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Other audit services
We help clients with the application and use of foreign financial aid of EU and other funds and help prepare financial reports.
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Audit calculator
The calculator will answer if the company's sales revenue, assets or number of employees exceed the limit of an inspection or audit.
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Payroll and related services
We perform payroll accounting for companies whether they employ a few or hundreds of employees.
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Tax accounting
Grant Thornton Baltic's experienced tax specialists support accountants and offer reasonable and practical solutions.
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Reporting
We prepare annual reports in a timely manner. We help to prepare management reports and various mandatory reports.
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Consolidation of financial statements
Our experienced accountants and advisors help you prepare consolidation tables and make the consolidation process more efficient.
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Consultancy and temporary staff
Our experienced specialists advise on more complex accounting transactions, rectify poor historic accounting, and offer the temporary replacement of an accountant.
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Outsourced CFO service
Our CFO service is suitable for companies of all sizes and in all industries. We offer services to our clients in the required amount and competences.
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Assessment of accounting processes
We help companies to implement accounting practices that are in compliance with local and international standards.
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Accounting services for small businesses
We offer affordable service for small businesses. We help organize processes as smartly and cost-effectively as possible.
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Cryptocurrency accounting
We keep up with blockchain technology to serve and advise crypto companies. We are supported by a network of colleagues in 130 countries.
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Trainings and seminars
Our accountants have experience in all matters related to accounting and reporting. We offer our clients professional training according to their needs.
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Business advisory
We offer legal support to both start-ups and expanding companies, making sure that all legal steps are well thought out in detail.
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Fintech advisory
Our specialists advise payment institutions, virtual currency service providers and financial institutions.
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Corporate advisory
We advise on legal, tax and financial matters necessary for better management of the company's legal or organizational structure.
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Transaction advisory
We provide advice in all aspects of the transaction process.
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Legal due diligence
We thoroughly analyze the internal documents, legal relations, and business compliance of the company to be merged or acquired.
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In-house lawyer service
The service is intended for entrepreneurs who are looking for a reliable partner to solve the company's day-to-day legal issues.
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The contact person service
We offer a contact person service to Estonian companies with a board located abroad.
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Training
We organize both public trainings and tailor made trainings ordered by clients on current legal and tax issues.
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Whistleblower channel
At Grant Thornton Baltic, we believe that a well-designed and effective reporting channel is an efficient way of achieving trustworthiness.
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Business model or strategy renewal
In order to be successful, every company, regardless of the size of the organization, must have a clear strategy, ie know where the whole team is heading.
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Marketing and brand strategy; creation and updating of the client management system
We support you in updating your marketing and brand strategy and customer management system, so that you can adapt in this time of rapid changes.
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Coaching and development support
A good organizational culture is like a trump card for a company. We guide you how to collect trump cards!
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Digital services
Today, the question is not whether to digitize, but how to do it. We help you develop and implement smart digital solutions.
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Sales organisation development
Our mission is to improve our customers' business results by choosing the right focuses and providing a clear and systematic path to a solution.
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Business plan development
A good business plan is a guide and management tool for an entrepreneur, a source of information for financial institutions and potential investors to make financial decisions.
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Due diligence
We perform due diligence so that investors can get a thorough overview of the company before the planned purchase transaction.
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Mergers and acquisitions
We provide advice in all aspects of the transaction process.
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Valuation services
We estimate the company's market value, asset value and other asset groups based on internationally accepted methodology.
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Forensic expert services
Our experienced, nationally recognized forensic experts provide assessments in the economic and financial field.
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Business plans and financial forecasts
The lack of planning and control of cash resources is the reason often given for the failure of many businesses. We help you prepare proper forecasts to reduce business risks.
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Outsourced CFO service
Our CFO service is suitable for companies of all sizes and in all industries. We offer services to our clients in the required amount and competences.
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Reorganization
Our experienced reorganizers offer ways to overcome the company's economic difficulties and restore liquidity in order to manage sustainably in the future.
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Restructuring and reorganisation
We offer individual complete solutions for reorganizing the structure of companies.
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Corporate taxation
We advise on all matters related to corporate taxation.
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Value added tax and other indirect taxes
We have extensive knowledge in the field of VAT, excise duties and customs, both on the national and international level.
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International taxation
We advise on foreign tax systems and international tax regulations, including the requirements of cross-border reporting.
