Insights

A strong finance function can drive innovation and proactively influence real-time strategic decision making, while its commercial insight helps broaden interactive stakeholder engagement and communication.

This article explains why companies might (or might not) choose to go public, how they should prepare for taking such a big step, and what the alternatives might be.

As a new and unpredictable decade dawns, the business world looks forward with its optimism largely intact, according to Grant Thornton’s latest International Business Report (IBR). Leaders in mid-market companies around the world delivered an average optimism score of 59% in H2 2019, a rise of 3% over the first half of the year. This modest improvement is an encouraging contrast to the two consecutive declines that preceded it, although there remains a long way to climb before reaching H1 2018’s high of 69% global optimism.

Whether you’re a sole trader or the CEO of a multinational organisation, we are all constantly seeking ways to do what we do better.

All organisations are grappling with the myriad of employee agreements and obligations that result in a wide variety of payments to their people.

Despite the challenges facing the Thai economy, businesses in Thailand can succeed in 2020 by reducing overheads, conserving cash, improving efficiency of internal structures, and focusing on customer service.

With the economic outlook in Thailand less bright than in years past, we look at how the country can find a new way forward for future business success.

Sustainability is vital to an organisation’s success. Team-building activities are an excellent way to generate ideas for improving sustainability.

Startups tend to be comprised of young, dynamic people who are passionate about their work and emotionally invested in the company’s success. However, as the business grows more complex and market conditions change, startups sometimes struggle to implement proper processes. It is here that many fledgling companies begin to go off-course. Failure to organise the business correctly and make necessary adjustments can lead to slowdowns in workflow, stalling the organisation just when it is most in need of momentum. Lapses in regulatory compliance are another common side effect of inexperience, resulting in fines and loss of investor confidence. Having passionate workers is excellent, but startups must also implement clear strategies and efficient processes in order to ensure both regulatory compliance and long-term success.

As technologies such as Robotic Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain become increasingly integrated in the auditing industry, auditors will need to adjust their focus in order to thrive in this rapidly changing environment.

As we have seen, Thailand plans to spend money attracting new businesses and tourists, all while lowering personal income taxes. Given such an array of new expenses, the treasury arm of the Thai government would ordinarily come under pressure to balance the budget. Indeed, we have already seen the Ministry of Finance struggling to locate new sources of revenue. Thailand’s Revenue Department has considered plans for imposing taxes on capital gains, casting the tax net wide enough to include on-line operators. Banks will be required to report account holders with high-volume cash transactions in an effort to seal off tax evasion. Plans are in place to increase the tax base – with a target of adding 200,000 new taxpayers per annum.

As the world’s economic engine slows, countries are moving to stimulate their economies by increasing government spending and cutting taxes to inject cash into the domestic economy. Such actions are intended to boost the economy, and prevent it from stalling.

As businesses strive to maximise growth and performance, they must always keep an eye on the changing environment around them. These changes typically occur among their customers or competitors, but regulatory policy can also have a big impact on business operations. The Thai government has recently enacted a number of policies, provisions and regulations to respond to new developments around the business world. These include the Personal Data Protection Act, new merger amendments to the Trade Competitions Act of 2017, and the Cybersecurity Act – all requiring potentially significant action among businesses operating in country.

For any industry reshaped by rapid technological growth, new business models must be accompanied by the development of complementary skillsets among its employees. The world of auditing is no different; as ever more advanced service capabilities raise client expectations, there is an increasing recognition among accountants that – as the saying goes – “what got you here won’t get you there”. Indeed, auditors in the financial services industry have traditionally prioritised skills such as accounting, risk management, IT and data analytics when looking to land their desired job. Training in these areas will remain essential for some time to come; however, an oft-overlooked set of “soft skills” is becoming ever more relevant in today’s age of digital transformation. These abilities emphasise the human side of business interaction, where interpersonal communication leads to understanding in a way that technology alone cannot yet replicate. With technology now playing a massive role in the finance industry along with other business sectors, auditors now have greater technical abilities at their fingertips than ever before. In such an environment, where computers can outperform even the best and most experienced auditors at fundamental tasks, the traditional role of the auditor can now expand into new areas. It is therefore worth exploring the challenges and opportunities of this new ecosystem, with an eye toward the particular skills that auditors can develop in order to differentiate themselves from their fellow auditors – as well as their silicon-based assistants.

Now that the political climate in Thailand has stabilised, the government is looking to speed up its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with key trading partners. Plans include resuming negotiations with the EU and UK post Brexit, as well as talks to join major multilateral FTAs. To be successful in these negotiations, Thailand needs to keep in mind the consequences that non-tariff barriers will have on improving trade as a whole.

Ever since the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing has been at the forefront of innovation. New technologies that improve efficiency and productivity have always been enthusiastically implemented, leading to great benefits for both producer and consumer. Today, an important new dimension is at play, as manufacturers find themselves in the midst of the digital revolution. Those who embrace the forces of disruption will prosper, while those who resist the inevitable will fall by the wayside. Digital transformation is the only way to ensure lasting success, and manufacturers need to take every step necessary to ensure it is done correctly. Manufacturers that do not commit to digital transformation will not be able to keep up with competitors who can offer data-based services to their customers. If they do not offer the latest services, buyers will find someone else who does.