-
Compliance
Assistance in the design, implementation and monitoring of Compliance programs within the framework of local and international regulations (FCPA, Corporate Criminal Responsibility Law), including course delivery.
-
ESG & Sustainability
Projects related to ESG (environmental, social and governance) and Sustainability.
-
Forensic
The services offer includes expert advice in litigation resolution and the development of procedures in legal/digital forensics and cybersecurity.
-
Human Capital solutions
Grant Thornton's Human Capital division has a team of professionals determined to accompany individuals and organizations throughout the relationship between the employee and the organization.
-
Organizational restructuring
Advice on operational restructuring to companies in difficulty, their creditors or other interested parties.
-
Services to the Government and the Public Sector
Financial audit projects and special technical and concurrent reviews of programs of national and subnational governments financed by International Credit Organizations. Special projects for government entities, public and mixed companies.
-
Valuation Services
We provide stock, business, asset, and liability valuations in support of negotiations, account structuring, and tax opportunities.
-
Transaction Advisory Services
The service offer includes financial due Diligence, operations services, business and strategic intelligence, ratings, advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and debt advice.
-
Academy - Empowered by Grant Thornton Argentina & Perú
Academy is an e-learning platform that emerged as a joint initiative of Grant Thornton Argentina and Grant Thornton Perú. It is designed so that everyone can acquire new skills in accounting, auditing, taxes, technology and business through access to multiple courses and certifications.
-
External audit
We offer services of external audit of financial statements; assurance reports, agreed procedures and certifications; due-diligence and take-over of companies.
-
Audit methodology and technology
At Grant Thornton we use a single audit methodology across our global network. We apply it through an integrated set of software tools known as the Voyager suite. Meet it now.
-
Professional standards and training
Our IFRS advisors can help you navigate the complexity of the standards so you can spend your time and effort on your business.
-
Prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism
At Grant Thornton we provide advice to our clients in the development of an Asset Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention strategy that allows them to prevent risks in a comprehensive manner.
-
Tax outsourcing
Taxes have a strong impact on your business decisions. At Grant Thornton we will respond quickly and tailor solutions for our clients.
-
Payroll
Put your payroll in good hands while you take your business beyond. Learn about our services.
-
Accounting, administration and finance services
To achieve the highest business benefits, you need an experienced team by your side. Learn about our services.
-
Start-up companies
Learn about our solutions to help build your business.
-
Financial statements audit
We offer services of external audit of financial statements; assurance reports, agreed procedures and certifications; due-diligence and take-over of companies.
-
FIU Independent External Reviewer - AML/CFT
We participate in the implementation of the requirements of the FIU in leading companies and our services ensure an orderly framework, optimizing the investment.
-
Internal audit
An internal audit helps identify gaps, deficiencies, and potential for inherent risk in all facets of the organization.
-
Legal audit
The monitoring of the legal area is usually a complex and difficult task for organizations, which however cannot be neglected.
-
Creation and acquisition of Financial Entities
We have the knowledge and experience in activities related to the acquisition and creation of financial entities, both locally and internationally.
-
Responsible for regulatory compliance
At Grant Thornton we offer the service of acting as "Responsible for Regulatory Compliance and Internal Control" for companies that requested registration as Settlement and Clearing Agent and Trading Agent.
-
IT Internal Audit
IT has been, and will increasingly be, a key factor for success and operational efficiency in all industries. Innovations such as the cloud and virtualization, and new threats around data security, have reinforced the importance and increased the risks associated with the use of technology for our clients.
-
Global Mobility Services
Sending someone abroad involves liabilities and obligations. We offer interesting solutions to minimize the tax burden for both parties.
-
Direct Tax
We provide clear and practical solutions that meet your specific business needs, in the most tax-efficient way possible.
-
Indirect Tax
Grant Thornton's tax teams take a rigorous approach to help you meeting your tax obligations, whatever challenges you may face along the way.
-
International taxes – Transaction support
We offer our international experience in the field and make available the resources to plan and adequately comply with regulatory frameworks.
-
Services to private clients
Wherever you are in the world, our tax specialists can help you with your interests and investments abroad.
