-
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
-
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. A team-based approach defined by dedication to partner involvement in all engagements—that’s our service commitment locally and globally. An organization’s financial statements are a reference of choice for a variety of users who are required to make decisions. Whether it is a financial institution, a government agency, creditors, shareholders, or potential buyers, every one of your partners requires financial information that accurately reflects the soundness of your organization.
-
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.
-
Other Related Services
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. Participants are entitled to credited units for Continuing Professional Education (CPE), which are required by the Board of Accountancy. CPE is indicative of an individual’s genuine concern for his or her continued growth as a professional. Our team can help in achieving that.
-
Tax advisory
Assistance during tax audit/contesting an assessment We assist clients in handling audits by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Customs (BOC) and local government units (LGUs) in a systematic and efficient manner. We help evaluate the validity of assessments, determine the appropriate documents and analyses to be submitted, prepare protests, and represent clients in meetings and discussions with government agencies. With our knowledge of tax laws and audit procedures, we help safeguard the substantive and procedural rights of taxpayers and prevent unwarranted assessments. Tax opinion and studies We conduct tax studies and provide advice to clients on the tax implications of specific transactions based on relevant laws, regulations, court decisions, rulings, and other relevant issuances. We likewise provide recommendations to address or mitigate tax issues arising from said transactions. Application for tax refund/credit We help clients recover taxes that have been erroneously or excessively paid or withheld through applications for refund or tax credit certificates (TCCs). Applications for refunds or TCCs are recommended for companies that have excess income taxes paid or unutilized creditable withholding taxes as reflected in the final income tax return (ITR), excess unutilized VAT input taxes arising from zero-rated transactions or change in VAT status, unutilized advanced VAT, excise taxes paid on petroleum products sold to tax-exempt entities and international carriers, other national or local taxes erroneously or excessively paid, or penalties imposed without authority.
-
Tax compliance
Tax review We evaluate clients’ overall level of compliance with existing laws and regulations; caution them on procedures and practices that expose them to potential tax liabilities; quantify tax exposures, risks and penalties; and advise them on proper course of action and alternative tax-efficient policies and procedures. Tax due diligence review is particularly recommended for companies that are contemplating expansion, mergers and consolidation, acquisitions, change in ownership, or public listing. Expatriate tax services We ensure the proper and efficient compliance of expatriates with their Philippine income tax obligations. Our services include registration and application for Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), preparation and filing of annual Philippine income tax return, and payment of tax due in the proper venue and within the allowed period. As a value-added service, we respond to Correspondence Audits/Inquiries by the BIR regarding information declared in the tax return. If desired by clients, we also conduct arrival or departure briefings and interviews to apprise the expatriate of his Philippine tax liabilities. Upon a company’s request, we can compute, on an annualized basis, the total withholding tax due from its expatriate during the taxable year and prepare tax equalization and reimbursement calculations in accordance with company policies.
-
Corporate services
Assistance for incentives availment We help clients evaluate their qualification for incentives under the Board of Investments, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority or other special laws. If clients are qualified, we assist them in applying with the concerned government agency for such incentives. Our assistance covers filing of the application and supporting documents, monitoring the progress of the application, meeting/discussion issues, if any, with regulatory authorities, and securing the approval for such incentives. At the clients’ request, we may also assist in ascertaining their compliance with regulatory requirements (to ensure the continued entitlement to incentives), or in justifying the entitlement to such incentives in the event of a challenge by the BIR or other regulatory agencies. Corporate organization and registration 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. We help set up the business and register it with concerned government regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Local Government Unit, the Social Security System and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. We also assist in notifying and/or securing necessary approvals from government regulatory agencies when there are changes in business activities, business status, or tax-type registration.
-
Tax education and advocacy
Tax advocacy We actively participate in consultation and public hearings conducted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue on proposed tax rules and regulations, serving as a bridge between our clients and the BIR. Our advocacy work focuses on clarifying the interpretation of laws and regulations, suggesting measures to increasingly ease tax compliance, and protecting taxpayer’s rights. Tax seminars and training We offer seminars and training on tax-related developments and special issues of interest to taxpayers. Upon request, we provide customized in-house tax training – designed jointly by P&A and the client – that directly addresses the specific issues of the client’s industry and the training needs of its personnel.
