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Audit and assurance
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Consulting
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Cyber
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Deals
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Environmental, social and governance (ESG)
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Financial services advisory
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Forensics and investigations
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Government and public sector
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Insolvency and global asset recovery
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International
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Restructuring
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Risk
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Tax
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Outsourced accounting services
Every business is different, the challenges they face vary but all need bespoke solutions. Businesses also share common ground when it comes to striving for reducing costs and improving efficiencies.
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Royalty and intellectual property audit
Intellectual property (IP) is valuable and one of the challenges for you as an IP owner, whether in film, TV, book publishing or consumer products, is ensuring that you are receiving all royalties due to you.
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Pensions
Assurance and financial reporting is key, and reporting with independent opinion gives confidence to trustees to support their governance processes.
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Healthcare assurance
Our healthcare assurance team supports local and national NHS bodies improve the quality of their clinical data and cost information to accurately reflect the care delivered
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Contract assurance
We know how complex accounting for large contracts can be. The services sector relies on successful deals and risks being isolated and understood.
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Brexit and political risk advisory
We can help you navigate political volatility.
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Business consulting
Challenges are specific and solutions do not translate perfectly from one business to another, which is why you told us you want a fully customised approach to professional services.
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Corporate simplification
Having too many companies in your group structure can be expensive, and the changing financial reporting and regulatory landscape can lead to additional compliance work.
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Economic consulting
Bespoke guidance grounded in complex economic theory and practical sector insight to help you make the right decisions.
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Governance advisory
Helping you future proof your governance and decision-making structures
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International services
To ensure the continuity of service you expect, our International Business Centres (IBC), led by our experts from around the world, work together to coordinate and provide global delivery.
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People advisory
Create value by attracting, retaining and developing an agile and resilient workforce for continued business success.
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Strategy
Our Strategy and Modelling capabilities are focused on helping management teams make better, more rigorous and quantified business decisions
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Respond: Data breach, incident response and computer forensics
Are you prepared for a cyber failure? We can help you avoid data breaches and offer support if the worst happens.
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Comply: Cyber security regulation and compliance
Cyber security regulation and compliance is constantly evolving. Our team can support you through the digital landscape.
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Protect: Cyber security strategy, testing and risk assessment
Cyber security threats are constantly evolving. We’ll work with you to develop and test robust people, process and technology defences to protect your data and information assets.
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Corporate finance
We combine award-winning technical expertise with the intuition, insight and confidence gained from our extensive sector experience and a deeper understanding of our clients.
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Debt advisory
Working with borrowers and private equity financial sponsors on raising and refinancing debt. We can help you find the right lender and type of debt products.
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Financial accounting advisory services (FAAS)
Our FAAS team can support your finance function with the flexible resource they need to get results.
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Financial modelling
Models are at the heart of all business decisions. Whether you're looking to raise finance, buy or sell a business, assess strategic options, or just plan for the future, you're going to need a forecast. This is likely to come from a financial model.
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Operational deal services
Most transactions fail to achieve their goals. There are many reasons for failure.
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Our credentials
Search our transactions to see our experience in your sector and explore the deals advisory services we've delivered.
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Restructuring
Protect and realise value throughout times of uncertainty, stress and distress
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Transaction services
We will identify key business issues through our rigorous and tailored risk and business analysis process. Our Transaction Services team will then work with you to resolve these issues with a reporting method designed to suit each client and their preferred medium.
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Valuations
The Valuations team has wide experience in valuations of private companies. We serve enterprises of all types and sizes, covering a wide range of industries
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The ESG agenda
Shape your ESG agenda by identifying the right metrics, sustainable development and potential business value impact.
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ESG driven business transition
Whatever your ESG strategy, we can support your organisation as it evolves while maximising efficiency and profitability.
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ESG programme and change management
Do you have the right capabilities to drive the delivery of your ESG strategy to realise your targets?
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ESG risk management
You must protect, comply, understand and influence to successfully manage the risk involved with ESG issues. We can help.
