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Financial statements audits
Financial statements audits
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Financial statement reviews
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Financial statements compilations
Financial statements compilations
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IFRS
IFRS
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Audit quality monitoring
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Global audit technology
Global audit technology
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Systems and risk assurance
Systems and risk assurance
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Programmes
Grant Thornton is authorised and regulated by the Government of Malta to handle and submit applications for both citizenship applications as well as residence permits under the various residence programmes available in terms of Maltese law.
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Ordinary residency in Malta
Any EU, EEA or third country national who resides in Malta for more than 3 months is obliged to apply for a Residence Permit. There are various grounds upon which an applicant may apply to require a residence permit, including: Self-Sufficiency, Employment or Self-Employment, Family Members, Permanent Residence, Study Purposes.
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Malta provides qualified persons employed in the field of aviation with an opportunity to enjoy a 15% flat personal tax rate on income generated from their direct employment in Malta. For a candidate to qualify, their annual income must exceed €45,000. This does not include the value of fringe benefits and applies to the derived income received from an eligible office.
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Qualifying Employment in Innovation and Creativity (Personal Tax) (Amendment) Rules, 2019
These Rules allows persons employed in a role directly engaged in carrying out, or management of research, development, design, analytical or innovation activities, to enjoy a 15% flat personal tax rate on income generated from their direct employment in Malta.
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Qualifying Employment in Maritime and Offshore Oil & Gas Industry Rule
Malta provides qualified persons employed in the field of aviation, with an opportunity to enjoy a 15% flat personal tax rate on income generated from their direct employment in Malta.
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Nomad Residence Permit
The nomad residence permit, which was launched in June 2021, allows third-country nationals who would normally require a Visa to travel to Malta, to retain their current employment based in another country whilst legally residing on the island.
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Citizenship by naturalisation
The Maltese Citizenship Act (Cap 188) establishes who may become a citizen of Malta by naturalisation, provided that the applicant satisfies the relative provisions.
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Citizenship for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment
With the continuously changing global dynamics and evolving geopolitics, there is an ever-growing number of highly-talented high-net-worth individuals who are willing to invest and relocate to give themselves and their family members the chance to broaden their horizons and become part of a welcoming community.
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Acquisition of citizenship by registration
The Maltese Citizenship Act (Cap 188) establishes who can register as a citizens of Malta. The Act was amended on 1st August 2007, this making it possible for second and subsequent generations born abroad to acquire Maltese citizenship by registration.
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Internal audit
Internal audit
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Risk management and internal controls consulting
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Governance and risk management
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Regulatory services
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Risk modelling services
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Forensic and investigation
Forensic and investigation
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A compliance audit is a detailed review which focuses on whether an organisation is in conformity with statutory laws as well as internal rules and decisions. This type of audit also assesses the effectiveness of an organization’s internal controls by identifying weaknesses in compliance processes whilst finding measures to enhance such processes.
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General business consulting
General business consulting
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Business planning and performance improvement
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Change and program management
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Business intelligence and analytics
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Business valuation and litigation support
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Business process outsourcing and consulting
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Our business solutions for family businesses center on alignment of all aspects of the family and business, including culture, vision, mission, values, governance, ownership, leadership, communication and policy development.
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Quantitative small caps
Quantitative small caps
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Data analytics is the process through which businesses leverage data to gain actionable insights and enhance their performance. This is based on a solid foundation of well-organised and accurate data. Many businesses have a large amount of data at their disposal however, most of them do not have the expertise to analyse the available data.
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Maltese Family Businesses Resource Centre
For over 30 years Grant Thornton’s advisory teams have assisted family businesses in navigating the challenges of leadership and succession across generations
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Preparing the next generation for leadership and ownership is an integral part of any succession process. Grant Thornton can help formulate the necessary grooming plan for all the potential successors.
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Tax services
Using a combination of reason and instinct, we can work with clients to develop a strategy that helps them understand and manage their tax liability in a transparent and ethical way.
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Like all companies, family businesses need finance. As an ongoing business concern looking at expanding, when it comes to raising capital, it’s important that this is done wisely to minimise the risk of collateral damage.
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Having a proper governance structure is essential to ensure that the family and business strategies are achieved. Grant Thornton can advise on this, and facilitate the implementation of the ideal governance structure based on the exact scenario.
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Letting go of your family business is difficult for all owners and even more so for founders; however, in a family business the additional challenge presented by the family component increases the complexity of this process. Our team of family business advisors will ensure that such ownership issues are dealt with in an effective and structured approach.
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Exit strategies
There are many 'exit strategies' that need to be considered to minimise the risk of conflict. They can arise from the eventual exit of a family member from the ownership ranks and can have many causes. See how we can help.
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Management succession
By implementing our family business guidelines to family succession and a proper governance structure, the management succession process can be completed with minimal conflict and will result in the most competent successor being chosen.
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GDPR consultancy
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the EU's data protection law which brings a lot of changes for your business to prepare. Grant Thornton can help your business make sure it complies to the new regulation.