-
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. We can also take over your IA function altogether or work alongside you to create more value for your organization. On a higher level, our Enterprise Risk Management methodology can help your organization identify vital strategies and action plans that address key business risks, thereby enabling you to achieve your overall objective of value creation for stakeholders.
-
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 efficiencies, and beef up controls. This can include analyzing your information technology (IT) applications and infrastructure in order to improve IT governance and strategy, strengthen security, and/or assess business risks and controls related to the use of IT.
-
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. We are one of the few companies accredited by the Philippine Stock Exchange for the conduct of valuation and issuance of fairness opinions. Our consortium with another Grant Thornton office and a Philippine law office is also one of the fourteen (14) members of the panel of transaction advisers of the Public-Private Partnership Center of the Philippines.
-
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.
-
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.
-
ProActive Hotline
Providing support in preventing and detecting fraud by creating a safe and secure whistleblowing system to promote integrity and honesty in the organisation.
-
Accounting services
Accounting services Many multinational companies are setting up their accounting offices in the Philippines. These businesses realize that accounting functions can be standardized across companies around the world and handled by an office halfway across the globe for a fraction of the amount needed to maintain an in-house accounting division. 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, such as
-
Staff augmentation services
Staff Augmentation Services It is a familiar enough scenario: A company suddenly has an urgent need for personnel on a short term, project basis to do accounting or accounting-related work. Considering the short-term nature of the work, it becomes very difficult to find interested candidates. Moreover, companies do not need just anybody, but people with sufficient technical accounting skills. P&A Grant Thornton has a pool of skilled accounting specialists who can fill the gap for companies in such situations. We offer Staff Augmentation services where our staff, under the direction and supervision of the company’s officers, perform accounting and accounting-related work. We have a long list of clients that have benefited from our assistance with the following activities: · Migration from one accounting system to another accounting system · Bank reconciliation for several bank accounts that have not been reconciled for years · Data cleansing, such as reconciliation of balances in subsidiary ledgers of receivables and payables with the general ledger balances · Physical counts of inventories and reconciling the results of the physical count with the accounting records · Count of property and equipment; tagging and reconciliation of the count with the accounting records; and properly setting up the property ledgers · Preparation of schedules and documentary supports and requirements during audits by internal and external parties, including government agencies · Preparation of statements of accounts for certain customers · Acting as accounting personnel while regular accounting staff are on leave This is just a sampling of the services we offer, and we can provide more short-term accounting services on short notice. We can adjust the schedules of our people to fit your work hours and we guarantee high-quality service: Our team is made up of technically competent and properly trained people who are prepared to handle your needs.
-
Payroll Processing
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. Payroll processing may look simple, but the process can get complicated, especially as a business expands its manpower. A payroll accountant has to make sure that correct taxes as well as loans of their employees are properly deducted, update the tax status of employees (single, married, no. of dependents, etc.) on a regular basis; monitor work activities during the payroll period (overtimes, sick leaves, vacation leaves, etc.); know which income accounts are taxable or not (de minimis, bonuses within the P82,000 limit, etc.); know the rules and regulations and the latest updates of relevant government agencies (BIR, SSS, Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth, etc.); and ensure that payroll processing and payouts are done on time to avoid employee complaints or dissatisfaction. In addition, the payroll accountant has to ensure that contributions to various government agencies are properly posted to the accounts of the employees. In some companies, payroll processing consumes a significant part of management time: The highest finance or HR officer in the company oftentimes handles management or executive payroll. If payroll is outsourced, the executive officer has better use of his or her time than reviewing or processing the payroll. Moreover, there is the issue of confidentiality – some employees may inadvertently gain access to confidential payroll information when data are lying around during the payroll processing period. Another issue that business owners must watch out for with regard to payroll is fraud. Since the processing of payroll is handled by just one or two trusted persons, oversight may be lax and review may not always be conducted thoroughly, thus fraud happens. P&A Grant Thornton can handle your payroll processing needs so that your management team can focus on your core competencies, enabling you to concentrate on what’s really important to your business . Our team of well-experienced and properly trained professionals can handle your payroll requirements whether you have 10 or 10,000 personnel. In addition to the computation of employees’ pay, P&A Grant Thornton can also provide the following functions under our payroll processing services: Maintain bank accounts exclusively for payroll and payroll-related disbursements Prepare schedules of statutory and internal contributions and obligations File and pay statutory contributions and obligations, manually or electronically Annualize employees’ income tax Provide secure online payslips through our ePayroll facility Handle administration of benefits that needs coordination with government agencies
-
Our values
Grant Thornton prides itself on being a values-driven organisation and we have more than 38,500 people in over 130 countries who are passionately committed to these values.