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ESG strategy, risk and opportunity identification
We can help you clearly define your ESG Strategy, with the risks and opportunities identified and managed.
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Create value through effective ESG communication
Building trust and engagement with your stakeholders on your ESG strategy.
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ESG metrics, targets and disclosures
The pressure to report your ESG progress is growing. Do your targets measure up?
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ESG governance, leadership and culture framework
Make the most of ESG opportunities by effectively embedding your strategy across your organisation.
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ESG and non-financial assurance
Support your board to be confident in supplying robust information that withstands scrutiny.
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Actuarial and risk
Grant Thornton's Actuarial and Risk team provides market leading actuarial and risk management advice to clients in the financial services sector and further afield. We consult extensively to the life insurance, general insurance, health insurance and pensions sectors as well as providing financial modelling and financial instrument valuation services more widely.
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Business consulting
The Financial Services Business Consulting (FSBC) practice is able to harness the skills, knowledge and experience within the Financial Services Group, to provide a full suite of services across the delivery lifecycle, from strategic advisory to assurance. FSBC provides market-leading consulting and advisory services to the banking sector.
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Business risk services
Our market-driven expertise helps firms keep growing and manage risk in an evolving regulatory landscape.
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Financial crime
Helping you fight financial crime in a constantly changing environment
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Financial services tax
In the Financial Services tax team, we provide tax advice to businesses from all over the world. We combine technical expertise with a commercial approach based on experience and deep industry understanding.
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Insurance audit, assurance and advisory
Today’s financial services environment is the subject of increasingly rigorous governance, accounting and regulatory requirements. In the light of this, we provide a truly robust and independent service to undertake external audits with a defined, industry-specific audit approach that is specifically tailored to the relevant sector.
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Leasing and consumer finance
We are a unique team in the accountancy profession and combine vast industry, product, and asset knowledge with a core service offering which adds real value to our clients.
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Litigation support
Our in-depth understanding of the industry, and our sensitivity to conflicts make us the ideal choice for law firms and lawyers looking for unrivalled levels of service. We provide a wide range of litigation support and investigation services to the financial services industry.
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Regulatory and compliance
Regulatory and compliance - We provide an exceptional level of regulatory and compliance support to both retail and wholesale organisations across the financial services industry.
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Risk and capital management
We help businesses determine which capital risk management approach fits them best, ensuring that compliance is a natural by-product and not the primary driver. While the regulatory dimensions of capital risk management are growing at an unprecedented pace, it is our understanding of the links between risk, capital and performance that benefits our clients.
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Transactions and restructuring
We carry out a wide range of transaction support services, including due diligence and business reviews to support acquisitions, lending transactions, acting as reporting accountants for financial businesses seeking a listing or trading on the capital markets.
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Computer forensics
Computer forensics - We can report on metadata and provenance, internet activity, external connections and copying, destruction of evidence, smart devices, and we can conduct detailed forensic searches.
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Corporate intelligence
Corporate intelligence often involves cross-border complexities. Our experienced team can offer support.
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Cyber advisory
Our cyber team helps you to identify and guard against potential cyber risks to your organisation and mitigate against data leaks and hacks
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Disputes advisory
Our team advises on quantum and other accounting or financial issues in commercial disputes, including acting as expert witness in litigation and arbitration.
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Financial crime
Helping you fight financial crime in a constantly changing environment
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Financial services investigations
We are market leaders in conducting and supporting investigations within the financial services industry
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Forensic data analytics
Our forensic data analytics team are helping businesses sift the truth from their data. See how we can help your firm.
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International arbitration
International arbitration has become the principal dispute resolution method for the determination of complex international commercial disputes.
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Matrimonial services
We provide a distinctive, high-quality and personalised service to family lawyers and individuals across the UK both pre and post-marriage.
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Monitoring trustee and competition services
Monitoring trustee and competition services - We provide independent Monitoring Trustee services to competition, financial, security and other regulatory bodies.
