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At P&A Grant Thornton, we provide annual and short period financial statement audit services that go beyond the normal expectations of our clients. We believe strongly that our best work comes from combining outstanding technical expertise, knowledge and ability with exceptional client-focused service.
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Review engagement
A review involves limited investigation with a narrower scope than an audit, and is undertaken for the purpose of providing limited assurance that the management’s representations are in accordance with identified financial reporting standards. Our professionals recognize that in order to conduct a quality financial statement review, it is important to look beyond the accounting entries to the underlying activities and operations that give rise to them.
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Other Related Services
We make it a point to keep our clients abreast of the developments and updates relating to the growing complexities in the accounting world. We offer seminars and trainings on audit- and tax-related matters, such as updates on Accounting Standards, new pronouncements and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issuances, as well as other developments that affect our clients’ businesses.
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Tax compliance
We aim to minimize the impact of taxation, enabling you to maximize your potential savings and to expand your business.
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Corporate services
For clients that want to do business in the Philippines, we assist in determining the appropriate and tax-efficient operating business or investment vehicle and structure to address the objectives of the investor, as well as related incorporation issues.
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Tax education and advocacy
Our advocacy work focuses on clarifying the interpretation of laws and regulations, suggesting measures to increasingly ease tax compliance, and protecting taxpayer’s rights.
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Business risk services
Our business risk services cover a wide range of solutions that assist you in identifying, addressing and monitoring risks in your business. Such solutions include external quality assessments of your Internal Audit activities' conformance with standards as well as evaluating its readiness for such an external assessment.
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Business consulting services
Our business consulting services are aimed at addressing concerns in your operations, processes and systems. Using our extensive knowledge of various industries, we can take a close look at your business processes as we create solutions that can help you mitigate risks to meet your objectives, promote efficiency, and beef up controls.
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Transaction services
Transaction advisory includes all of our services specifically directed at assisting in investment, mergers and acquisitions, and financing transactions between and among businesses, lenders and governments. Such services include, among others, due diligence reviews, project feasibility studies, financial modelling, model audits and valuation.
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Forensic advisory
Our forensic advisory services include assessing your vulnerability to fraud and identifying fraud risk factors, and recommending practical solutions to eliminate the gaps. We also provide investigative services to detect and quantify fraud and corruption and to trace assets and data that may have been lost in a fraud event.
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Cyber advisory
Our focus is to help you identify and manage the cyber risks you might be facing within your organization. Our team can provide detailed, actionable insight that incorporates industry best practices and standards to strengthen your cybersecurity position and help you make informed decisions.
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ProActive Hotline
Providing support in preventing and detecting fraud by creating a safe and secure whistleblowing system to promote integrity and honesty in the organisation.
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Accounting services
At P&A Grant Thornton, we handle accounting services for several companies from a wide range of industries. Our approach is highly flexible. You may opt to outsource all your accounting functions, or pass on to us choice activities.
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Staff augmentation services
We offer Staff Augmentation services where our staff, under the direction and supervision of the company’s officers, perform accounting and accounting-related work.
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Payroll Processing
Payroll processing services are provided by P&A Grant Thornton Outsourcing Inc. More and more companies are beginning to realize the benefits of outsourcing their noncore activities, and the first to be outsourced is usually the payroll function. Payroll is easy to carve out from the rest of the business since it is usually independent of the other activities or functions within the Accounting Department.
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Behind the Numbers: People of P&A Grant Thornton
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How the PH healthcare industry can become keen on threats to cybersecurity
30 Sep 2020Earlier this year, one of Czech Republic’s hospitals, which is also a coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) testing laboratory, became a victim of a cyberattack. The attack forced the hospital to shut down its information technology network, postpone surgeries and move some of its patients to other hospitals. With the pandemic still in full swing here in the Philippines, these cyberattacks on other countries’ hospitals pose as a warning for our healthcare industry to take cybersecurity seriously.
Following that incident, the Cybersecurity Bureau of the Department of Information Communications and Technology (DICT) immediately advised local hospitals and healthcare facilities nationwide to install emergency backup systems to ensure continuous operations.
In a time like this, the disruption of healthcare operation is a huge risk.
The healthcare industry has evolved to heavily depend on network infrastructure. This evolution has exposed hospitals and healthcare facilities to increasing cybersecurity and privacy threats. However, some of our healthcare organizations are not yet equipped with the right policies, people and technology infrastructure to deal with cyberattacks.
With the Covid-19 crisis, cyber criminals can capitalize on the pressure faced by health organizations to plan their cyberattacks and take advantage of vulnerable systems.
The effects of these cyberattacks, which could include compromised patient data, medical equipment malfunctions, or disruption of operations can be very damaging to not only the organization, but also to the health of individuals.
Top cybersecurity concerns
Social engineering. Sending spam emails to healthcare officials and personnel that includes malicious links and attachment is one of the common and simple ways to obtain information and access credentials. When successfully executed, cybercriminals can gain access to a computer or to the healthcare information system or network. They can then exploit this access to steal medical records or sabotage the healthcare operations.
Targeting telehealth services and technologies. To help fend off the spread of Covid-19, healthcare organizations have implemented telehealth and work from home arrangements, including use of mobile or online medical apps, patient portals and contact tracing apps. While telehealth services provide patients remote access to health services and information, cyber criminals can also take advantage of this, targeting remote connections, online services platforms, and remote offices and personnel.
Lastly, the lack of visibility on the organization’s network and connected devices is also one of the commonly overlooked cyber risks. Because of the pandemic, the use of mobile devices and remote technologies have increased. Without an efficient system to monitor and manage these devices, cyberattacks may happen easily.
Reducing the risks
As the old expression goes, prevention is better than cure. Healthcare organizations need to identify their critical information technoogy assets and the important data they have, then design a plan to protect them. They could consider installing a strong and updated antivirus and malware protection on computers, encryption tools and email security systems. They could invest in a sophisticated data loss prevention software to ensure that sensitive data is not lost, misused or accessed by unauthorized users.
With all these said, technology can only do so much. The main protector of sensitive data and information is still the organization’s personnel. Providing cybersecurity awareness training and education to employees should be a priority in order to prevent cyberattacks.
Furthermore, having a designated security advisor to provide guidance, suggest best practice, and develop security policies should also be considered.
Generally, many industries face similar challenges when it comes to the strength of their cybersecurity efforts. However, authorities concerned with nationwide information and technology are zooming into the healthcare industry because of the Covid-19 crisis.
Nevertheless, with or without this pandemic, the healthcare industry still faces a huge challenge with regard to cybersecurity. If cybersecurity is given utmost importance by the healthcare industry, there will one less challenge to solve.
Jan Nolasco is a Managing Consultant of the Advisory Services Division of P&A Grant Thornton. P&A Grant Thornton is one of the leading audit, tax, advisory, and outsourcing firms in the Philippines with 24 Partners and more than 900 staff members. We’d like to hear from you! Tweet us: @GrantThorntonPH, like us on Facebook: P&A Grant Thornton, and email your comments to anton.ng@ph.gt.com or pagrantthornton@ph.gt.com. For more information, visit our website at www.grantthornton.com.ph.
As published in The Manila Times, dated 30 September 2020