-
Global culture
Our people tell us that our global culture is one of the biggest attractions of a career with Grant Thornton.
-
Learning & development
At Grant Thornton we believe learning and development opportunities allow you to perform at your best every day. And when you are at your best, we are the best at serving our clients
-
Global talent mobility
One of the biggest attractions of a career with Grant Thornton is the opportunity to work on cross-border projects all over the world.
-
Diversity
Diversity helps us meet the demands of a changing world. We value the fact that our people come from all walks of life and that this diversity of experience and perspective makes our organisation stronger as a result.
-
In the community
Many Grant Thornton member firms provide a range of inspirational and generous services to the communities they serve.
-
Fresh Graduates
Fresh Graduates
-
Students
Whether you are starting your career as a graduate or school leaver, P&A Grant Thornton can give you a flying start. We are ambitious. Take the fact that we’re the world’s fastest-growing global accountancy organisation. For our people, that means access to a global organisation and the chance to collaborate with more than 40,000 colleagues around the world. And potentially work in different countries and experience other cultures.
-
Experienced hires
P&A Grant Thornton offers something you can't find anywhere else. This is the opportunity to develop your ideas and thinking while having your efforts recognised from day one. We value the skills and knowledge you bring to Grant Thornton as an experienced professional and look forward to supporting you as you grow you career with our organisation.
So, you received that dreaded letter from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) notifying you of a tax audit. If you are like some people, you will probably start having heart palpitations and cold sweats. For some, going through a BIR tax audit is worse than visiting the gynecologist or proctologist for an annual check-up. At least with the latter, you know that the episode will definitely end after a few minutes or within an hour, at most.
When you have finally managed to calm down and breathe normally, you should reread the letter of authority and start planning your reply and compliance. Hopefully, your record keeping and your tax practices have been meticulous and correct. Now is not the time to panic. Despite your initial reaction, undergoing a BIR tax audit does not have to be a harrowing experience, if you follow some of these tips.
Be prepared. Treat the BIR assessment like you would a board exam. You do not waltz into a board exam without sufficient preparation.
Assess the amount of work needed. This will depend on the amount of man hours that will be needed to collate the documents and prepare the reconciliations for the BIR. Can you devote the time by yourself, or do you need to gather a team that will handle the BIR assessment as a special project? It is also important to designate a lead person who will coordinate with the BIR to ensure the proper flow of communication.
Ensure that the officers of the company are aware of the progress of the assessment. You will need their support through the assessment process. Do not keep this to yourself, as it is important to enrol the help of key individuals in the organization.
Expect the BIR to visit your office to inspect your documents. If possible, designate a room or area where the BIR examiners can examine your papers without being bothered by the comings and goings in the office.
Ensure that your documents and accounting records are intact. You will notice that the BIR letter contains a list of documents that are required to be submitted. The list is long and may require you to sweep through cobwebs to locate documents that have not seen the light of day in a long time. Start collecting them as soon as possible and prepare them for submission within the time stated in the letter.