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Forensic investigations and special situations
Do you need clarity in an uncertain situation? If you're accused of wrongdoing we can help you get the facts right.
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Public sector advisory
To deliver excellent public services, local and central government need specialist support.
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Public sector consulting
Helping public sector organisations maintain oversight of services and understand what's happening on the ground.
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Public sector audit and assurance
As a leading UK auditor, we have unparalleled insights into the risks, challenges and opportunities that you face.
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Public sector governance and risk
Although arguably necessary to bring order to public financing, the impact of the accelerated public sector funding cuts represents an unprecedented scale of funding reduction. While the sector has so far risen to the challenge, enduring service and financial pressures create risks and opportunities and have particular implications for governance, risk management and internal control.
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Cryptoasset recovery
Get guidance and technical expertise on digital finance and cryptoasset recovery from our dedicated crypto hub.
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Grant Thornton Offshore
Grant Thornton Offshore is our one-stop global solution for insolvency, asset recovery, restructuring and forensics services.
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Contentious estates and family disputes
Managing complex, high net worth and sensitive issues such as divorce to resolution
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Corporate intelligence
When you're embarking on recovery proceedings, you have just a small window of opportunity to take meaningful action.
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Litigation support
Our in-depth understanding of the industry, and our sensitivity to conflicts make us the ideal choice for law firms and lawyers looking for unrivalled levels of service. We provide a wide range of litigation support and investigation services to the financial services industry.
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Personal insolvency
We are a leading provider of personal insolvency services, delivering practical solutions in a sensitive manner, maximising recoveries for creditors or by helping individuals seeking for appropriate debt relief solutions.
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Expand into new markets
Broadening your business horizons.
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Finding the right international contacts
Introducing you to the people with the experience you need to succeed.
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Getting more out of your existing international operations
How to stay in touch with, and make the most of changing markets.
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Setting up in the UK
Practical advice and expert input for anyone moving into UK markets.
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Contingency planning and administrations
In times of financial difficulty, it is vital that directors explore all the options that are available to them, including having a robust ‘Plan B’.
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Corporate restructuring
Corporate restructuring can be a difficult time. Let our team make the process simple and as stress-free as possible.
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Creditor advisory
We act as financial adviser to mainstream lenders, credit funds, special situation funds, security trustees and surety providers.
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Debt advisory
Our debt advisory team can find the right lender to help you in restructuring. Find out how our experts can support you.
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Financial services restructuring and insolvency
Financial services restructuring and insolvency is a competitive marketplace. Our team can help you navigate this space.
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Pensions advisory services
Our pensions advisory service helps manage risk and agree funding strategies. Find out how we can help you.
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Restructuring and insolvency tax
Tax will often be crucial in a plan to restructure a distressed business. Our team can guide you through the process.
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Compliance assurance
Since the financial crisis of 2008 the governance and conduct of financial services firms has been under increasing scrutiny.
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Data analytics
Deeper insight through data analysis is becoming commonplace, increasing the value, commercial challenge and calibre of insight delivered to the business.
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Enterprise risk management
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) has been around for a long time, but many organisations have struggled to understand it or genuinely embrace it.
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Finance and risk management services
Our clients continue to prepare for and implement a range of new regulatory requirements, whilst having to navigate the uncertain macro-economic environment and structural change affecting the industry.
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Internal audit services
Recent high profile control failures and increased regulatory demands require organisations to gain independent and objective assurance over the effectiveness of internal controls and risk mitigation.
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People, culture and organisation
Whilst it is recognised that culture is a key enabler of strategy, the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors has placed greater focus on the importance of organisations’ culture.
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Projects, capital programmes and transformation
Delivering significant medium and long term shifts in strategic direction, competiveness or performance often requires effective delivery of significant and complex projects and transformation programmes.
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Technology risk services
Technology has been a key driver for success and operational efficiency in all industries.
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Third party and contract assurance
Delivery of critical business activities, both business as usual and projects, increasingly means working with external partners for goods and services.