-
Clean energy and technology
Growing demand, development of new ways of energy and need of a sustainable future: we accompany our client in these changes and to be one step ahead.
-
Mining
Our flexible, partner-led teams are dynamic and focused on development. We take time to understand the details of the client’s business and offer unique solutions.
-
Oil and gas
Our Oil & Gas teams have the deep knowledge, wide experience and vision needed to offer our clients practical solutions adapted to their businesses.
-
Banking
Grant Thornton offers meaningful and accurate solutions for operational and transactional issues, litigation and administrative disputes in banking.
-
Private capital
We gather international teams of experts in corporate finance, restructuring and recovery, tax and insurance services to deliver customized solutions from initial investment, through development stages until the end of each project.
-
Fintech
We work to take advantage of all opportunities and manage industry risks, allowing our clients to always be one step beyond their competitors.
-
Asset management
We have specialized teams in more than 140 markets delivering solutions regarding insurance, taxes and advisory to global, international, regional, local asset managers.
-
Insurance
Thanks to our specialized team we offer accurate solutions for operational and transactional matters, litigations and administrative conflicts.
Industry 4.0 meant the technology sector was already growing steadily, however the sudden surge in remote working, online shopping, digital health and virtual learning boosted demand for business technology and communications solutions.
In fact, Grant Thornton’s global research – which provides insight into the views and expectations of businesses – found that 44% of tech firms globally grew their revenue by more than 5% in 2020, compared to 35% across all industries[i]. Additionally, 34% of tech firms grew their exports by over 5% and 21% moved into new geographic markets, compared to only 23% and 12% across all industries respectively.
As the world starts settling into the ‘new normal’, however, what will happen to this momentum? Some say 2020’s positive effects will linger well into 2021 and beyond, as people stick with new tech-enabled convenience and productivity. Others say some of the big winners in the pandemic won’t be as strongly positioned for a post-vaccine world. Our research shows that tech firms remain mostly on the cautious side of future business performance, with only 52% of firms expecting revenues to increase over the next 12 months.
According to Fergus Condon, global head – technology sector, Grant Thornton Ireland, “Although much of the world is eager to put 2020 behind us, it’s clear that there will be some long-lasting changes to how we live and work. Tech companies, and the services they provide, will be central in enabling the ‘new normal’, but this isn’t necessarily a ‘golden ticket’ for all. To continue to succeed, tech companies must be ready to adapt and rise to the challenges ahead.”
As tech firms navigate the year ahead, we look at some of the key business questions they face.
1. How can technology businesses build resilience against changing customer behaviour?
Customer behaviour changed almost overnight when the pandemic struck. Every industry had to pivot quickly in an ‘adapt or die’ scenario. Most behaviour changes resulted in a direct increase in technology dependence. For tech companies, many of the changes were already in the pipeline – just accelerated or magnified – putting them in a ‘grow or die’ scenario.
While optimism in many economies rose sharply, 63% of technology firms surveyed say economic uncertainty is a major constraint in growing and expanding their business. Another constraint highlighted globally by 52% of respondents and by 54% of technology firms was an anticipated pullback in customer spending in the next 12 months. This is especially pronounced in APAC, where 61% of companies expect reduced demand to constrain business performance.
Graph 1 – Reduced demand as a business constraint
Looking at the data, focus over the next year is on rearchitecting to meet the immediate challenge. Across all three regions, investing in IT and R&D are the top priorities for 2021. Yet, despite anticipating a drop in revenue and customer spending, our study shows that few have strategies in place for dealing with changes to customer behaviour or competitive dynamics, or different scenarios for the scale-up of company operations.
It’s likely that a heavy dependence on technology will continue into 2021 – but just how heavy?
Consumers are expected to be more price tag sensitive and, as vaccination programmes and advanced treatments roll out across the world, people are returning to workplaces, classrooms and physical shops. While remote working and online shopping have been a demystifying and welcome experience for many, people seem to be leaning towards a ‘hybrid’ approach in the future – a blend of the physical and digital, meaning tech companies will need to meet them in this space.
2. How can technology businesses build access and retain tech talent as demand heats up?
To keep pace with the demand for technology in 2020, many tech companies invested in their workforces, increasing headcounts and making salaries more competitive. But this means that an already heated war for tech talent is intensifying, with demand continuing to outstrip supply.
