-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Tax compliance
We aim to minimize the impact of taxation, enabling you to maximize your potential savings and to expand your business.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
It always fascinates me whenever I hear my one-and-a-half-year-old daughter sings the famous children’s song “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day…” While her singing is an enchantment to my ears, it’s also sad because she cannot play outside because of the rain.
Apparently, there is a similar song that many are singing nowadays on the impact of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law Package 1 or TRAIN 1. Have you heard about “TRAIN TRAIN go away”? This jingle seems to be the theme in recent headlines about the country’s taxation, as debates have been going back and forth on whether or not TRAIN 1 needs to be suspended.
The clamor of TRAIN 1 detractors hinges on the argument that it is “anti-poor”, particularly because the spike in commodity prices more than offsets the reduction in personal income tax. To be explicit, the excise tax adjustments on certain petroleum products, like diesel and gasoline increased transportation costs and also exerted a domino effect on the prices of commodities purchased by the consumers. Unfortunately, under TRAIN 1, the excise taxes will further increase in 2019 and 2020.
To make the situation worse, critics are pointing out that the surge in commodity prices aggravated the situation of the marginal income earners. Those who were exempt from the individual income tax even prior to the effectivity of TRAIN 1,such as minimum-wage earners, informal sellers, small-time contractors, and the unemployed, have been struggling to meet their basic needs due to their diminishing purchasing power because of TRAIN 1.
The advocates of TRAIN 1, on the other hand, remain steadfast that TRAIN 1 is not “anti-poor”, and that the main target of the upward change in excise taxes on diesel and gasoline are the rich, who have their own cars and who account for a significant chunk of consumption on fuel. Further, advocates say that the escalation of prices in petroleum products is not mainly due to TRAIN 1. Instead, the two major culprits causing price increases are: (1) the fluctuation of oil prices dictated by the international market, as affected by reduced production of oil by major countries and coupled with some political tensions that involve Middle Eastern oil producers; and (2) the weakening exchange rate of the peso.
In addition, the TRAIN 1 proponents contend that the government has countermeasures for the poor families affected by the surge in commodity prices. Among these measures are the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program intended for the 10 million households and individual beneficiaries and the Pantawid Pasada Program to benefit jeepney drivers. These programs aim to lighten the burden of poor families. TRAIN 1 supporters explain that, even when TRAIN 1 was being drafted, they identified programs to help the poor with their day-to-day consumption.
Perhaps the government should more patiently explain to the public why it believes that TRAIN 1 is not “anti-poor.” The problem, however, is that it may not be that easy to explain something to a person who is hungry and angry about his present situation. The government has a massive task of ensuring the actual implementation of its programs. Perhaps the results are not entirely felt by all the intended beneficiaries, and that is why critics easily point to TRAIN 1 as the reason for their miseries. It will be noted that TRAIN 1 took effect in January, and complaints have been aired for eight months now. Needless to say, the situation ought to have been resolved in no time.
Remember that we have seen only Package 1 of the proposed comprehensive tax reform program, and we are already in the midst of an unending debate on whether TRAIN 1 should stay or be suspended. There are other TRAINS approaching, and if these are not carefully drafted and fully explained to the public, we might end up quarrelling even more than we are right now. “Rain, rain, go away” is meant to be sung by children trying to drive away the gloom. If not resolved, the gloom associated with TRAIN 1 might lead us to hear even more clamor for TRAIN to go away.
Olivier D. Aznar is a lawyer and partner of the Tax Advisory and Compliance of P&A Grant Thornton. P&A Grant Thornton is one of the leading audit, tax, advisory, and outsourcing services firms in the Philippines. You may contact the author thru Vier.Aznar@ph.gt.com, or call us at tel. nos.
+63(2) 988-2288.
As published in BusinessWorld dated 21 August 2018