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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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Our people tell us that our global culture is one of the biggest attractions of a career with Grant Thornton.
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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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Many Grant Thornton member firms provide a range of inspirational and generous services to the communities they serve.
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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.
2020 Tax Filing: A whole new level of extraordinary
19 May 2020May 15 marks the last day of the extended enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) for most parts of the country, including the National Capital Region. In spite of the continuing increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases being reported each day, the government has decided to relax restrictions in certain parts of the country in hopes of gradually getting the economy going again after a two-month lockdown.
Under the modified ECQ or MECQ, certain industries or business sectors have been allowed to partially reopen, where only a maximum of 50% of each business’s workforce will be permitted to work on-site. Included among these sectors are those providing office administrative support and accounting services.
Technically, areas under MECQ are still under quarantine; therefore, many taxpayers expect a further extension of tax filing and payment deadlines. In Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 11-2020, there is a provision stating that, in case of another quarantine extension, the extended tax filing and payment deadlines enumerated shall further be extended by 15 calendar days.
However, the tables have turned when the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), in a recently published news article, commented that no further extension of tax deadlines will be granted and that an amendatory regulation will be released to repeal the provision granting an additional extension under RR No. 11-2020.
With the varying community quarantine phases and their corresponding restrictions being implemented across the country, taxpayers are facing challenges, more than ever, in fulfilling their tax obligations. Although the BIR has granted two months’ worth of extensions for certain tax filings, not all entities were able to ensure the continuity of their bookkeeping for the affected tax reporting periods. In addition, there are taxpayers who have put their year-end financial audits on hold during the lockdown. The circumstances brought on by the pandemic really came as a big surprise, and not everyone was prepared to deal with the consequences.
The previous extensions for filing deadlines for two months at most, and the non-extension under the MECQ, have resulted in most due dates happening in rapid succession. The due dates for May tax returns were also not extended and will fall due within the same period. This situation leaves the taxpayers who can only start working upon the lifting of the ECQ with very limited time to complete the backlogs on their accounting records, as well as to finalize the amounts to be reported in their tax returns. As if these tasks are not burdensome enough, there is also the issue of mobility and transportation in order for people to easily report to work and do the necessary filing or submission with the BIR while under ECQ or MECQ.
It is a good thing, though, that the BIR is doing its part in finding ways to lessen the burden of the taxpayers during these challenging times. Previously, the BIR issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 43-2020, which allows taxpayers to pay their internal revenue taxes at any Authorized Agent Bank (AABs) nearest them, regardless of the Revenue District Office (RDO) jurisdiction, during the ECQ period. The filing and payment of tax returns may also be done through the concerned Revenue Collection Officers of the nearest RDO, even in areas where there are AABs. To facilitate check payments, the RMC provides that checks shall be made payable only to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, without the need to indicate the name of the receiving AAB Branch. This also allows for the flexibility of taxpayers to pay through any bank that is open. Nevertheless, it is still prudent for taxpayers to verify with the AAB to avoid conflicts upon filing and paying tax returns.
In another effort to ease the process of filing and paying taxes, BIR Revenue Region No. 6 spearheaded a project called “BIR Mobile 2020,” which provides a door-to-door filing and payment service to taxpayers via appointment. This initiative is very helpful for taxpayers in meeting their tax obligations not just promptly and conveniently, but also in a way that is much less threatening to taxpayers’ health and safety. Here’s hoping that more tax offices throughout the country follow suit, and that the BIR keeps this project rolling for as long as the taxpayers need such services.
Despite the very strict timeline for taxpayers to work on their tax returns, it is very important to ensure that the amounts reported are correct and complete to avoid penalties. It is equally of great importance to keep track of the filing due dates, especially now where filing due dates come almost weekly, to ensure that no deadline is missed.
It is truly in the most challenging times that highlight the importance of planning, as well as of being flexible enough to adapt to sudden and drastic changes. Indeed, this year has taken the tax return filing to a whole new level of extraordinary. However, with proper planning and efficient execution, taxpayers should be capable of overcoming the obstacles that lie ahead.
We often say, “a little preparation can go a long way.” If that is so, then we could just imagine what more of an advantage it would be if we were better and earlier prepared.
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 competent professional advice.
Arianne Cyril L. Mandac is a tax manager of Tax Advisory & Compliance division of P&A Grant Thornton, the Philippine member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd.
As published in BusinessWorld, dated 19 May 2020