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Audit of annual and consolidated financial statements
Objectivity, expertise and experience are crucial when it comes to assurance services. And above all developing a strong working relationship with our clients is the foundation of our service approach.
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Assurance related advisory services
Assurance related advisory services are based on the knowledge and expertise that are the staff of life of our auditors.
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Global audit technology
We apply our global audit methodology through an integrated set of software Tools.
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Accounting related consulting
Accounting in accordance with UGB, US-GAAP or IFRS is in constant motion. The integration of new regulations into their own accounting systems poses special challenges for companies.
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Corporate Taxes
Experts at Grant Thornton Unitreu have many years of experience and provide the full spectrum of tax services. They are familiar with the specifics of the Austrian market in all aspects of tax and economic law. Tax consultants at Grant Thornton Unitreu take pride in developing and concluding effective and individual solutions.s.
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International Tax
Our teams have in-depth knowledge of the relationship between domestic and international tax laws.
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Transfer pricing
The laws surrounding transfer pricing are becoming ever more complex, as tax affairs of multinational companies are facing scrutiny from media, regulators and the public
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Value Added Tax (VAT)
Experts at Grant Thornton Unitreu have many years of experience and provide the full spectrum of tax services. They are familiar with the specifics of the Austrian market in all aspects of tax and economic law. Tax consultants at Grant Thornton Unitreu take pride in developing and concluding effective and individual solutions.s.
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Private Wealth
Our experienced Private Wealth Team distinguishes itself through its long-term and trustworthy advice to private clients, owner-managed companies and private foundations.
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Real Estate Consulting
Real estate, buy-side tax due diligence when purchasing real estate by (i) acquiring shares in real estate companies (share deal) or by (ii) purchasing real estate directly (asset deal)
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Global Mobility Services
Assignment management is a task with many aspects and many contact persons. For successful expatriate management you need not only a local tax consultant, but a network, which successfully cooperates across borders. Grant Thornton has member companies in more than 130 countries with Global Mobility experts who regularly exchange information.
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Bookkeeping & Financial accounting
Financial accounting is the basis for many decisions in the company. Only those who prepare their figures clearly and get a good overview of their company can recognize weak points in time and react to negative developments. The use of state-of-the-art software (BMD) allows you to access your figures at any time. Digital document management and a document management system for data archiving are a matter of course. We take care of your financial accounting.
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Preparation of annual & consolidated financial statements
Depending on the size of your company and the legal form chosen, you are obliged to prepare annual financial statements. In addition, shareholders, owners and management want to be provided with financial information on a regular basis. We support you in fulfilling your recording obligations and thus ensure that you present companies, the bank and other addressees with meaningful and reliable figures.
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Payroll Services
Payroll services are among the subject areas that are changing rapidly and constantly gaining in complexity. This is where tax law, social security law, labour law, residence law and other legal matters come together. Our experts will help your team to stay up-to-date and solve complex issues. But we are also happy to take care of your entire payroll accounting.
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Tax Compliance
Tax authorities keep entrepreneurs and freelancers constantly engaged with tax issues, so they play a central role in almost every business decision. Depending on your needs, our services range from the preparation of tax returns, the execution of tax calculations with a thorough review of the data as a basis for assessment, to international tax compliance for several countries.
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Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a software-based technology that mimics a series of activities within and between systems based on a set of instructions typically to complete a process.
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Valuation
Our business consulting services can help you improve your operational performance and productivity, adding value throughout your growth life cycle.
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Transaction Support
We can support you throughout the transaction process – helping achieve the best possible outcome at the point of the transaction and in the longer term.
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Merger & Acquisition
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IT Audit
Increasing networking and digitalisation are bringing about far-reaching changes in the business world. Modern accounting is no longer conceivable without complex IT systems. At the same time, however, this also increases the risks for companies, especially when handling data. Confidentiality, availability and integrity of data are central security requirements that must also be met with regard to the correctness of IT-supported accounting. Our IT auditors are experts in operational IT operations and develop targeted measures for you to counteract risks and to check the security and reliability of your IT systems.
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Internal Audit
Internal Audit helps companies and organisations to achieve their goals by analysing and evaluating the effectiveness of risk management, controls and management and monitoring processes. Internal Audit focuses on independent and objective audit (assurance) and consulting services that improve the value creation and business activities of your company.
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Special Attestation
At present, practically all types of IT services can be outsourced to service providers. Advancing technological developments, especially the possibilities for virtualizing server systems, are a major driver for companies to increasingly outsource IT services. Frequently, nested outsourcing structures can also be found in which service companies outsource certain IT services to subcontractors.
