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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
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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.
Certainty in uncertain times
31 Mar 2020As the number of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases rapidly increased over the past few weeks, we have developed an obsession with figures and statistics. How many new cases have been reported in our country? What is the mortality rate? How many have recovered? How can we flatten the infection curve? What are the measures do we need to follow to avoid being infected?
These questions are an indication of life’s uncertainties. The COVID-19 outbreak has changed our lives in ways we could have never imagined. Our work, activities, and even relationships with each other are greatly affected.
The Department of Health has announced that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases will skyrocket this week considering that the country has received 100,000 testing kits and more are coming in. Uncertainties about the rate of infection and when it will taper off have produced anxiety, fear, worry, and doubt in us.
On top of worrying about COVID-19, taxpayers are also facing uncertainties on their tax liabilities and responsibilities. The government’s adoption of necessary measures to contain the virus has placed many taxpayers in limbo. The imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), for example, makes it difficult for taxpayers to comply with filing and reportorial requirements with various government agencies. Some taxpayers cannot obtain the necessary documents while others face challenges in filing due to restrictions on movement, transportation, or people going to work. Even when the ECQ is lifted, delays will continue as a result of the growing backlog of unattended work, as many employees are working from home.
Fortunately, the government has listened to the clamor of the taxpayers. Many government agencies are issuing orders, guidelines, and memoranda extending reporting deadlines and easing the filing process.
Last week, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Memorandum Circulars extending the deadlines for submitting tax returns, availing of the tax amnesty for delinquencies, and submitting or filing documents and correspondence related to assessment cases, among other related filings.
The BIR also issued Bank Bulletin No. 2020-03 to all Authorized Agent Banks (AAB) on the acceptance of annual income tax returns for 2019 and other tax returns whose due dates fall within the ECQ period. AABs are now required to accept all tax payments, including out-of-district returns. Traditionally, taxpayers paid only through the AABs under the jurisdiction of the Revenue District Office (RDO) where the taxpayer is registered.
Taxpayers have long been requesting the ability to file and pay out of district. With advancements in technology, it is difficult to understand why taxpayers are required to pay only at certain banks within their RDOs. Hopefully, with the BIR allowing out-of-district payment during this ECQ period, they can also study how taxpayers can adopt this practice beyond the ECQ.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on the other hand, issued SEC Memorandum Circular No. 10, prescribing guidelines on submitting through email the General Information Sheet (GIS), Audited Financial Statement (AFS), forms and documents required under existing laws, rules and regulations, and the recognition of electronic signature.
SEC Memorandum Circular No. 10 allows concerned corporations to file the required documents through email during the state of public health emergency while the country has been placed under ECQ, provided that all of the following required specifications are complied with:
(1) The submitted documents should be in portable document format (PDF), preferably with a Text Layer; (2) The submitted documents should contain an electronic signature; (3) The submitted documents should be sent as Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) attachments to an email from a valid company email account or email address of an authorized representative; (4) The documents that need to be executed and submitted under oath may be submitted unnotarized; however, the person(s) whose signature appears in the documents submitted shall be held accountable under the appropriate provisions of the Revised Corporation Code; (5) The body of the email should contain a statement declaring the authenticity of the submitted documents, a commitment to submit physical versions of the same documents to the SEC once the state of public health emergency is lifted, and the full name, corporate address, and mobile number of the authorized representative submitting the documents; and (6) The sender should request a Return Receipt and a Delivery Status Notification to ensure that the email has been sent and has also been received by the SEC.
It is commendable that the SEC finally adopted these rules in accordance with Republic Act No. 8792 or the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000. Under this law, for evidentiary purposes, an electronic document shall be the functional equivalent of a written document. Though it has taken a long time to be adopted, it is, nonetheless, a good development. I hope that the SEC will continue to allow the submission of electronic documents in the future, and not just during this period of ECQ.
Some of our Local Government Units (LGUs) are also passing ordinances extending payment of business and realty taxes.
Some cities in Metro Manila, such as Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Manila, Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, Quezon City, and Valenzuela, have extended their deadlines for paying for Q2 business taxes and Q1 real property taxes (RPT). Some of the announcements are based on duly enacted city ordinances while others are just posted on their social media accounts or published in newspapers. As soon as the ECQ is lifted, taxpayers will be busy verifying the extensions and coordinating with the cities and municipalities.
The City of Caloocan has extended the payment of RPT and LBT to June 30 through City Ordinance No.851 and 852. Las Piñas’ extended deadline for RPT is May 15 and for LBT is May 20. Makati’s extended deadline for RPT and LBT is April 30 through City Ordinance No. 2020-75. Manila’s extended deadline for RPT and LBT is June 30. Mandaluyong’s extended deadline for RPT and LBT is May 20 through City Ordinance No. 764. series of 2020. Muntinlupa’s extended deadline for RPT is May 31 through City Ordinance No. 2020-078 and for LBT is July 20 through City Ordinance No. 2020-073. Navotas’ extended deadline for RPT and LBT is May 31 through City Ordinance No. 2020-07. Pasay City and Quezon City have extended their deadline for RPT and LBT to April 30. Parañaque’s extended deadline for RPT is June 30 through Resolution No. 256 and for LBT is July 20 through Resolution No. 257. Pasig City has extended the deadline for two months from due date of RPT and LBT. San Juan City’s extended deadline for RPT is April 20 and for LBT is May 20. Valenzuela’s extended the deadline for RPT to April 30 through City Ordinance No. 677-2020.
Marikina City has announced that it will not impose interest on RPT for property owners who are unable to settle their RPT dues on the original March 31 deadline. However, there is no definite date or length of extension yet.
I hope that other LGUs will consider extending their deadlines for RPT and LBT, especially since this outbreak is affecting the entire country.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is a period of uncertainty, one thing is certain: we will get through this together. Once again, the resilience of the Filipino spirit is being tested. Through the collaborative efforts of the government, international community, private sector, civil society, and ordinary citizens, together we will heal as one.
Let’s Talk Tax is a weekly newspaper column of P&A Grant Thornton that aims to keep the public informed of various developments in taxation. This article is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice.
Neptali G. Maroto is a Tax Associate of Tax Advisory & Compliance division of P&A Grant Thornton, the Philippine member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd.
As published in BusinessWorld, dated 31 March 2020