Insights

Established players in the hospitality and tourism sector are having to work harder than ever to find growth. A series of recent events have disrupted demand in the short-term, but longer term, the rise of the digital economy is threatening traditional operating models and sales channels. Businesses in the sector need to be alive to the challenges posed by online travel agencies and aggregators (OTAs), as they try to build their brand and maintain market share.

The European recovery is gaining momentum according to Grant Thornton's International Business Report (IBR). However, drawing on interviews with more than 1,100 regional executives, the report uncovers a number of threats, from Greek debt negotiations to high unemployment, which continue to undermine European stability and long-term business growth prospects.

Video case study: UK company Berry White used crowdfunding platform CrowdCube to scale up internationally. Here's how they did it.

Effective management of country-by-country reporting is going to require a new way of looking at transfer pricing

Accountants should work more closely with academia. That was my key takeaway from a trip to Edinburgh last week for the British Accounting and Finance Association meet. It is clear that the academics welcome input from practitioners and I found myself volunteering to share some of my experiences with their students. And I got the impression that lecturers would welcome much more practical input at all stages of research and in all aspects of their work.

Businesses across Europe have greater concern about the prospect of the UK leaving the EU than Greece leaving the eurozone, according to new research from Grant Thornton. This comes just as the UK is about to go the polls in an election where a potential EU referendum is a major policy battleground, and just ahead of Greece’s deadline to repay almost €1billion to the International Monetary Fund in May.

Advances in technology and logistics allow businesses to expand across borders more easily, but understanding and overcoming the psychological barriers to expansion abroad is crucial to giving your global growth plans a head-start.

Dominic King, Editor - global research, draws on a session at the 2015 IMF/World Bank Spring Conference to ask why regional trade deals are trumping a multilateral agreement and how the digital economy is reshaping globalisation.

Day three at the IMF: Tackling tax evasion: thoughts from the IMF

Day two at the IMF: The challenges and opportunities posed by ageing populations

Dominic King reports from the IMF Spring Conference where Big Data, the oil price drop, an ageing population, the sustainable development goals, water scarcity and tax evasion are on the agenda.

Francesca Lagerberg says the global backlash against corporate tax avoidance means companies that trade across borders need to get their tax affairs in order sooner rather than later

Almost three months on from the launch of the European Central Bank's quantitative easing programme, new research from the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) reveals a jump in business optimism in the eurozone in the first quarter of 2015, with confidence moving back up towards pre-crisis levels.

Ed Nusbaum, global CEO at Grant Thornton tells governments not to ignore mid-market businesses.

Will the CMU positively impact the dynamic businesses that drive growth across the EU? The EC estimates today that the EU’s medium sized enterprises receive one fifth of the funding that their counterparts in the United States can access. Clearly the EC would like to eliminate the gap, allowing the growth engine of the EU to benefit from simpler, more ready access to capital with an intended benefit of stronger growth and jobs.

The European Commission unveil plans to combat corporate tax avoidance and tackle businesses exploiting the complexity of tax rules.