Insights

Building a Sustainable Business – 360 Degrees explores six key pillars for sustainable growth, combining strategic insights, best practices, and real-world examples to help businesses build resilience and thrive in an uncertain economy.

Not long ago, in a meeting with a group of senior executives here in Bangkok, I noticed something interesting. While everyone was talking about Generative AI, the opportunities, the fears, the future, very few were talking about leadership. How will we, as executives, actually lead in a world transformed by AI? It struck me that while AI advancing at incredible speed, leadership thinking must move even faster. This is not just another business trend. It is a profound shift - one that challenges how we define value, build teams, and set strategy. Here are a few thoughts I wanted to share.

In May, we explored how leadership must evolve in Gen AI. This month, I want to shift our focus to something equally fundamental but often ignored in transformation conversations: process. It's not technology, platforms, or automation. It's just a simple, clear human process, the way work actually happens, from the ground up.

Fraud, theft, and other forms of wrongdoing present a major challenge for businesses in the information age. Whereas in earlier times, paper trails and physical evidence could often be relied upon to catch corporate criminals, the digital nature of both assets and spreadsheets allow would-be fraudsters to engage in more sophisticated levels of obfuscation. However, the same set of new technologies enables improved guardrails against such damaging activity. It is the responsibility of modern organisations to actively prevent fraud and theft from occurring within their ranks — either directly through internal procedures, or with the help of external specialists, or both.

Bangkok, Thailand, April 2024 — The Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) for Q1 2024 unveils a strikingly optimistic outlook among Thailand's mid-market business leaders, juxtaposed with the looming challenges that will shape the nation's economic future. With a Business Health Index score of 13.5, Thailand outperforms its ASEAN, Asia-Pacific, and global counterparts, signaling a robust confidence that may overshadow critical issues such as demographic changes, skills shortages, and the necessity for digital advancement.

Throughout this workshop, we will delve into the life cycle of companies, examining the stages of growth, maturity, and adaptation. Our focus will extend to the current business environment, where your Company stands today, and how our evolving strategy aligns with the ever-changing market dynamics.

The effective application of artificial intelligence, as we’ve argued at length elsewhere, has already begun to reliably distinguish forward-looking businesses from those still coasting on the momentum of previous successes. Of course, this level of operational advancement remains difficult to achieve, as the integration and scaling of AI solutions represent a long and complex journey — though it is well worth the investment when implemented skilfully.

Multinationals face significant challenges when setting up each new branch or subsidiary in a foreign country. Finding skilled, experienced local staff can be more difficult than many business leaders expect – and training them to fit in with the existing multinational company culture is no easy task either. An even bigger obstacle tends to be the varying regulatory environments at both the local and national scale where the new branch or subsidiary will open. In many cases, company headquarters will find itself unfamiliar with the regulations, licences, and application processes needed to operate in their new location. Failure to comply can seriously damage brand reputation, and lead to serious legal implications.

Doing business in Thailand

As companies adapt to a fractured and uneven recovery post-COVID recovery period, those that integrate best practices in sustainability will lead the way.