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Cyber security consultancy
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ESEF Reporting
We are providing a service for listed companies that fall in scope to report in xHTML. Our service includes the mapping of the taxonomy, as well as the output of the audit/regulator ready xHTML report
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Information systems strengthens an organisation’s financial and operational processes. Grant Thornton Malta strengthens your organisation’s need for IT and information assurance.
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Compilation of financial statements
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Business process outsourcing including back office and secretarial
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Family business consulting
Family business consulting
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Startups
Startups
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Company formation
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BOR
Entities in Malta, including companies, partnerships, foundations, trusts and associations, have an obligation to disclose the ultimate beneficial owner/s (physical person) of the entities. A beneficial owner is defined as the individual (s) who ultimately owns or controls a legal entity or arrangement through direct or indirect ownership of a sufficient percentage of the shares or voting rights or ownership interest in that entity.
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Operational and financial restructuring and reorganisation
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Recovery
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Direct international tax
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Global mobility services
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Transfer pricing
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At its simplest, VAT is a tax on consumption and is a multi-stage tax (ie applied at every stage of the production process), which is applied to both goods (ie tangible property) and services. Additionally, although the tax is ultimately borne by the consumer (by getting included in the price paid), responsibility for charging, collecting and passing the tax on to the tax authorities, rests with the supplier.
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2018 Amendments of the Income Tax Act
The following is a brief overview of the new tax provisions introduced in 2018 by the Budget Implementation Act (Act VII of 2018) and other legislative enactments
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Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions
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Prospects MTF
As of 2016, small and medium-sized enterprises in Malta can access the capital markets through Prospects - a market of the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) designed specifically for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME). Prospects offers a cost-effective opportunity for entities looking to raise up to €5 million per issue.
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Project financing
Project financing
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Due diligence
Due diligence
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Valuations
Valuations
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Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is the category of international investment that echoes the objective of obtaining a lasting interest by an investor in one economy in an enterprise resident in another economy.
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Wholesale Securities Market
WSM is a joint venture between the Malta Stock Exchange and the Irish Stock Exchange, combining the best of each partner’s processes and technical skills.
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Investment Support
The government of Malta has made available several incentive programmes, aimed at supporting Maltese SMEs and start-ups. These support schemes are targeted at different stages of a company’s lifecycle and cover from the start-up to the consolidation and expansion phases. Such incentives are usually promoted and managed by Malta Enterprise, while Trade Malta focuses on supporting businesses to penetrate foreign markets.
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Financial regulatory services
Financial regulatory services
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Ship and aircraft registration
Ship and aircraft registration
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Medical cannabis licensing in Malta
A study published in 2018 by market intelligence and strategic consultancy firm Prohibition Partners, has forecasted that the European cannabis market will be valued €115.7 billion by 2028. According to the same study, while patient numbers are currently below 100,000 across the region, their number is set to grow to over 30 million in the next decade. In 2018 Malta introduced a bill to legalise the use of medical marijuana and attract companies willing to produce high-grade medical cannabis for the European market.
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As an entrepreneur, business owner, parent or guardian, you will want to ensure that whatever happens in the future, the rewards from your hard work can be protected as efficiently as possible. Grant Thornton Fiduciaire Limited (Grant Thornton) understands this and provides a professional and holistic trust management service.
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Family trusts
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Aviation
The Maltese Government is constantly remaining to improve the position as the best place to do business within the aviation industry through exhaustive tax agreements, powerful legislation, and many aviation professionals. This is the best time for airlines, financiers and aircraft owners to be located in Malta.
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Maritime
For Maritime, Grant Thornton provide direction with regards to VAT guidelines for yacht leasing, as well as ship and aircraft registration.
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We offer a broad range of services relating to automotive, ranging from Transaction advisory, access to finance, business advisory, process and inventory management, tax advisory, audit and advisory, outsourced support services.
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SME eCommerce
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Blockchain technology
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The Malta Virtual Financial Assets Act
The Virtual Financial Assets Act provides a sound legislative framework for Malta to regulate and responsibly promote the use of cryptocurrencies, crypto-exchanges and other crypto-related services, through which Malta aims to promote further technological innovations and growth, and continue building on its robust financial services industry.
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Our role as a VFA agent
Our role as a VFA agent consists to assist, monitor and provide guidance throughout the full licensing process, and beyond the licensing stage. The VFA agent will be required to apply for the VFA license on behalf of the issuer.
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Initial Coin Offerings
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in Malta have risen to prominence as a method to raise capital from the public, institutions or venture capitalists by selling a percentage of cryptocurrency to investors in the form of tokens in exchange for legal tender (smart contracts).
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Gaming Regulations
Malta recently overhauled the framework regulating the iGaming sector. Going forward operators will still be required to obtain authorisation to carry out regulated activities.
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Licensing Process
Prior to submission all applicants are advised to go through a pre-application process with one of the MGA’s Licensing Officers. This will ensure that the application has been correctly compiled and all the key ingredients are present.
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Malta Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)
As part of the 2019 budget, the government has pledged to introduce a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) framework in Malta.