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Capital allowances (tax depreciation)
Advisory and tools to help you realise opportunities in capital allowances.
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Corporate and international tax
Accurate returns, managing risk & maximising opportunity.
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Employer solutions
It's a well-known fact that, in business, people are your greatest asset.
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Indirect tax
In recent years, there has been a domestic and global trend of Governments shifting emphasis from direct to indirect taxation. Globally, while corporation tax rates have generally decreased, VAT rates have risen.
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Our approach to tax
The Finance Act 2016 introduced the requirement for businesses like ours to publicise their tax strategies by the end of the 2018 financial year. We fully support such initiatives and believe that firms sharing their approach to tax can promote widespread transparency, build trust and benefit society as a whole.
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Private
You'll know just how important it is to maximise and protect your personal wealth.
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Real estate tax
The impact of the prolonged downturn continues to be felt in certain parts of the world but pockets of opportunity and optimism have emerged within the real estate. The UK real estate investment market has enjoyed high levels of capital inflow from a wide range of different investors groups and continues to be attractive.
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Research and development tax incentives
We can help you prepare optimised and robust research and development tax claims.
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Tax investigations and disputes
We make it simple to stay compliant and avoid HMRC tax disputes
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Tax risk management
We can help you manage your tax risk.
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Transaction and restructuring tax
Undertaking a transaction, such as fundraising, refinancing, acquiring or disposing of a business or assets, or a more fundamental restructuring is an important step. Businesses, lenders and stakeholders need to understand the impact of that transaction.
- Automotive
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Business services
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Consumer markets
- Energy, energy transition, and environment
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Financial services
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Government and public sector
- Industrials and manufacturing
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Not for profit
- Private sector healthcare
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Real estate and construction
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Technology, media and telecommunications (TMT)
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Skills and training
Get the right support to deliver corporate and vocational training that leads the way in an expanding market.
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Private education
Insight and guidance for all businesses in the private education sector: from early years to higher education and edtech.
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Facilities management and property services
Get insight and strategic support to take opportunities that protect resilience and drive UK and international growth.
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Recruitment
Helping recruitment companies take opportunities to achieve their goals in a market where talent and skills are key.
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Food and beverage (F&B)
We can help you find the right ingredients for growth in your food and beverage business.
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Travel, tourism and leisure
Tap into our range of support for travel, tourism and leisure businesses in this period of challenge and change.
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Retail, e-commerce and consumer products
With multiple challenges and opportunities in the fast-evolving retail sector, make sure you are ready for them.
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Banking
Our expertise and insight can help you respond positively to long term and emerging issues in the banking sector.
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Capital markets
2020 is a demanding year for capital markets. Working with you, we're architecting the future of the sector.
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Insurance
Our experienced expert team brings you technical expertise and insight to guide you through insurance sector challenges.
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Investment management
Embracing innovation and shaping business models for long-term success.
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Pensions
Pension provision is an essential issue for employers, and the role of the trustee is becoming increasingly challenging.
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Central and devolved government
Helping central and devolved governments deliver change to improve our communities and grow our economies.
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Infrastructure and transport
Delivering a successful transport or infrastructure project will require you to balance an often complex set of strategic issues.
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Local government
Helping local government leverage technical and strategic expertise deliver their agendas and improve public services.
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Regeneration development and housing
We provide commercial and strategic advice to assist your decision making in pursuing your objectives.
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Transforming health and social care
Sharing insight and knowledge to deliver transformation and improvement to health and social care services.
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Charities
Supporting you to achieve positive change in the UK charity sector.
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Education and skills
The education sector has rarely faced more risk or more opportunity to transform. You need to plan for the future.
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Social housing
We are committed to helping change social housing for the better, and can help you make the most of every opportunity.
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Technology
We work with dynamic technology companies of all sizes to help them succeed and grow internationally.
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Telecommunications
Take all opportunities to realise your goals in telecommunications: from business refresh to international expansion.
