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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.
Revisiting the TRAIN Law
15 Jan 2019Nothing is forever, except change. The wise words of Buddha proclaim the undeniable truth that the only thing constant is change. Life is a process of becoming; thus, we should always keep ourselves abreast with the changing times. After all, progress is impossible without changing the status quo.
For most of us, the beginning of the New Year is a time to restart, reboot, and reassess our personal goals. As the first month of 2019 unfolds, it is high time to revisit the resolutions we’ve set — how far we’ve come and our rooms for growth. For the government, now is the time to reevaluate existing policies or reform laws to meet new exigencies. As taxpayers, it is important to know the recent developments in order to thrive and survive amidst the demands of our dynamic everyday life.
A little more than a year ago — on Jan. 1, 2018 to be exact — the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act took effect. Being the first package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), TRAIN 1 introduced a lot of significant changes. Among its purposes was to raise revenue for the government’s social services and infrastructure programs. TRAIN 1 reduced personal income taxes after 20 long years of non-adjustment of tax rates; but it imposed higher excise taxes on automobiles, petroleum products, tobacco, sugar-sweetened beverages and other non-essential goods. The legislators intended that with the people’s support, all these reforms will ultimately result in lower prices, more job opportunities and a brighter future for each and every Filipino.
Literally and figuratively, the TRAIN came to pass accompanied with much noise. Heated discussions ensued in both chambers of Congress. Some advocates say it arrived as a Godsend and was timed perfectly. Others claimed it was hurriedly enacted, without the ordinary taxpayer being duly informed of its many implications. Being the most recent and comprehensive economic legislation by far, the public sought to better understand the law and its impacts – on take-home pay, prices of goods and services, and consumer spending patterns. As a response, several developmental and business organizations — including professional services firms such as P&A Grant Thornton — organized seminars on the law and the latest implementing regulations from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, to educate Filipinos on the relevant amendments.
Before the implementation of the TRAIN Law, its detractors theorized that the increase in petroleum prices would cause a domino effect and, ultimately, lead to an increase in the prices of goods and services, falling on the shoulders of consumers, especially the poor. Lo and behold, the rise in prices of everyday commodities was very much felt since the beginning of 2018. Burdened by the price shock, there was an uproar from citizens seeking the suspension of the law. While it is true that the TRAIN Law was not all to blame, we cannot discount the inability of ordinary people to afford rice, not to mention softdrinks, alcohol, and cigarettes, and the fuel necessary for daily transportation. For someone who drives almost daily, I could very well imagine how taxi drivers might be dealing with gasoline prices that spiked to a record-breaking P60.87 in October. Mothers and homemakers found themselves on the front lines as their household budgets bought fewer and fewer groceries. Restaurants started skimping on portion sizes or simply charged more.
Although the individual income tax brackets have finally been adjusted and augmented by the TRAIN Law, they were accompanied by a whopping surge in inflation. In October, inflation hit 6.7%, moving even further away from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ target range of 2-4% for 2018. Although the causes include world oil prices or other forces, it is clear that the rise in inflation was partly caused by TRAIN. Adding fuel to the fire, whereas the higher excise taxes target the rich, the increase in prices hurt the poor the most. Hence, the wide gap between the rich and the poor remains.
The question now is: Did TRAIN 1 attain its objectives? Or more specifically for the individual: Was the increase in net income due to the decrease in income tax rates enough to counter the higher inflation rate and increase in prices? The answer lies in whether or not there has indeed been an improvement in the effective purchasing power of Filipinos. Purchasing power is an important indicator of the economic condition of the nation. All else being equal, inflation decreases the amount of goods or services one is able to purchase; and reduced purchasing power leads to a decrease in living standards. It is hoped that the tax reforms will produce more benefit than harm, and that such advantages will trickle down to ordinary people sooner. Periodically reviewing the effects of the law is key, along with efficient execution, to ensure that tax collection is indeed put to good use.
Notwithstanding its drawbacks and the appearance to most consumers that the promise of the TRAIN law holds no water, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno denied a report that the government has failed to reach its target revenue collection for 2018. He ruled out halting the implementation of the TRAIN law, saying that measures are in place to temper the harmful impact of higher prices. Suspension then is out of the question. For most of 2018, Mr. Diokno and President Rodrigo R. Duterte rejected calls to review the controversial tax reform law, saying it is needed for economic growth. Then, there was a change of heart sometime in October. The government announced, albeit with initial reluctance, that the P2-increase in fuel excise tax scheduled in January 2019 will be suspended. At that point, world oil prices noticeably dropped, as global supply outstripped demand. The suspension of the TRAIN Law was lifted.
Now, we welcome the New Year with the second tranche of the TRAIN Law. On Thursday, Jan. 10, the Department of Energy (DoE) announced that 444 retail stations nationwide are now imposing the second wave of excise taxes on petroleum products, as mandated by the TRAIN Law. The DoE expects other gas stations to follow suit in February.
On a more positive note, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that headline inflation decelerated to 5.1% in December. The peso, which had been weakening against the dollar last year, slightly recovered on the first and second weeks of January. Gasoline prices receded to P45.50 per liter. The performance of the Philippine Stock Exchange improved and reflected growing business and investor confidence.
Let us then choose to be grateful for these recent, positive developments and have faith that the government will remain vigilant in closely monitoring the imposition of taxes vis-à-vis the prices of basic goods and commodities. Let us hope that the President and his economic advisers will act more responsively to address the concerns of the ordinary taxpayer in light of the ever-changing times, especially punctuated by volatile crude oil prices.
It is essential to always know the changes in our tax laws, and the corresponding consequences, not only to ensure compliance and avoid risks, but also to assert our constitutional rights as citizens. And together, let us pray that the tax reforms this year, moving forward, would lead us to a more equitable and fast-growing Philippine economy conducive to a life worth living.
Aleli Carissa D. Gimena is an associate of the Tax Advisory and Compliance Division of P&A Grant Thornton.
As published in BusinessWorld, dated 15 January 2019