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The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) II
MiFID II aims to protect investors and make sure that financial markets operate in the fairest and most transparent way possible. Building on stock and investment trading regulation introduced in 2007 it sets to ensure a more integrated financial market.
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Taxation of Malta Collective Investment Schemes
Malta-registered collective investment schemes (CISs) are generally not subject to Malta tax. Given that CIS are properly structured, such schemes generally can take advantage of a number of tax benefits. When it comes to taxation of investors in collective investment schemes, this will depend on what type of income is being received, whether the investor is a Malta resident or not, and if the shareholder is an individual or a body-corporate?
Investors, customers, governments, and the wider public are putting companies under ever greater pressure to place sustainability at the heart of their business models. In this article, we look at how the mid-market is responding – and what practical steps firms can take to embrace a more sustainable approach.
Over the course of the past decade, the importance of sustainability has significantly increased all over the world – not only in terms of how individuals live their lives, but also how governments frame policy, as well as how businesses develop operating models and plan for the future. Linda Mannerby, Head of Sustainability at Grant Thornton Sweden, explains, “Companies that understand global challenges and risks, adapt their business models, and manage their business impact – both positive and negative – have a greater opportunity to survive long-term.”
Grant Thornton’s IBR research has focused on the extent to which mid-market companies are embracing sustainability. Findings show that a significant proportion of mid-market businesses are attuned to its importance: just under half (48%) believe sustainability will have a net positive financial impact on their business, while a similar number (47%) expect a sustainable approach to lead to improved operational efficiency and lower costs. Meanwhile, 43% say financial success and sustainability are of equal importance. The mid-market is clearly attuned to the growing importance of sustainable businesses, but the data also suggests that many mid-market firms are unsure of how to put any commitment to sustainability into practice. 48% agree that most companies of their size do not know where to start when it comes to sustainability measurement.
Why embrace sustainability
One of the key motivating factors for mid-market businesses to make sustainability a guiding strategic principle, is the growth opportunities this kind of approach can create. One of the leading motivations for integrating sustainability into strategy, is to obtain investment, as year on year more capital in the world is allocated in accordance with sustainability parameters. Many investors and banks also use sustainability as a proxy for a company’s approach to risk management.
Integrating sustainability into core business strategy also drives innovation and ultimate business growth. Emma Verheijke, Partner Sustainability & Impact Advisory at Grant Thornton Netherlands states that, “Sustainability is no longer a nice project on the side: it is part of your core strategy. It affects your risks, your opportunities, your long-term planning, how you deal with your people, your resources, and your suppliers, as well as consumer demand. Companies that see that and anticipate these issues will be the ones that have the most value in the future”. Indeed, the IBR found that almost two-thirds (61%) of mid-market businesses think that global sustainability trends will demand fundamental changes to operating models in their industry.
The obstacles to become more sustainable
For many businesses in the mid-market, the financial outlay required to implement a sustainability programme is a major hurdle to overcome – and one which has become even more of a problem due to the financial pressures around Covid-19. One of the biggest challenges is short-termism, whereby even if we do not want to be, we are still in a system where we are pushed to deliver on quarterly financial targets, and this is still driving the change within companies.
Identifying value
The IBR findings found that many firms draw a strong link between sustainability and financial performance. Markus Hakansson, Head of Sustainability Business Advisory at Grant Thornton Sweden, adds: “Your ability to create value as a company is not dependent only on financial factors. Non-financial factors – social and environmental – are connected to 80% of the company’s ability to create value and in the end, value is money. But this value – which can be the knowledge of the employees, or structural capital – can be held in the company for many years before it becomes cash. Understanding this concept of sustainability can be a problem for the board and owners.”
First steps in sustainability
The key to working out what a business’s sustainability goals is holding a dialogue with stakeholders. Stakeholders range from investors and lenders to customers, employees and the wider public. Therefore, businesses need to assess their current position in terms of the environment and society. Businesses need to be clear from the outset as to what they are trying to achieve through becoming more sustainable, since this will dictate the direction a business is going to take. Once goals and material impact areas have been established, businesses can decide which reporting and assessment frameworks fit best, rather than starting with a particular framework or methodology and working backwards.
Mark Hucklesby, director of financial reporting at Grant Thornton, says that recent developments in sustainability reporting are likely to lead to the development of a unified set of non-financial reporting standards to replace the large number of competing sustainability standards currently in operation. An integrated and unified set of sustainability standards will provide much needed transparency and comparability.
Placing sustainability at the centre of strategy
Sustainability concerns should be placed at the centre of all decision-making within the company. In the perfect situation, every decision on the tactical, operative, and strategic level should be made on the triple-bottom-line basis, taking into account its environmental, social and financial impact.
We can help
The transition to a sustainable model may be a complex and time-intense process, requiring the execution of feasibility studies and the evaluation of the risks and impacts of change on your operations. To that end, Grant Thornton’s multidisciplinary team gauges the environmental, operational, social and financial impacts to better inform the decision-making process of our clients.
If you need guidance on how to transition to a sustainable model, get in touch with Grant Thornton’s Sustainability Team by sending an email to wayne.pisani@mt.gt.com or visit Sustainability | Grant Thornton Malta