For many businesses, Thailand’s tax and legal infrastructure can seem dauntingly complex. In addition, finding the right tax and legal advice could also be challenging. Given that existing regulations can provide government officers with broad interpretative discretion, businesses must constantly keep themselves abreast of the latest compliance requirements and practices. There is no “one-size fits all” solution or approach to optimise tax savings and legal compliance. Each business is unique in its requirements and circumstances. The effective advisor must thoroughly understand the client’s business and objectives and be aligned with the client on the key priorities, financial capacity, real world commercial limitations, and risk appetite. Furthermore, in the course of obtaining tax and legal advice, businesses often feel the experience wanting. Lawyers, tax advisors, and accountants seem to speak in coded language and are removed from the commercial realities faced by the clients. Professional opinions and recommendations often seem complicated and impracticable. At Grant Thornton in Thailand, we understand the need for high-quality professional services that are tailored to each client’s unique requirements. We strive to provide clients with professional services that leverage our international and local expertise while maintaining approachability. This approach aligns with our core principles of collaboration and respect – the key pillars of our CLEARR values which form the basis of our client-centric approach to delivering services. Quality with a personal touch We strive to provide personalised advice to businesses of all sizes and across a broad spectrum of industries. At Grant Thornton, our partners and senior professionals are accessible to our clients, irrespective of the size and nature of the assignment. This involvement ensures that our clients’ needs are thoroughly understood by our team at all levels, and that our deliverables meet the client’s expectations and requirements. A relationship-led approach We believe in that our relationship with clients should not be transactional. Rather, the relationship should be founded upon trust and professionalism. At Grant Thornton, we strive to understand our clients’ businesses, industries, strengths, and also relative weaknesses in order to develop the appropriate solutions and advice for our clients. We take pride in the long-term professional relationships that we cultivate with clients – often spanning years or even decades. Two kinds of synergy We believe in harnessing the synergy of people and technology to deliver exceptional services. We have invested heavily in training our people and developing a collaborative culture within our firm. This enables us to avoid complex chains of communication, and streamline our decision-making process. We strive to extend this collaborative culture to our clients, thereby allowing us to work in tandem and effectively with our clients. Furthermore, recognizing that we are living an age where technology can be harvested to improve efficiency and the quality of deliverables, we routinely assist our clients in exploring and adopting automation technologies to address their needs. Our tax and legal services Our advisory services include assistance in a range of corporate legal and tax matters ranging from tax planning and compliance, international tax advisory, transfer pricing, tax dispute resolution, business establishment, investment promotion application, and customs & trade advisory. Our services include: ● Tax advisory and compliance services ○ Planning and calculation for corporate income tax, VAT, and withholding tax ○ Preparation of tax audits and dispute resolution ○ Evaluation of the company’s tax compliance with tax and auditing obligations ○ Preparation and submission of tax returns ● Transfer pricing ○ Preparation of planning and strategy for domestic and international transactions, including intellectual property solutions ○ Preparation and review of transfer pricing documentation ○ Review of transactions and supply chains ● Customs and trade advisory services ○ Identification of customs and trade privileges ○ Preparation for tax and import or export controls ○ Assistance with customs audits and dispute resolution ○ Valuation, classification, and verification of product origins ● Corporate secretarial services ○ Registration and setup of the company, including application for Foreign Business Licenses ○ Preparation of angular general meetings and board meetings ○ Arrangement of social security requirements and other certifications or notarisations ● Legal advisory and compliance services ○ Preparation and submission of business registration ○ Submission of business incentives and required permits ○ Performance of compliance reviews ○ Preparation for compliance with foreign ownership requirements ● Business permits and licenses ○ Preparation and submission of applications to the Board of Investment ○ Preparation and submission of required permits for products, including for food, cosmetics, and hazardous substances ● Work permits and visas ○ Applications for work permits and visas ○ Assistance with visa conversions Finding the right path forward Tax and legal matters can seem complex or complicated. Nonetheless, with the right insight and advice, these complexities can be navigated, and the associated risks managed. At Grant Thornton, our mission is to assist our clients in cutting through regulatory webs, thereby enabling clients to focus on building and growing their businesses. If you would like to learn more about Grant Thornton or get in touch with our team, you may contact us at: +66 2 205 8142

COVID-19 will permanently change some aspects of doing business. Here are some important takeaways for HR departments.

Organisations must be aware of the circumstances in which they are allowed to collect data to comply with Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act.

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.

Hendrik van den Berg is the Founder and Managing Director at Neos IT Services. Having founded the company in 2005, Hendrik and his diverse team have transformed Neos into a thriving business. I recently met with Hendrik to have a detailed discussion of business transformation and what it entails. The most fascinating insights from the interview revolved around the role of technology and cultural change in the transformation process.

I recently met with Richard to discuss how British businesses can establish themselves and prosper in Thailand. The two most salient points he made were about the imperative of understanding the complexities of the Thai market, along with the need to foster strategic local partnerships.