwarranted assessments.
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Tax compliance
We aim to minimize the impact of taxation, enabling you to maximize your potential savings and to expand your business.
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Corporate services
For clients that want to do business in the Philippines, we assist in determining the appropriate and tax-efficient operating business or investment vehicle and structure to address the objectives of the investor, as well as related incorporation issues.
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Tax education and advocacy
Our advocacy work focuses on clarifying the interpretation of laws and regulations, suggesting measures to increasingly ease tax compliance, and protecting taxpayer’s rights.
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Business risk services
Our business risk services cover a wide range of solutions that assist you in identifying, addressing and monitoring risks in your business. Such solutions include external quality assessments of your Internal Audit activities' conformance with standards as well as evaluating its readiness for such an external assessment.
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Business consulting services
Our business consulting services are aimed at addressing concerns in your operations, processes and systems. Using our extensive knowledge of various industries, we can take a close look at your business processes as we create solutions that can help you mitigate risks to meet your objectives, promote efficiency, and beef up controls.
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Transaction services
Transaction advisory includes all of our services specifically directed at assisting in investment, mergers and acquisitions, and financing transactions between and among businesses, lenders and governments. Such services include, among others, due diligence reviews, project feasibility studies, financial modelling, model audits and valuation.
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Forensic advisory
Our forensic advisory services include assessing your vulnerability to fraud and identifying fraud risk factors, and recommending practical solutions to eliminate the gaps. We also provide investigative services to detect and quantify fraud and corruption and to trace assets and data that may have been lost in a fraud event.
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Cyber advisory
Our focus is to help you identify and manage the cyber risks you might be facing within your organization. Our team can provide detailed, actionable insight that incorporates industry best practices and standards to strengthen your cybersecurity position and help you make informed decisions.
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Providing support in preventing and detecting fraud by creating a safe and secure whistleblowing system to promote integrity and honesty in the organisation.
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Accounting services
At P&A Grant Thornton, we handle accounting services for several companies from a wide range of industries. Our approach is highly flexible. You may opt to outsource all your accounting functions, or pass on to us choice activities.
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Staff augmentation services
We offer Staff Augmentation services where our staff, under the direction and supervision of the company’s officers, perform accounting and accounting-related work.
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Payroll Processing
Payroll processing services are provided by P&A Grant Thornton Outsourcing Inc. More and more companies are beginning to realize the benefits of outsourcing their noncore activities, and the first to be outsourced is usually the payroll function. Payroll is easy to carve out from the rest of the business since it is usually independent of the other activities or functions within the Accounting Department.
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APEC and Philippine taxes for investors by Butch P. Ambatali
17 Nov 2015We have been expecting for a couple of months now the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting which shall be held tomorrow. The government has been prepping more than ever. It is all over the news how the authorities plan the use of the streets to pave the way for the arrival of guests. New bollards have been installed in our main thoroughfares, not to mention the closure of some roads and re-routing. And of course there is the creation of Mabuhay Lane and APEC lane. Passing through EDSA every day and being caught up in the various dry runs, I can make out this event to be a really big deal.
During one of the dry runs, I was caught in terrible traffic and almost missed one of my important appointments. Of course, I blamed it on the summit. What’s behind this event? Well, as the name suggests, it is a meeting of heads of economies within the Asia-Pacific Region for the purpose of uplifting the economic welfare among members. This also means that APEC leaders will help determine policies and agreements that will promote progression of free trade and cross border investments among the members. Every economy is interconnected and there are no more hermits.
A couple of ads on a global news channel promote more investment in the Philippines. The tagline of the ad is “Your investment, our people”. Truly, the Philippine’s most promising asset is its people. Our country boasts a wide range of skilled and professional workers with high levels of technical knowledge and English proficiency.
For more than two decades, our government has constantly improved the investment environment to entice both foreign and local investors. Among the more prominent measures are the creation of economic zones and the liberalization of trade. We know that more investment will bring more jobs. More job means more taxes, which in the end will make it truly more fun in the Philippines.
WHAT CAN AN INVESTOR EXPECT WHEN PUTTING MONEY INTO THE PHILIPPINES?
Foreign Investors. On the tax side, when a foreign investor sets up a corporation, it is by default exposed to the regular corporate tax rate of 30%. Aside from which, a corporation is also required to withhold taxes for certain income payments. It can also be required to remit 12% value-added tax (VAT) on its sale of goods and services in the Philippines.
Depending on the type of activity, foreign-owned enterprises may register with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) or Board of Investments (BoI). The government awards both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to these entities.
Among the fiscal incentives that can be granted to a PEZA- or BoI-registered enterprise is the income tax holiday (ITH) for the first four years of operation. This means that the entity is exempt from paying income tax on its registered activities. For a PEZA-registered enterprise, after operating for four years under the ITH regime, the registered entity may transition to a special tax incentive of 5% gross income tax (GIT) in lieu of national and local taxes.
In general, PEZA entities are subjected to 0% VAT on its sales and purchases. BoI enterprises which are engaged primarily in export are likewise entitled to 0% VAT on the sale of exported goods or services. However, for purchases of local goods or services of BoI entities, the rate is 12% VAT. Input VAT attributable to VAT zero-rated sales may be refunded or claimed as a tax credit certificate (TCC), but the claimant must be warned that the refund or credit process involves significant documentary and technical hurdles.
Other fiscal incentives for both PEZA and BoI enterprises may include, subject to certain conditions, exemption from taxes and duties on importation of raw materials, capital equipment, machinery and spare parts; and exemption from wharfage dues and export tax, duty, impos t and fees.
The above discussion merely provides a glimpse of what a foreign investor can expect when doing business in the Philippines. It would be best to ask experts or consultants for a more detailed discussion on the prospective investment.
Local Investors. Local investors benefit as well from liberalized trade between APEC nations. From the tax perspective, local investors engaging in the export of goods or services may also opt to become a PEZA- or BoI-registered entity, and be entitled also to tax incentives granted by those agencies.
Nonetheless, even if an enterprise is not registered with the incentive-granting agencies, export sales may still be subject to 0% VAT. Note again that the excess or unutilized input VAT attributable to VAT zero-rated sales can be refunded or claimed as a tax credit, subject to documentary and technical requirements, as previously mentioned.
With the upcoming APEC event, we expect our President to lay on the table the many advantages of investing in the Philippines. We are expecting as well that by enticing investors to fund enterprises, our State, through our regulators, will consistently abide to its promises by making regulatory processes less complicated and more efficient.
The Philippines has posted rapid economic growth in recent years and it is not going to slow anytime soon. It is true that the Philippines has a lot to improve in terms of economic policy, infrastructure and processes to facilitate seamless trade. We struggle every day to do so, even in terms of traffic flow in the streets. Nevertheless, with conviction, I strongly believe that the Philippines is investment worthy, as we have excellent individuals working hard to get things done. And that’s one sure thing an investor can count on.
Eliezer P. Ambatali is an associate with the Tax Advisory and Compliance division of Punongbayan & Araullo. P&A is a leading audit, tax, advisory and outsourcing services firm and is the Philippine member of Grant Thornton International Ltd.