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Grant Thornton

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For other uses, see Grant Thornton (disambiguation).

Grant Thornton International Ltd.
Company typeGlobal network of independent member firms
IndustryProfessional services
Founded1980; 44 years ago (1980)
HeadquartersGTIL: 30 Finsbury Square, London, England, U.K.[1]
Key people
Peter Bodin (CEO)
ProductsAssurance services, tax advisory, specialist advisory services, and management consulting
RevenueIncrease US$7.5 billion[2] (2023)
Number of employees
72,858[2] (2023)
Websitegrantthornton.global

Grant Thornton is a multinational professional services company based in London, England. It is the world's seventh-largest by revenue and sixth-largest by number of employees professional services network[3] of independent accounting and consulting member firms which provide assurance, tax and advisory services to privately held businesses, public interest entities, and public sector entities. Grant Thornton International Ltd. is a not-for-profit, non-practising, international umbrella membership entity organised as a private company limited by guarantee, and has no share capital.

According to Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL), member firms within the global organisation operate in 147 markets employing around 73,000 personnel for a combined global revenue of US$7.5 billion.[2]

History

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20th century

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The earliest origins of the name date back to 1904, when the UK firm of Thornton and Thornton was formed in Oxford. Through a series of name changes this firm merged in 1959 with another UK firm, Baker & Co, which traced its origins to 1868, to form the firm Thornton Baker. In 1975 Thornton Baker merged with Kidston, Jackson, McBain, a UK firm which traced its origins to the Glaswegian accountant, Robert McCowan, who set up in practice in 1844, and was a founder of the Institute of Accountants and Actuaries in Glasgow in 1853.

In the US, 26-year-old Alexander Richardson Grant founded Alexander Grant & Co in Chicago in 1924. Grant had been a senior accountant with Ernst & Ernst (now EY). Alexander Grant was committed to providing services to mid-sized companies.

When Grant died in 1938, Alexander Grant & Co survived the change in leadership and continued to grow nationally. In 1969, Alexander Grant & Co joined with firms from Australia, Canada, and the United States to establish the organisation of Alexander Grant Tansley Witt. This organisation operated successfully for 10 years.

In 1980 Alexander Grant & Co and Thornton Baker, firms with similar qualities, clients, personnel numbers and values, joined with 49 other firms to form a global organisation, Grant Thornton. In 1986, Alexander Grant & Co and Thornton Baker changed their names to Grant Thornton, reflecting their mutual affiliation and strategic alignment.[4]

21st century

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In December 2019 Grant Thornton placed in the top 50 global employers for diversity and inclusion (D&I), according to a new index developed by Universum.[5] More than 247,000 business and engineering/IT students rated Grant Thornton against support for gender equality, commitment to diversity & inclusion and respect for its people. Their perception of Grant Thornton, against these three categories, places the network 28th in the list, alongside some of the world's most well-known and respected global brands.

In 2018 Grant Thornton UK LLP, the UK member firm of the network, was fined £4 million for audit misconduct after a former partner joined the audit committees of two organisations while Grant Thornton UK LLP was still auditing them.[6] Later that year, for unrelated reasons, Grant Thornton UK LLP's chief executive Sacha Romanovitch, their first female chief executive, announced she would step down.[7]

In September 2019, Grant Thornton (along with other defendants) entered into a settlement agreement with VEREIT stockholders to settle pending class action litigation against Grant Thornton regarding among other things alleged violations of Section 11 of the 1933 Act (In re American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. Litigation and the remaining opt-out actions), at a cost to Grant Thornton of $49 million.[8][9][10][11]

Recently the US firm in the network declared their highest turnover in history of $1.9 billion which was a YoY increase of 5.4% over the previous year.[12]

In January 2024, the company announced the appointment of Malcolm Gomersall as its new chief executive, replacing David Dunckley who stepped down earlier in the same month.[13][14]

In November 2024, Grant Thornton UK agreed to sell its majority stake to private equity firm Cinven, marking one of the largest private equity deals in the UK accounting sector, which valued the firm at approximately £1.3 billion. This decision came after proposals of merging with US sister firm Grant Thornton LLP and bids from Swedish firm EQT did not go through. The transaction remains subject to partner ratification and regulatory approvals.[15]

Recent significant mergers

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  • In 1987 Grant Thornton merged with Carter Chaloner & Kearns.
  • Grant Thornton UK merged with RSM Robson Rhodes in July 2007.[16]
  • Grant Thornton Russia merged with Rosexpertiza in January 2012.[17]
  • Grant Thornton China merged with Ascenda CPA in January 2012.[18]
  • In May 2012 Grant Thornton Australia merged with several former BDO offices in Melbourne and Sydney.
  • In July 2013, Grant Thornton Johannesburg merged with the local PKF member firm.[19]
  • In February 2018, Grant Thornton South Africa merged with SizweNtsalubaGobodo.[20]
  • In July 2018, Grant Thornton Japan added the Yusei Audit Co. and Yamada & partners Certified Public Tax Accountants’ Co. to the network, bringing Grant Thornton's total headcount in Japan to over 1,600 people with combined revenues of over US$170 million.[21]

Although many of the firms now carry the Grant Thornton name, they are not all members of one international partnership. Each member firm[22] is a separate national entity, and governs itself and manages its administrative matters independently on a local basis. This is similar to other professional services networks.

