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Statutory Audit
We conduct an integrated audit, which combines the financial statement audit,independent and objective assurance on financial information, transactionsand processes.
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Limited Review
We offer services relating to reviews of historical financial informationby expressing negative assurance on such historical financial information.
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Agreed Upon Procedures
We engage with organisationsto perform specific procedures and report findings to conform to their needs.
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Financial Reporting Advisory Services (FRAS)
Our team provides timely advice on the impact of accounting changes to assist businesses in the development of an appropriate implementation roadmap.
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Business Consulting
Grant Thornton UAE provides organisations with implementable plans that drive sustainable growth strategies to grow and optimise their business performance.
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Business Risk Services
Organisations need to understand risks thoroughly to be able to manage them better. Grant Thornton UAE helps businesses achieve the best balance between minimising risk exposure, optimising profitability and developing compliance review checklists.
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Regulatory Advisory Services
Grant Thornton UAE's extensive understanding of the overarching supervisory framework within the region equips our professionals to support financial institutions comply and abide by the set of regulatory mandates throughout the rapidly evolving ecosystem.
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Financial Advisory
Grant Thornton UAE works with organisations on transactions from start to finish, assisting with strategy, identifying risks, executing deals, and helping to unlock their potential for growth and value creation.
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Restructuring Advisory
Grant Thornton UAE is committed to realising value for shareholders, in a way that recognises and supports the interests of all stakeholders. Our solutions maximise value, provide clarity and direction, and accelerate recovery and transformation for businesses.
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Technology Advisory & Cybersecurity
IT and technology are fundamental to drive the performance of businesses. Through leveraging the power of technology, Grant Thornton UAE helps organisations define and identify growth opportunities to achieve value-driven transformation and innovation.
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Forensics
Fraud and corruption pose a growing challenge worldwide. As the commercial landscape changes, an increasingly regulated environment requires stringent governance and compliance processes. Grant Thornton UAE helps organisations navigate challenges and crisis with a hands-on approach coupled with the use of technology.
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ESG Services
The Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda has gained significant traction over the years, to become one of the key strategic aspects of any business. It is imperative that all organisations, irrespective of industry sector, engage with their stakeholders and prioritise ESG practices to unlock sustainable growth opportunities.
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Business Process Solutions
Our team at Grant Thornton offers comprehensive and cost effective outsourced solutions, enabling stakeholders and business owners to focus on their core business goals.
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Corporate Tax
Our diversified team of corporate tax subject matter experts combines a perfect blend of international experience across several industry sectors, technical expertise, and commercial nuances with a commitment to deliver exceptional value to your business.
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VAT
The VAT team at Grant Thornton is well versed with the VAT Laws applicable across the region and holds valuable experience and professional accreditation in assisting clients across diverse industries to comply with the VAT obligations.
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Transfer Pricing
Grant Thornton UAE assists its clients in providing transfer pricing solutions that are implementable and operational, considering the facts and concerns of its clients.
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International Tax and Tax Due Diligence
Grant Thornton UAE supports multinational groups to optimise their tax structures. We can also assist businesses in analysing existing group transactions and inter-group supplies, as well as advising on potential implications of various taxes to facilitate an efficient Group tax structure.
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Economic Substance Requirements
Economic Substance rules were introduced in the UAE in 2019, requiring UAE businesses that undertake certain ‘Relevant Activities’ to maintain and demonstrate adequate substance.
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Customs and International Trade
The team at Grant Thornton is positioned centrally to assist the businesses with global cross-border tax structuring, planning and compliance needs.
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Excise Tax
We provide Excise Tax related advisory and compliance services to the producer, importer, and the storekeeper of excisable goods
The UAE economy has remained somewhat resilient in comparison to other markets, as a result of diversification, government initiatives and the ease of doing business. Whilst the country’s economy has remained fairly impervious, tightening of liquidity across the GCC, the impact of low energy prices and a deceleration in financial growth, credit and increased regulation still remains a challenge for businesses this year.
Globally, the outlook remains somewhat strained with the IMF having lowered its 2016 global growth forecast to 3.6% (from 3.8% in July 2015) with managing director, Christine Lagarde, warning that any increase in output this year will be “disappointing and uneven”. The fund has also revised down its world trade growth projection for this year from 4.4% in July 2015 to 4.1%.
Many believed that changes in the global economy and a decrease in growth in emerging economies like China coupled with the ‘oil crunch’ would herald another 2008 downturn, which seems to have remained a hypothesis, given for now we have avoided a similar economic crisis which historically, caused a pandemic around the world.
Although the current market conditions has seen another economic crisis being avoided, it has however allowed business leaders around the world to stop and take stock. In the famous words of Heraclitus ‘change is the only constant’ – but what happens when change is inevitable, unplanned for and comes without warning?
The current economic condition has enabled business leaders to stop and reevaluate their business purpose, approach and internal structures to ensure the business is operating at optimum efficiency. Alongside this, the outlook has also inevitably promoted a stronger regulatory environment and platform, particularly in the UAE which continues to further compete with international best practice, providing further security and aids in reducing any prolonged risk.
Business leaders are also digging deeper to analyze working capital and cash flow management. Working capital and cash flow management is essential for any business but more so for SMEs who are entering the market and looking to grow.
Positive cash flow specifies that the businesses liquid assets are on the rise, which will support in meeting supplier payments, paying debt, reinvestment into the business, amongst other commitments.
Negative cash flow specifies that the liquid assets are decreasing and thus can be a key indicator that the growth strategy may need to be revisited with payment terms and financial commitments being renegotiated (if required).
Both financial elements impact all businesses, especially SMEs and their business operations. The higher the liquidity and cash flow, the more equity can be reinvested into the business, as well as providing a safeguard for any unforeseeable market changes. When market conditions are volatile, liquidity can support cash flow (if required), therefore being essential.
Alongside the regulatory environment and a greater emphasis on cash flow and working capital management, such economic conditions can also elicit business leaders to look deeper at economic cycles. Bridgewater's billionaire founder, Ray Dalio who has recently been called the Steve Jobs of investing wrote ‘How the economic machine works’ which highlights the basic driving forces behind the economy, along with explaining why economic cycles occur by breaking down concepts such as credit, interest rates, leveraging and deleveraging.
Dalio believes that three main forces drive economic activity including trend line productivity growth, the long term debt cycle and the short term debt cycle. He believes that ‘by overlaying the archetypical short-term debt cycle on top of the archetypical long-term debt cycle and overlaying them both on top of the productivity trend line, one can derive a good template for tracking most economic/market movements” as illustrated in the diagram below which gives business leaders a ‘uncomplicated’ view of economic activity. He has credited such approach to his growth and believes that business leaders can unlock potential growth areas by analysing economic cycles using a similar method.
Predicament can often be looked at with hesitation, however by taking stock during challenging times and taking into account factors such as regulation, working capital management, cash flow management and looking at alternative methods to reevaluate the economic cycle, can ensure that businesses continue to ‘stand out’ in challenging times, with a view to emerging defiant, resilient and stronger as a result of managing economic change effectively.