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Expert dispute resolution & advisory
Grant Thornton Austria offers comprehensive services in the field of business-oriented expert services with a broad range of competencies from banking to communication. The core activity of experts is the objective recording of findings and the preparation of expert opinions - regardless of all external circumstances. Our experts Gottwald Kranebitter and Georg H. Jeitler, as sworn and court-certified experts, ensure that the highest professional standards and the principle of objectivity are observed.
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Crisis Management
Crisis Management
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Blockchain & Crypto-Assets
Blockchain as a carrier technology for crypto currencies and smart contracts, among other things, is becoming increasingly important. Grant Thornton Austria offers comprehensive audit and confirmation services for block chain technologies and business models.
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Corporate & Brand Strategy
We can support you throughout the transaction process – helping achieve the best possible outcome at the point of the transaction and in the longer term.
Vikas Vasal, Grant Thornton’s global tax leader reflects on the key changes and considerations for international businesses.
During a prolonged financial crisis, such as the one triggered in 2008-09 by the collapse of the US sub-prime market and the current period of uncertainty caused by Covid-19, tax revenues tend to decline significantly. The events of 2009 highlighted the issue of imbalance in tax rates in different countries which led to the loss of revenue collections at the global level and the implementation of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting action plan by the OECD.
As the global economy begins to stabilise after a period of sudden and sharp drops in activity, global leaders are once again looking to reset global tax rules and push for bold reforms.
Big changes to global taxation
The economic shock caused by Covid-19 has so far been much more severe than the global financial crisis of 2008-09. World GDP shrank by 3.3% last year compared to 1% in 2009. But the pandemic has also shown a light on alarming and fast-rising levels of disparity. Today, the world’s richest 1% own almost half of all global wealth and billionaires gained around $3.9 trillion USD in 2020, as per some media reports.
Levelling the playing field has emerged as a priority for the international community. In June 2021, the G7 announced a commitment to reform the global tax system. The new approach is made up of two pillars. Firstly, a commitment to shift the allocation of taxable profits to market jurisdictions (where consumers are based). For value created by consumers, the proposals would look to allocate 20% of profits over a 10% margin to market jurisdictions. This would apply to the “largest and most profitable” multinationals that have more than EUR 20 billion of global turnover and profitability above 10%. This threshold is proposed to be reduced to EUR 10 billion after 7 years of its implementation. Secondly, a new global minimum tax rate of 15% for companies with global sales in excess of EUR750.
While this announcement did not come out of the blue, it does represent a big step towards what would be some of the most significant changes to global taxation in a generation.
An important point to note is that though the current provisions are proposed to apply to large global companies, however, it should be seen as an emerging trend and coverage is likely to increase over time.
The introduction of these new rules is still a few years off, but they coincide with several aligned trends that businesses will need to factor into their strategic decision-making.
Emerging trends that businesses need to consider
A number of trends are changing the ways that global businesses approach their tax and reporting obligations, as well their strategies going forward.
The rise of ESG
There is a rising awareness withing the corporate community of the need to shift from a focus on pure returns to sustainable outcomes. This thinking is also being reflected in the attitudes of investment communities, policy makers and consumers.
The disruption caused by the pandemic has placed even more emphasis on building business models that are more focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) outcomes. Currently, around half of European investment funds and 25% of those from the US are investing directly in the ESG sector, as per some media reports. This equates to around $100 trillion USD of funds.
Stricter regulations
Tax authorities around the world are introducing more stringent restrictions to reduce the effectiveness of transactions and structures that are designed for aggressive tax planning. The EU’s mandatory disclosure regime (DAC6 Directive), for example, aims to increase transparency by requiring intermediaries and some taxpayers to report cross-border transactions which are deemed to be aggressive tax planning. The UK has also introduced similar rules to make the reporting of offshore structures mandatory.
New anti-avoidance rules
For these reforms to have more of an effect, tax authorities need to have more teeth. This is exactly what the introduction of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) is designed to do. GAAR aims to check aggressive tax planning by factoring in the real intent of an economic entity and purpose of a particular arrangement before determining its tax liability. So far it has been implemented by about a dozen countries with more likely to follow.
Value-Added-Tax (VAT) and Transfer Pricing (TP)
VAT is a mainstay of the tax systems of over 50 countries, due to its tax-neutrality and revenue-generating potential. But the issue of TP is also increasingly gaining momentum globally. Most of the OECD and G20 countries have implemented TP legislation and counties across the Middle East and Africa are doing do as well.
Taken together, it is clear that the global tax system is undergoing a period of significant change. As governments look to increase tax revenues following the pandemic, businesses need to be prepared for increased scrutiny, reporting obligations and measures that make certain tax strategies no longer feasible.
Get in touch
If you would like to discuss any of the points raised in this article and how they may affect your business, please speak to our expert Andrew Dickson.