If you need more time to submit all the required documents, try submitting what you have collated before asking for a time extension to submit. In certain cases, the BIR may grant your request for an extension of time to submit the documents.
A reliable filing system is important. It is not enough to follow the BIR rules on how long you are supposed to keep documents. It is equally important to have a system that allows you to locate a document when needed. A warehouse full of documents is useless if you cannot find the documents the BIR requires.
In many of the assessment cases that I have handled as a tax lawyer, most of the BIR findings can be cancelled by presenting factual and legal explanations. The initial assessments can start at a huge amount, at hundreds of millions even. When the reconciliations are presented, however, more than 90% of the findings can be explained. This is because the BIR assessment process picks up natural differences in the documents they examine. For example, the BIR may pick up the difference between the gross sales in the income tax return and the gross sale declared in the value-added tax (VAT) return. They can slap you with either an income tax assessment or a VAT assessment on the difference, classifying the difference is undeclared sales. The difference, however, is most likely due to a timing difference in recognizing gross sales for these two type of taxes. If your company is engaged in the sale of services, for instance, income tax is computed on accrual basis, while your VAT sales are on a cash basis.
Hopefully, the remaining 10% have a good legal explanations that will allow you to fully cancel the assessment.
Never ignore notices and letters from the BIR. Never ignore a request to submit documents from the BIR. It is essential to show your willingness to cooperate during the assessment process. But more importantly, ignoring BIR letters can lead to dire consequences. Ignore the request for documents three times, and you may find yourself faced with a criminal case, which can be a bigger problem than the BIR assessment you were originally handling.
BIR notices are not like spam e-mail that can be deleted as soon as you see them in your mailbox. Some notices must be replied to, or they will make the assessment final, executory, and demandable.
Know the procedural and technical rules. We hate being technical, but that is essentially what an assessment process is. There are procedural and technical rules that must be followed. The assessment process has three main stages: the informal conference, the preliminary assessment, and the final assessment.
After examining your documents and records, the BIR examiner will issue a Notice for Informal Conference, giving you a chance to present documents and reconciliations explaining why the initials findings of the BIR should be cancelled. If, despite your presentation of explanation and documents, the examiner is not convinced, the Informal Conference shall be concluded.
The examiner shall proceed with the issuance of the Preliminary Assessment Notice (PAN). Upon receipt of the PAN, you should submit your reply within 15 days. Again, the reply shall contain reconciliations and explanations why the assessment must be cancelled partially or fully. If the BIR disagrees with your explanations, the BIR shall issue the Formal Letter of Demand and Final Assessment Notice (FLD/FAN), calling for the payment of the deficiency tax liability, inclusive of the applicable penalties.
If you do not agree with the findings in the FLD/FAN, submit a protest within 30 days from receipt thereof by filing either a request for reconsideration or a request for reinvestigation. It is important to remember that the 30-day period is not extendible. Failure to file a protest will make the assessment final, executory, and demandable.
If the protest is denied, in whole or in part, by the Commissioner’s duly authorized representative, you may either: (i) appeal to the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) within 30 days from the date of receipt of the said decision; or (ii) elevate your protest through a request for reconsideration to the Commissioner within 30 days from the date of receipt of the said decision. Again, failure to act after receiving the decision within the 30-day period will make the assessment final, executory, and demandable.
You also need to check the date when the FAN was issued. It could have been issued past the three-year prescription date. Hence, any FAN issued is already prescribed, and you can cite such prescription as a defense against the assessment. Take note that prescription dates for the different types of taxes being examined may differ. Again, technical rules are important to determine when the prescription will set in.
In the tax assessment process, knowing the rules and possible defenses is half the battle. If you want to find out more about how to handle a BIR tax assessment, you may be interested in attending our seminar, Know your rights: Rules on BIR Tax Assessment and Recent Trends. The seminar will be held on Oct. 26 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Makati. For more details, call +632 988 22 88 (ext. 521).
Eleanor Lucas Roque is the head of the Tax Advisory and Compliance Division of P&A Grant Thornton.
As Published in BusinessWorld dated 15 October 2018
