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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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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.
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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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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
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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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.
Tick, tock, click, file, pay
14 Jun 2016The Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) was developed to provide taxpayers with “top quality and convenient service through a much faster processing and immediate confirmation of filing of tax returns and payment of taxes due thereon.” The system allows the taxpayers to directly encode, submit their tax returns and pay their taxes online. Considering the convenience made by the eFPS, filing and payment can be done anytime and anywhere where Internet is accessible. In spite of such accessibility, taxpayers fall prey to the trifles of the due dates for filing and payment in case these falls on a holiday or on a weekend.
There is no issue for manual taxpayers whenever the due date falls on a weekend or a holiday as the filing and payment is automatically deferred to the next business day. However, for eFPS filers, in view of the emerging enhancements to the online world, the question now lies: do eFPS taxpayers enjoy the same benefits as that of manual taxpayers?
Most eFPS taxpayers still file on the basis that the due date for filing and payment is postponed to the next business day, as is the case with manual filers.
There are some, though, who opt to be conservative and assume that the due date is not moved when it falls on a weekend or a holiday, considering the pros and convenience eFPS taxpayers enjoy.
It is well-noted that the BIR calendar does not provide for a distinction. Likewise, the BIR has neither issued any regulation on such matter.
It seems though that there may be basis for some conservatism. In one case that has come to our attention, a certain Revenue District Office (RDO) assessed the eFPS taxpayer for late payment as the latter paid after the last day of payment which fell on a Saturday. According to the RDO, there is no legal basis for extension of the payment due date to the next business day.
Should there be a specific issuance to authorize the extension? In January 2015, when the President issued a proclamation declaring special holidays throughout the Philippines in preparation for the Papal visit, the BIR announced a deferment of deadlines to the next working day. Does it imply that, in the absence of any issuance or advisory, taxpayers will have to file and pay within the period, which is inconsistent with the provision of the Administrative Code of the Philippines?
Under Section 28 of the Administrative Code of the Philippines, where the day, or the last day for doing any act required or permitted by law falls on a regular holiday, or a special day, the act may be done on the next succeeding business day. Moreover, Section 1 Rule 22 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure provides that the period shall not run until the next working day if the last day of the period, as computed by the court or other applicable Statute, falls on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday in the place where the court sits.
It is noteworthy to mention that most businesses, government and private alike, are also closed on weekends. Hence, it would be inconsistent with mandating taxpayers to file and pay on a weekend or holiday that it falls due. Moreover, there are CTA cases where eFPS returns were filed beyond the deadline falling on a weekend but without the CTA or the CIR calling attention to the late filing.
As the Administrative Code has not been amended and no specific regulation has been issued by BIR, we believe there is legal basis for the movement of the due dates even for eFPS.
Even the eFPS itself seems to recognize weekends, and holidays are automatically determined by the system and no penalties are imposed if returns are filed on the following working day. In other instances, the eFPS automatically imposes penalties on late filing/payment.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is still worthwhile to be conservative for the taxpayer to file and pay on or before the last day required by law.
The issues may arise when a taxpayer applies for a tax refund, transfer of RDO, certifications or accreditations and other permits. In such cases, the BIR has to issue a clearance, and the late filings may be raised as open cases. In such instances, the taxpayer applying for permit or accreditation is pressured to give in and pay the penalties due to the exigency of having the permits or accreditation issued.
In many cases, we have known that the BIR stands firm on its interpretation and the taxpayer has no recourse but to pay or to appeal the same in court.
Taxpayers who take on the burden of financing our government do not deserve to be bothered and burdened with such trivial issues. It is hoped that this, and many other minor issues which can have major consequences in terms of penalties, could be clarified to give taxpayers their much deserved transparency and consistency in the implementation of the tax laws.
Flourence Kathrine Enriquez is a senior of the Tax Advisory and Compliance division of Punongbayan & Araullo.
As published in Business World, dated 14 June 2016