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Media
Media companies must stay agile to thrive in today’s highly competitive market – we’re here to support your ambitions.
Here are 10 key themes that will impact the market over the next 12 months:
1 Macroeconomic headwinds
Coronavirus continues to cause uncertainty at a global level, but financial markets appear optimistic, although subject to short term fluctuation as seen in the response to Omicron. Headwinds remain as the new administration in the United States struggles to pass budgetary policy, political instability causes tension in Europe, and the UK considers a response to inflationary pressure and a near-term significant growth in the size of the state.
The impact of Brexit, shaded by the pandemic, will become transparent with potential political and economic impacts. Trade deal flow will be key to the UK’s growth.
Leveraging areas of strength will be critical to retain competitive advantage in the evolving geopolitical landscape. The continuing discussions – particularly in lieu of the social care levy – of the role that an efficient and effective insurance industry can play in dealing with the structural issues presented by the changing demography of the UK – and the inherent tensions of the distribution of wealth across that demography – present an opportunity to insurance entities to demonstrate purpose and grow concurrently.
2 Insurtech
Insurtech adoption continues to mature, with incumbents increasingly realising the value and potential of insurtech. The pandemic period acted as a catalyst for insurers to look toward insurtech as a means of tackling the challenges posed by the new working environment. This period has not only enabled incumbents to increasingly understand the importance of digitising their business, but also given insurtech businesses to gain even greater insight into the complexities of insurance businesses and processes.
Despite this period of realisation, the insurtech sector remains underinvested in comparison to the overall fintech sector, with only a select group of firms attracting large sums of investment. This is due to a number of insurer’s strategic approach being that of 'invest and build' rather than 'buy'. This is epitomised by reinsurers who have been active in the space through their own VC arms. Due to their risk profiles, insurers and reinsurers must ensure that any insurtech solution fully meets their needs and so many see value in early-stage investment to be a part of the journey.
A key trend we expect to see in 2022 is the leveraging of insurtech solutions to support insurers with their ESG initiatives. Insurtech enables firms to achieve their ambitions across the ESG spectrum, including:
Environmental
Enabling the creation of new products and services that minimise the impact of the business’ activities across the value chain on the environment
Social
Support the provision of a platform upon which fairness and accessibility can be ensured, both for employees and underserved customers
Governance
Achieve greater levels of data and insight into the business’ activities, ensuring inefficiencies are identified and resolved promptly
3 ESG and sustainability
The UN’s climate change agenda has accelerated the insurance markets response to sustainability. In December 2021, 26 countries signed up to UN's climate change policies at the COP 26 conference in Glasgow, with many industries and corporations, including insurance, pledging sustainable strategy commitments.
The insurance sector faces challenges in sustainability through collective agreement of corporate purpose, value creation and responding to climate change factors. Not only within their own trading environments of accounting for natural capital and resource management, and balancing social sustainability responsibilities, but with their wider responsibilities of achieving a ‘net zero’ managed circular economy with a range of stakeholders. For example, consumers and investors are increasing prioritizing sustainability factors on their selection criteria, with many requiring transparencies of resource traceability, which insurers will need to capital invest into, to remain competitive.
Presently, insurers have varying maturity on ensuring their ESG responsibilities through their governance, risk and reporting systems and their agility to leverage their levers of change. As the pathfinding to the harmonisation of ESG reporting standards crystalises, insurers will find competitive advantages to proactively managing their sustainability and climate change strategy.
How can insurance firms manage climate risk?
4 Operational resilience
As the March 2022 operational resilience deadline approaches, insurers are focused on finalising their important business services, impact tolerances and self-assessments, and associated justifications to gain Board approval before the deadline. After the deadline we expect to see a shift in focus away from project-based activity towards bedding in new ways of working across business areas.