In our research, 39% of technology firms grew their staff levels by over 5% in 2020, over 10 percentage points higher than the average for all industries globally (26%). While this growth in staff levels in Europe tech firms (26%) was on par with the global figure, technology companies in APAC (39%) and the Americas (43%) were encouragingly higher.
Graph 2 – Growth in staff levels
Supporting the demand for skilled workers outweighing current supply, 55% of technology firms globally said the availability of skilled workers will be a major constraint to business growth in 2021. It is not surprising then, perhaps, that a greater number of technology companies (30%) said they plan to increase salaries by more than inflation – especially in the Americas where 38% of technology firms indicated this was their intention – compared to 21% from across all industries globally.
Graph 3 – Increase in salaries by more than inflation
According to Stripe[ii], roughly $300 billion is lost every year in software development productivity as a result of a lack of access to senior talent and complex software systems. As technology becomes more complex and adoption increases, it’s a challenge not likely to be dissolved soon. Tech firms need to continue exploring new ways of attracting and developing tech talent, retaining those already employed, and navigating the growing concern of labour costs.
The growing trend of hybrid and remote workforces also puts pressure on traditional talent-based strategies. Post-pandemic, 55% of US workers want a mix of home and office working, while employment experts in China predict a 60/40 split of office/remote work[iii].
While offering flexible working can be a great incentive, what does it mean for maintaining culture, and for developing and training employees?
Some companies have been taking advantage of remote working environments to create lean and agile workforces, sourcing capabilities through local or international contractors and consultants. But this has regulatory implications, such as IR35 in the UK, that need to be considered, which may be why our data shows this as a decreasing trend this year.
With a hybrid workforce, companies also need to review their own infrastructure, data and IP protection policies, ensuring business-critical information is handled appropriately in non-office settings.
3. How can technology businesses navigate the complexities of an increasingly digital world?
As the world becomes more digital, regulators are likely to respond. Consumers are more aware of their digital footprint than ever before, and scrutinising data protection efforts.
Steven Perkins, national leader – technology and telecommunications, Grant Thornton US, shares, “Tech companies need to build the functionality and capability to comply with a large and diverse set of conflicting international standards into their products. They need to bake trust, transparency, accountability and ethical practices into everything they do – giving customers a high degree of confidence that their products are secure, protect their privacy and support compliance with emerging standards.”
Globally, 49% of our research respondents said regulatory red tape would constrain their ability to expand or grow their business. The percentage was slightly higher for tech business respondents, at 53%. However, for any growing tech company, it’s important to remember one thing: regulation needn’t be a roadblock. When approached correctly, it can create competitive advantage.
The tax climate for technology companies is also becoming increasingly complex. Matt Stringer, international tax director, Grant Thornton UK, points out, “As at the end of 2020, 23 different jurisdictions have enacted legislation on a specifically targeted digital services tax. Many others have draft legislation or proposals pending. As consumer behaviours change and businesses drive increasing value from user interface and interaction, tax authorities will inevitably respond.”
Matt continues, “While the OECD is attempting to reach a consensus on a global answer to the tax challenges of the digital economy, its eight-year effort on the topic is far from complete and would require unanimous support to introduce a multinational measure. Until that point, we see governments taking their own steps to protect their tax base with unilateral measures.”
These new 'digital taxes' are complex in scope, measurement, and application; and differ around the globe. “This is creating a new layer of compliance and administration for tech companies as they manage a changing global tax landscape,” Matt concludes.
So, what’s next for technology businesses?
There’s a lot at stake this year as the world settles into the new normal. But while customer spending may dip, technology companies should keep their focus on scaling and growing faster than their competition, without compromising the DNA of their business.
Is your next step to plan for growth, adapt your processes and controls for a changing business model, manage risk, develop growth strategies or meet regulatory requirements, or a combination of these?
Whatever your immediate or long term needs, our technology advisors can support you, so connect with the authors or contact your local Grant Thornton member firm today.
-------------
i. Global business pulse, Grant Thornton International Ltd, 2021.
ii. Stripe, 2018.
iii. BBC.com, 2021.