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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. 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.
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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. 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.
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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 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.
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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. 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.
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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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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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Global culture
Our people tell us that our global culture is one of the biggest attractions of a career with Grant Thornton.
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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
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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.
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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.
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In the community
Many Grant Thornton member firms provide a range of inspirational and generous services to the communities they serve.
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Fresh Graduates
Fresh Graduates
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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.
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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.
Reminders to top withholding agents
06 Nov 2018Taxpayers have checked the most talked-about list in the Philippine taxation scene today, and have noted whether they have been included, retained, or delisted therefrom. Taxpayers who were recently included in the list may have marked their calendars too, in order not to miss the commencement of their new obligation. Needless to say, the list being referred to is the list of top withholding agents (TWAs) who are obliged to withhold on their purchases of goods and services beginning November 1, 2018. For the new ones on the list, be forewarned that the resolve to withhold tax on purchases of goods and services is often easier said than done. Being aware of the responsibility is just the tip of the iceberg. More challenges are attached to your responsibility to withhold.
Any income payment whose nature is not specifically identified in Section 2.57.2 of Revenue Regulations No. 2-98, as amended, shall be classified either as a purchase of a good or service. Services include, among others, telephone charges (net of overseas communications tax), insurance premiums, service charges, and other charges considered as income of the service provider. Goods pertain to tangible personal property, such as office and pantry supplies, office equipment, and furniture and fixtures. Note that TWAs must withhold the tax on their purchases of goods and services from regular suppliers. A regular supplier of goods and services is one with whom a taxpayer has had at least six transactions, either in the previous or current year, or constituting a single purchase amounting to at least P10,000.
From a brief purchase of sticky notes and pens to a food catering service contract spanning two years, the core issue of the regular supplier test is the monitoring mechanism that must be adopted, especially by companies with voluminous and diverse transactions. As a conservative approach, some companies withhold tax from their payments to their suppliers of goods and services without checking the frequency of the purchases from the latter. In addition, the archiving of documents to prove that the purchases are casual ones, i.e., not from regular suppliers or a single purchase amounting to less than P10,000, has to be tightened. It can be gleaned from various Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) cases that the court meticulously checks the supporting documents of a taxpayer who claims that its purchases are casual ones which are, thus, not subject to 1% or 2% withholding tax. The court does not miss any detail, from the description of the purchase on the official receipt or lack thereof, to the date of the transaction. In a 2005 CTA case, among the pieces of evidence required to be presented in court is the Semestral List of Regular Suppliers (SRS). A purchase from a supplier not indicated therein is deemed as a casual purchase of a good or service. The SRS is required to be submitted by TWAs every July 31 of the current year and Jan. 31 of the following year to the Revenue District Office having jurisdiction over the TWA’s principal place of business.
The withholding of taxes on employee reimbursements is, likewise, left unresolved to this day. How do you withhold the taxes from company expenses paid by employees through cash, such as lodging, meals, transportation, representation, and other items frequently purchased that are of relatively small value and necessary for the business? When it comes to these types of purchases, the obligation to withhold is often administratively difficult to comply with. Some companies have issued corporate credit cards to their employees to eliminate the need to withhold taxes on expenses during business travel. We all know, however, that not all purchases can be paid for with credit cards. As a result, some companies end up shouldering the withholding taxes on these purchases. It is high time that the Bureau of Internal Revenue issues guidelines on easing the process of withholding the taxes on reimbursements. After all, one of the characteristics of a sound tax system is administrative feasibility.
Confusion lies as well on the withholding of tax on payments to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), agencies, or instrumentalities. Some taxpayers mistakenly believe that payments to government corporations are exempt from withholding tax, just because they are owned by the government. Payments to GOCCs, however, are subject to withholding tax, except for payments to the Government Service Insurance System, the Social Security System, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., and local water districts.
Basically, all expenses of a TWA are subject to withholding tax, except those paid through company-issued credit cards and payments to entities such as general professional partnerships, cooperatives, business/civic leagues, and entities that are exempt from income tax or under income tax holiday. Pursuant to Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 8-2014, withholding agents shall require entities claiming exemption to provide a copy of a valid, current, and subsisting tax exemption or ruling which must explicitly recognize the grant of tax exemption, as well as the corresponding exemption from withholding tax.
The withholding of tax is not as linear as it sounds because, in some cases, the willingness to withhold tax and the means to do so are in utter disconnect. Familiarizing yourself with the twists and turns of withholding tax and being armed with the relevant regulations and industry practices would go a long way. Congratulations for being included in the list of top withholding agents. You, together with the ordinary withholding agents, are instruments for the prompt remittance of taxes to the government. With your help, incremental government revenue from monthly withholding tax remittances are to be expected.
Taxes to the nation are like fuel to cars. Fuel is only one of the things needed for a car to run; a good driver is still indispensable. No matter how full the tank is, if the driver is not good, the passengers will not reach their destination. Similarly, no matter how many taxes we remit, if the government is not true to its promises, our diligence in remitting taxes would be for naught. So while you continue to meet your obligation as withholding agents, join me in praying that every peso remitted contributes to the improvement of our beloved nation. There are bumps and potholes on the road ahead as a TWA, but we can hope that the bumpy ride is worth it, and hope further that this is not blind optimism.
Ma. Anneth Soledad Mirano is a senior of the Tax Advisory and Compliance Division of P&A Grant Thornton. P&A Grant Thornton is one of the leading audit, tax, advisory, and outsourcing services firms in the Philippines.
As Published in BusinessWorld dated 06 November 2018