Member firms

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Grant Thornton member firms service international work through their local International Business Centres — located in 40 major commercial centres throughout the world.

Grant Thornton International Ltd. carries out an annual global research project: The Grant Thornton International Business Report,[23] which (since 1992) surveys the views and expectations of over 10,000 privately held mid-market businesses across 28 economies.

Controversies and criticisms

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Nichols plc and the University of Salford

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In 2018, the UK's FRC fined Grant Thornton £4m, later reduced to £3m, for misconduct over its audits of Nichols plc and the University of Salford. Three partners were given personal fines of £60,000.[24]

Patisserie Valerie

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In 2021 the FRC fined Grant Thornton £4m for failures in its audits of Patisserie Valerie. The £4m fine was reduced to £2.34m, mainly due to Grant Thornton’s co-operation with the investigation. The auditor responsible, David Newstead, was also fined £150,000, reduced to £87,750, and was banned from carrying out audits for three years.[25]

Grant Thornton had lost the audit of Patisserie Valerie in 2019 after it failed to spot a £94m accounting black hole in its books, thereby triggering an investigation by the FRC.[26] Patisserie Valerie went into liquidation in January 2019. Later, the chain was found to have overstated its cash position by £30m and failed to disclose overdrafts of nearly £10m. The liquidation lead to the closure of 70 stores and more than 900 job losses.

The company's chief executive, David Dunckley, told UK Members of Parliament it was not his firm's job to uncover fraud or to judge whether a company's financial figures were correct. Discussing the company's failure to uncover fraud at Patisserie Valerie, he said: “If people are colluding and there is a sophisticated fraud, that may not be caught by normal audit procedures.” Rachel Reeves MP said “But in a shop that sells tea and cakes, you’d sort of think that might be spotted. It’s not a multinational complex organisation.” She also said that the FRC's rules require auditors to spot material misstatements where they are due to fraud or error.[27]

Restructuring firm FRP Advisory investigated whether it could claim against Grant Thornton for failures to identify suspected wrongdoing with Patisserie Valerie accounts, and in November 2020, it issued a claim for damages against Grant Thornton in respect of "negligent audits" of the group companies' financial statements.[28]

Interserve

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In 2019 the FRC instituted an investigation into Grant Thornton's audits of the failed outsourcing company Interserve between 2015 and 2017. Interserve had amassed debts of £738m following numerous acquisitions, a failed probation service contract and an investment in energy-from-waste plants.[29] Grant Thornton and the partner involved were fined £1.3m by the FRC in 2021 for 'scepticism failure'.[30]

£650,000 fine for the audit of an unnamed company

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The FRC fined Grant Thornton £650,000 over a series of errors in its 2016 audit of an unnamed company. It found that the auditor had failed to adequately gauge the true value of the company's assets, before flagging them as a “significant risk”. The regulator said the firm had selected too small a sample size and had placed “undue reliance” on the externally appointed experts rather than its own specialist. The FRC also said the auditor had failed “to exercise sufficient professional scepticism and to prepare adequate audit documentation.”[31]

Sports Direct

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The FRC conducted an investigation into Grant Thornton's 2016 audit of Sports Direct. The sports retailer used Barlin Delivery to deliver merchandise to its customers, and in the process made large undisclosed payments to Barlin, which was owned by John Ashley, the brother of Sports Direct's owner Mike Ashley. The FRC examined Grant Thornton's failure to disclose the relationship between Sports Direct and Barlin.[32] In 2020 the UK Court of Appeal determined that Sports Direct did not have to disclose 40 documents sought by the FRC because they were covered by legal privilege.[33]

Conviviality Retail

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The FRC fined the company £1.95m for ethical failures after it tried to conceal evidence of involvement in the audit of the failed alcohol retailer Conviviality Retail. The regulator found that the company had not maintained an independent stance during the audit and had committed “firm-wide” ethical failings between 2014 and 2017. Senior manager Natasha Toy was severely reprimanded after she tried to remove an entry from the audit file which indicated involvement.[34]

Assetco

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Grant Thornton was ordered to pay £21 million, the second-largest award against a UK auditor, in damages to its former client AssetCo, a fire engine leasing company, plus £5 million to pay Assetco's legal costs. The judge found it had committed negligence “of the utmost gravity”. An appeal judge reduced the damages to £20.8m, before a 25% deduction for contributory negligence.[35]

Brighthouse liquidation

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After being appointed as the liquidator of the failed retailer Brighthouse, Grant Thornton was accused of maximising returns to creditors at the expense of vulnerable customers. The company was found to be offering the 140,000 rent-to-own customers an initial 28-day payment holiday, one-third of the period recommended by the FCA. Mick McAteer, co-founder of the Financial Inclusion Centre thinktank, said: “There is a potential conflict between the interests of the administrator – and those they represent – and the vulnerable customers who owe money to BrightHouse."[36]