Activity will be the most intense in three areas: firstly, the remediation of vulnerabilities identified during initial mapping and testing. Secondly, a ramping up of stressed scenario testing and continuous improvement activity, with tests of increasing breadth, duration and severity, designed to improve understanding of whether tolerances can be met. Finally, a revision and re-alignment of crisis management, business continuity and disaster recovery playbooks to ensure that tolerances can be fully met by March 2025.
Many challenges still remain. The focus on operational resilience within the insurance sector over the past year has in many cases uncovered material gaps in customer understanding, or unearthed significant vulnerabilities across cyber security, technology, and third-party management, some of which will require significant levels of management focus, resource, and investment to address. However, we have observed that the new regulation is already driving a change in mindset among our clients, and we're optimistic that the sector will emerge in a far stronger position by Mach 2025.
Operational resilience can be complex to implement, what should firms do now?
5 M&A activity
M&A activity has been a predictable market over the last decade, with the only major variation being caused by the 2008 financial crisis. Since 2008 there has been steady growth, helped by the hardening insurance market. Considering this market, it became ever more challenging for insurers and Intermediaries to drive impressive organic growth figures and as such insurers in many cases, looked to acquire third parties to grow their books of business.
Both before and after the financial crises, the factors for encouraging acquisition have been relatively consistent. Factors include insurers wanting to break into new markets and new geographies, defending their market position, growing market share and the need and desire to grow digitisation capabilities.
2021 was a good year for M&A in insurance with many legal and advisory firms expecting a bumper year in 2022, partly driven by companies’ recovery/growth plans being put into effect but also the buoyant technology sector looking to assist insurers drive and fulfil their digital goals and aspirations.
The role of consultants or project managers is ever more important in M&A, as insurers adopt new ways of working, increased utilisation of digitisation, innovation, and merging different working cultures. A key trend will be the design of enduring, fully integrated business models which resolve common issues around disintegrated legacy platforms with ensuing costs resulting from simplification and remediation programmes.
6 Closed book sales
The benefits and challenges and challenges of closed book sales have been known in the life insurance Industry for years. The uncharacteristically long length of time between when a policy is sold and when a claim may be made produces a unique set of challenges from both an operational and IT perspective.
Technology and other associated IT challenges pose a fundamental challenge to insurers, as Insurer’s systems develop and practices evolve many closed books often run on what becomes a legacy system, incurring additional cost to the insurer as well as, in many cases, slowing the processing of policies and claims. Over time, the Insurer typically must decide whether to upgrade the system, implement another or maintain the existing system to run the book of business. Of course, this decision is often made based on the profitability of the book as well as the Insurer’s ability to effectively manage IT transformation projects.
Policy management costs are also a great concern for insurers when assessing their closed book business, over time the amount of policies reduces as more renewals are lapsed, thus increasing the ratio of cost per policy the Insurer Incurs while managing the book. In recent years closed books of business have become increasingly in focus for the FCA, who became concerned that policyholders within closed books of business were not being given the same level of customer service as those within open books of business. Insurers must now validate this is not the case.
While the above has articulated some of the main challenges of closed books of business, these books can hold great benefit to insurers. They can offer a reliable book of business over a set amount of time, and as such are often viewed as a good acquisition tool for insurers to drive growth.
Selling closed books also can bring great relief to insurers where they can offload the heavy admin processes, attributed to maintaining a book of business onto a third party.
7 Customer and employee experience
Following the widespread uncertainty that characterised 2021, the new year now presents an opportunity for insurers to bring security and peace-of-mind to both their customers and employees. While many criticised the sector's slow initial response to coronavirus, a redoubled focus on improving customer and employee experiences will help to restore faith in the industry going forward.
From a customer perspective, the insurance industry can struggle to present value as experiences are not defined by an exchange of physical products. As a result, differentiation stems from the provision of a quick and highly personalised service, underpinned by seamless technological connectivity. Not only does this frame digital transformation as a vital tool for the future, but it also helps to explain why regulatory pressure continues to be placed on understanding the needs of the customer.
