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The auditors of Grant Thornton Baltic audited the 2020 IFRS annual report of the public interest entity UPP Olaines OÜ consolidation group.

After leaping back strongly from the darkest days of the pandemic, the global mid-market could only manage a small additional step forward in the second half of 2021, as tracked by the Global business pulse, Grant Thornton’s index of health among mid-sized companies. At 1.2, the index score is now within sight of pre-COVID health levels (3.4), but there is still some way to go for a full recovery.

A whistleblower has to feel safe in order to have the courage to start shining the light on problem areas in an organization. An EU directive soon to come into force imposes specific requirements on companies to ensure that those who point out problems would not end up like martyrs.

In the beginning of the year, several tax changes were introduced in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Conversing with Tarmo Rahkama, his desire for challenges and excitement quickly becomes plain. He talks passionately about his career as a sworn auditor, doing packaging audits and being a track and field (athletics) umpire. The conservation also swings to the subject of the best recent theatre productions and tennis.

Video surveillance is used on streets, vehicles, shops, offices – pretty much everywhere. Whenever anyone leaves home – and as soon as they close the door behind them – they can wind up on someone else’s camera footage. Even when hiking in the woods, it’s possible to be captured by a wildlife camera.

From 1 January 2022, the Estonian Value-added Tax Act will have a new section, 291, setting forth the conditions on the basis of which taxable persons can reduce their tax liability on bad debts. This is a long-awaited addition to Estonian tax law that has previously been discussed but has not gone beyond the draft legislation stage.

From 2022, an updated regulation will take effect, regarding the methodology for determining transactions between related persons. Since it was adopted in 2006, Minister of Finance regulation no. 53 had been in force unchanged.

A wisely selected supervisory board – one that doesn’t do its work only at meetings but lays down clear strategic goals for management and itself and meters them constantly, while serving as a mentor for executives – can contribute greatly to achieving solid business results.

Grant Thornton Baltic OÜ advised German company RAUMEDIC AG on the acquisition of aktsiaselts A&G. RAUMEDIC AG is a leading developer and manufacturer of systems and components and a partner to medical and pharmaceutical industries. Core business of aktsiaselts A&G is production of medical supplies.

Late last November, trading of shares of one of the Estonia’s biggest real estate developers, Hepsor AS, began on the Nasdaq Tallinn exchange. Grant Thornton Baltic’s team of more than 10 internal and external specialists did its part to help Hepsor get listed, auditing the IFRS based financial reporting set out in the company’s listing prospectus.

As of 1 July 2021, in addition to the term “low-tax territory”, the term “non-cooperative jurisdiction” has appeared in the Income Tax Act. The amendment is related to the European Union's safeguard measures aimed at preventing tax evasion in transactions with companies located in so-called tax havens.

Grant Thornton Baltic advised Howden Finland Oy, the market leader in Finland and part of the international group Howden Broking, on the acquisition.

Effective 1 April 2022, when the system for taking child leave will change in the Employment Contracts Act, all parents of children under 14 years of age will be entitled to 10 working days of paid child leave per child under 14.

The member firms of Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL) have extensive expertise in the application of IFRS. GTIL, through its IFRS Team, develops general guidance that supports its member firms’ commitment to high quality, consistent application of IFRS and is therefore pleased to share our insights by publishing ‘IFRS Example Consolidated Financial Statements 2021’ (Example Financial Statements).

An increasing number of companies in Estonia cross the threshold of turnover and balance sheet volume that requires them to order an audit or financial review of their 2021 annual report. On the other hand, the number of auditing companies has decreased compared to last year. How to cope with a situation with fewer service providers, increasing numbers of customers, and increasing troublesome findings regarding the quality of service provided by audit firms?