Corruption

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In September 2022, Western Australia's Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) found that Grant Thornton Australia had bribed senior public servants to secure lucrative consulting work from the state government. A CCC report found that two senior officials in the Department of Communities had been given over $100,000 worth of alcohol, meals, gifts, sporting tickets, flights and accommodation. Additionally, Grant Thornton employed a family member of one of the public servants in a no-work job. In return, the public servants breached state government procurement policies, including by engaging in bid rigging, ultimately directing $2.1 million in consulting work to Grant Thornton.[37][38]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Contact us - Grant Thornton International". Grant Thornton International Ltd. Home. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Grant Thornton grows global revenues to a record USD7.5 billion" (Press release). Grant Thornton International Ltd. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  3. ^ Smith, Philip. "Top 20 International Networks 2018". www.accountancyage.com. Accountancy Age. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  4. ^ "History of Grant Thornton LLP - Grant Thornton LLP". Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  5. ^ Kiersz, Andy (5 December 2019). "Gen Z business students say these are the 50 best global companies for diversity and inclusion". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  6. ^ Fino, Jessica (29 August 2018). "Grant Thornton fined £4m over audit misconduct". economia. Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  7. ^ Deans, Jason (16 October 2018). "Grant Thornton chief resigns after anonymous attack". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  8. ^ "In re American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. Litigation; Third Class Action Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws," United States District Court Southern District of New York, September 30, 2013.
  9. ^ "VEREIT® Enters Into Agreements to Settle Pending Litigations". Yahoo. 9 September 2019.
  10. ^ Kelly, Bruce (9 September 2019). "Nicholas Schorsch's former flagship REIT settles with investors for $1 billion". Investment News.
  11. ^ Heller, Matthew (9 November 2017). "Ex-American Realty CFO Gets 18 Months in Jail". CFO.
  12. ^ "Grant Thornton reports record revenue of $1.9B". Accounting Today. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  13. ^ Hosking, Patrick (24 January 2024). "Grant Thornton names Malcolm Gomersall as new UK boss". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Grant Thornton UK chief David Dunckley steps down". www.ft.com. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  15. ^ "PE wins the heart of Grant Thornton UK". Accountancy Age. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Auditors join forces to take on Big Four", The Daily Telegraph, 28 April 2007.
  17. ^ Angela Ceroni. "Grant Thornton International Ltd. Home". gti.org. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012.
  18. ^ Angela Ceroni. "Grant Thornton International Ltd. Home". gti.org. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012.
  19. ^ "Merger of equals as Grant Thornton and PKF in Johannesburg join forces to create a formidable client service offering". gt.co.za.
  20. ^ "SizweNtsalubaGobodo joins Grant Thornton network". Grant Thornton South Africa: An instinct for growth. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Grant Thornton completes significant expansion in Japan". Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  22. ^ Grant Thornton International Limited Member firms Archived 23 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ "Press release: 16 Jan 2023". www.grantthornton.global. Grant Thornton International Ltd. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  24. ^ "Grant Thornton fined £3m for misconduct over audits". BBC. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  25. ^ "Grant Thornton fined £4m for Patisserie Valerie scandal". BBC News. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  26. ^ "RSM replaces Grant Thornton as Patisserie Valerie auditor". consultancy.uk. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  27. ^ Kollewe, Julia; Butler, Sarah (30 January 2019). "Ex-Patisserie Valerie auditor says 'not his role to uncover fraud'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  28. ^ Price, Katherine (23 November 2020). "Patisserie Valerie liquidators hit auditor with lawsuit". The Caterer. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  29. ^ "Grant Thornton investigated over Interserve's accounts". www.independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  30. ^ "Interserve auditors fined £1.3m for 'scepticism failure'". The Construction Index. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Grant Thornton fined £650,000 by FRC over inadequate audit". Financial Times. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  32. ^ "Grant Thornton comes under scrutiny for Sports Direct role". www.consultancy.uk. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  33. ^ "FRC loses legal challenge over Sports Direct documents | Accountancy Daily". www.accountancydaily.co. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  34. ^ Sim, Bérengère. "FRC whacks Grant Thornton with £1.95m fine for ethical failures". www.fnlondon.com. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  35. ^ "Grant Thornton loses appeal over £22.6m damages | Accountancy Daily". www.accountancydaily.co. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  36. ^ correspondent, Kalyeena Makortoff Banking (30 August 2020). "Rent-to-own BrightHouse accused of sidestepping Covid payment guidance". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 September 2020. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  37. ^ Clarke, Tim (20 September 2022). "Department of Communities scandal: CCC claims Kerry Ravi, Maria Irdi favoured firms in return for lavish perks". The West Australian. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  38. ^ "A report on corrupt procurement practices and conduct in the Department of Communities" (PDF). Corruption and Crime Commission. 20 September 202. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
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