Beyond the Numbers with Grant Thornton

There’s a lot happening under the surface when it comes to payroll – we have complicated Awards, a growing RegTech sector automating payroll, and the Federal Government’s $800m Digital Business Plan, providing small to medium sized enterprises, and industry bodies pushing for more simplification. In our podcast, Alex Bell, partner and National Head of Forensics at Grant Thornton, unpacks the compl...

A favourite instrument for start-ups and companies about to list – Employee Share Schemes are used far more widely than most people think. It’s a way to remunerate your employees outside of the usual cash salary – and in an environment where competition for talent is hot, it can be a clever way to attract, engage and keep your people. From the outside looking in, they are complex to set up but get...

In this podcast, we’re joined by Phil Coorey, Political Editor at the Australian Financial Review, and Vince Tropiano, Corporate Tax Partner in our Sydney office to talk about last week’s Federal Budget.

In our latest podcast, Tony Pititto, National Head of Agribusiness, Food & Beverage at Grant Thornton and Madina Aziz, Audit Partner discuss the opportunities for the sector through the Modern Manufacturing Initiative and what we need next from Government to help Australia target non-traditional export markets. This is much broader than simply processed food – we’re talking better quality products...

The Government has a 10 year plan to implement the Modern Manufacturing Initiative and develop our manufacturing capability. While this will help reverse the trend of offshoring, it is so much more complex than simply hitting a 2, 5 and 10 year milestone. For instance, if you’re looking for investors to support your growth journey beyond the initial funding from the MMI, they’ll be looking for a s...

We’ve never been more aware of where our pharmaceuticals and medical products come from, or how long therapeutics take to develop from research to product. Michael Cunningham, National Head of Life Sciences is joined by Dr Dan Grant, Managing Director and CEO of MTPConnect, Australia’s industry growth centre for the medical technology and pharmaceutical sector. They explore the opportunities outli...

New South Wales has just undergone a public consultation regarding a swap from stamp duty to land tax over a decades long transition period. If it goes ahead it would be the largest shift in State tax policy since WW2. But is it a good idea and should all the States follow? Stamp duty is one of the most disliked taxes – it’s lumpy and comes at a time when property buyers are already under pressure...

Google receives nearly 85% of its revenue from user data insights. But you don’t need to be the size of Google – or even a tech company – to apply some of their same thinking. In fact, you are swimming in rivers of data and you may not even know it – data about your suppliers, customers, processes and hardware. If you’re not tapping into it now, you’re at risk of falling behind as your consumers a...

Anti-money laundering, payroll assurances, risk management – all hot topics in the news at the moment. But being a good corporate citizen is not just the responsibility of the business. From boards looking to ensure compliance to individuals at risk of ‘cuckoo smurfing’, compliance and good corporate citizenry impacts all of us. It’s about doing the right thing without anyone looking – thinking ab...

M&A took a massive hit in 2020, with the majority of transactions put on hold in the February-March 2020 period in response to COVID. However, the economy rebounded stronger and faster than anticipated with some very clear trends carrying through to 2021. We saw the industrial sector a popular investment, with nearly 35% of deals coming from the sector. Niche manufacturing was particularly popular...

Brent Steedman, National Head of Energy and Resources says the Government's modern manufacturing initiative will provide funding and grants to develop and implement new technology - like better data analytics to define reserves or automated vehicles. The future of mining will be smarter to increase production and reduce costs. Pair this with a greater opportunity in a competitive global market and...

The Government has delivered a once in a lifetime Federal Budget in response to COVID-19. We saw a significant change in direction from policy makers with a new and renewed focus on sovereign capability and job creation. We invited Phil Coorey, Political Editor at the Australian Financial Review, to share his insights on how the Government has responded throughout COVID. From his privileged positi...

COVID-19 has changed the way we shop - perhaps forever. There is no retailer unaffected. But while many in the industry are experiencing hardships they might never bounce back from, it's not all doom and gloom. Retailers and consumers alike are changing the way they interact and operate. The tenancy mix has changed. We've seen a surge to online, and retailers meeting the demand by investing in the...

Last week was "energy week" - with a number of policy announcements from the Federal Government, and yesterday's launch of the Low Emissions Statement signalling the prioritisation of hydrogen storage, low carbon manufacturing and carbon capture on our transition away from coal and towards a more renewable future. The Government is pouring funding into stockpiling fuel, committing to invest in dis...

When COVID-19 hit, new listings on the stock market took a dive. And while Australia is technically in a recession, we're starting to see more companies looking to list on the ASX in the run up to Christmas. It might seem counterintuitive, but changing markets and consumer habits has fast tracked some companies on their path to IPO as much as it has stalled others. We talk to Neil Cooke and Jonath...

The impacts of COVID-19 will continue to be massive on businesses and individuals alike. If what is happening in Melbourne is any indicator, then we can't wait for COVID to pass - we have to learn to live with it. We ask Dr Ian Norton, Founder and Managing Director of Respond Global to apply his experience as a former World Health Organisation emergency physician to the current COVID pandemic, whi...

AI, big data, machine learning, the Internet of Things - all things that were "coming" in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic and are now staring us in the face. Businesses have access to a backlog of data from their customers that was never put to use before because the impetus wasn't there. Well it's here now. So as your business model shifts increasingly online and contactless, how do...

The government has said the economy needs to 'grow' out of the recession. Innovation will be to key to this. Some companies need to constantly innovate to stay relevant, while others are innovating to meet the local demand and expectations that COVID-19 has created. So if the global innovation dollar is fluid and fast moving, how can we encourage and foster local innovation? And how can we attract...

COVID-19 has brought with it a tumultuous yet interesting time for the manufacturing sector. April was largely a disaster, but JobKeeper helped businesses stay afloat. May brought with it supply chain issues, but June and July saw sales off the richter with a renewed sense of optimism in the market place. With the AFR reporting last week that Australia ranks a solid last in manufacturing self-suff...

If the government's economic outlook last week tells us anything, it's that we need to be realistic about the Australian economy. In this podcast, Said Jahani, National Managing Partner of Financial Advisory, discusses what happens when the 'sugar hit' of government stimulus and early access to superannuation currently swirling in the economy dissipates, and what he hopes the Australian economy wi...

In this podcast, partners and family business advisors David Gibson and Kirsten Taylor-Martin speak with us about what makes a family business tick, getting the right skills in the right roles, and whether COVID will be a catalyst for a changing of the guard.

When COVID hit, the combination of JobKeeper, banks deferring principal and interest payments, and temporary changes to insolvency laws gave businesses some much needed breathing space - preventing the immediate tsunami of insolvencies many were anticipating. But these support measures cannot be maintained forever. So what happens when they cease, and how will businesses fare when the safety net f...

During the Global Financial Crisis we saw a tightening of liquidity from traditional sources - which took a period of nearly five years to bounce back. As Australia enters into recession, the banks are still extending credit to existing clients, but their appetite for new customers has already dwindled. To survive and thrive through this period, cash is king. When the big banks pull back, non-bank...

The future of work is being redefined right now. With more and more businesses embracing flexible working, this will have an impact on the commercial property sector. In our podcast, Sian Sinclair, National Head of Real Estate and Construction, and Ken Morrison, Chief Executive of the Property Council of Australia, discuss the future of work and how this impacts commercial real estate - what might...

Our educational institutions aren't just important for our skills of the future. They also play an important role in Australian innovation and research. COVID-19 provides a turning point for higher learning; one with an exciting future. In our podcast, Stuart McDowall, National Head of Education, and Consulting Partner Kristy Fotiadis, discuss how universities and VET providers should be reviewing...