Focussing on the experience of employees carries equal importance but offers a different array of benefits. With the ‘Great Resignation’ having now spread from the US to the UK, the insurance sector continues to struggle to overcome its skills and knowledge gaps. If this persists, insurers will be unable to innovate and grow to meet the rising expectations of the market. By improving employee experiences, insurers will become more efficient and adaptable through an enhanced ability to retain diverse and highly skilled talent. This should be a key aim for all insurers as we move into 2022.
8 Purpose of insurance
Consumer trust in the insurance industry has been gradually eroding in recent years, with insurers narrowing their eligibility criteria and scope of cover. The fact that the FCA had to bring in a recent ban on price walking (the process by which insurance firms increase premiums for existing customers who automatically renew their policy) epitomised some of the unethical practices being adopted in the industry. Furthermore, responses by insurers to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the widespread failure to pay many coronavirus claims, has only exacerbated the perception that the economic interests of consumers and their insurers are at odds.
Without fundamental change, we envisage a hollowing out of the industry, whereby only the healthy and/or wealthy can obtain their desired insurance. Gaps will emerge for the poorer, less healthy, and most vulnerable groups, which will likely result in increased government intervention. This will increase the risk transfer onto the state, something that is already being seen to an extent in the medical and social care sectors. There are however two key developments that provide insurers with the capacity to revert the negative public image that has been adopted in recent times.
Firstly, the adoption of new technologies provides a strong foundation upon which risks can be minimised and premiums reduced. AI, predictive analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) are examples of just some of the resources available to insurers to gain a holistic view of their customer base and provide fair, affordable coverage. However, the regulation of this is crucial in ensuring that vulnerable customers are not negatively impacted by such technological advances. Should developments advance over the coming year as expected, we envisage the regulators taking swift action to ensure the benefits to consumers are put first.
Secondly, the ESG agenda offers insurers a means by which their public image can significantly improve. The social aspect to ESG, focusing on equality, trust, and welfare in society, as well as privacy and data security, provides a strong foundation upon which insurers can improve public perception. Insurers must seize this opportunity to regain consumer confidence and return to its simplest form of reducing individual risk.
9 Consumer Duty
The FCA’s Consumer Duty proposals are the latest step in an ongoing continuum including numerous initiatives on fairness, value, culture, and customer outcomes.
Since its inception, the FCA has striven, through a combination of hard power (policymaking, supervision and enforcement of rules and guidance) and soft power (public statements, consumer campaigns, supervisory relationships with firms and sectors) to significantly improve the extent to which the financial services industry is sustainable from a customer outcomes perspective.
The Consumer Duty proposals are new and will increase the regulatory burden and the FCA’s powers. However, the FCA’s goals are familiar – increased consumer understanding and engagement, ensuring that good products reach those for whom they're suited and perform as expected, improving consumer support and value, and trying to drive consumer protection-orientated competition between firms.
Preparedness and proactivity will influence the way in which FCA supervisors engage with firms on this important topic in which the key tenets should not cause any surprises.
10 Digital transformation and data management
Customer demands continue to evolve to reflect social change, an increased focus on ESG concerns, new engagement channels and a shift in the economic landscape. As such, insurers need to focus on identifying customer needs and ensuring the journey is easily accessible from start to finish. Digital transformation focuses on improving the customer journey, and firms’ agility and responsiveness across the insurance sector.
While this is good for customers, it's also great for insurers – supporting sustained growth and driving future innovation. To achieve these goals, many firms start with assessing the IT function, but it's important to consider the wider implications across the business. A more holistic approach that assesses the organisation’s systems, processes and culture will support an effective digital transformation and help firms maximise the value of their investment.
Data is one of the most valuable assets for any organisation and it supports effective operations, risk management and regulatory reporting. For insurers, poor data can lead to issues around claims management, establishing appropriate premiums and developing new products. There's also increased regulatory focus on governance and controls to ensure the initial data captured can support accurate and appropriate downstream processing.
How can you build a framework for a successful data strategy?