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Transfer pricing
We help plan and document all aspects of a company's transfer pricing strategy.
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Taxation of transactions
We plan the tax consequences of a company's acquisition, transfer, refinancing, restructuring, and listing of bonds or shares.
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Taxation of employees in cross-border operations
An employee of an Estonian company abroad and an employee of a foreign company in Estonia - we advise on tax rules.
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Tax risk audit
We perform a risk audit that helps diagnose and limit tax risks and optimize tax obligations.
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Representing the client in Tax Board
We prevent tax problems and ensure smooth communication with the Tax and Customs Board.
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Taxation of private individuals
We advise individuals on personal income taxation issues and, represent the client in communication with the Tax and Customs Board.
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Pan-Baltic tax system comparison
Our tax specialists have prepared a comparison of the tax systems of the Baltic countries regarding the taxation of companies and individuals.
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Recruitment services – personnel search
We help fill positions in your company with competent and dedicated employees who help realize the company's strategic goals.
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Recruitment support services
Support services help to determine whether the candidates match the company's expectations. The most used support services are candidate testing and evaluation.
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Implementation of human resource management processes
We either assume a full control of the launch of processes related to HR management, or we are a supportive advisory partner for the HR manager.
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Audit of HR management processes
We map the HR management processes and provide an overview of how to assess the health of the organization from the HR management perspective.
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HR Documentation and Operating Model Advisory Services work
We support companies in setting up HR documentation and operational processes with a necessary quality.
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Employee Surveys
We help to carry out goal-oriented and high-quality employee surveys. We analyse the results, make reports, and draw conclusions.
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HR Management outsourcing
We offer both temporary and permanent/long-term HR manager services to companies.
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Internal audit
We assist you in performing the internal audit function, performing internal audits and advisory work, evaluating governance, and conducting training.
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Internal Audit in the Financial Services Sector
We provide internal audit services to financial sector companies. We can support the creation of an internal audit function already when applying for a sectoral activity license.
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Audit of projects
We conduct audits of projects that have received European Union funds, state aid, foreign aid, or other grants.
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Prevention of money laundering
We help to prepare a money laundering risk assessment and efficient anti-money laundering procedures, conduct internal audits and training.
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Risk assessment and risk management
We advise you on conducting a risk assessment and setting up a risk management system.
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Custom tasks
At the request of the client, we perform audits, inspections and analyzes with a specific purpose and scope.
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External Quality Assessment of the Internal Audit Activity
We conduct an external evaluation of the quality of the internal audit or provide independent assurance on the self-assessment.
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Whistleblowing and reporting misconduct
We can help build the whistleblowing system, from implementation, internal repairs and staff training to the creation of a reporting channel and case management.
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Sustainability advisory
We help solve issues related to the environment, social capital, employees, business model and good management practices.
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Sustainability audit
Our auditors review and certify sustainability reports in accordance with international standards.
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Sustainable finance
We help investors to analyze the environmental issues, social responsibility and good management practices of the company of interest.
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Sustainable tax
Our international tax specialists define the concept of sustainable tax behavior and provide services related to sustainable tax behavior.
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Digital strategy
We help assess the digital maturity of your organization, create a strategy that matches your needs and capabilities, and develop key metrics.
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Intelligent automation
We aid you in determining your business’ needs and opportunities, as well as model the business processes to provide the best user experience and efficiency.
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Business Intelligence
Our team of experienced business analysts will help you get a grip on your data by mapping and structuring all the data available.
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Cybersecurity
A proactive cyber strategy delivers you peace of mind, allowing you to focus on realising your company’s growth potential.
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Innovation as a Service
On average, one in four projects fails and one in two needs changes. We help manage the innovation of your company's digital solutions!
The current head of Grant Thornton Estonia’s business process solutions, Gaily Kuusik has crossed paths with the company several times, in two decades and three different jobs. As a young tax specialist at the start of this millennium, she came to work for the company soon after university, but she joined Grant Thornton again in 2021, now much more experienced, as the head of customer relations.
Gaily is from Ida-Viru County in the northeast – Lüganuse, to be specific. Her home school was Lüganuse Secondary School, very close to her home. After graduating from basic school, she headed to Kohtla-Järve for secondary education. For Gaily, it was like language immersion – because of the large ethnic non-Estonian population – and in hindsight she can only be pleased because proficiency in a foreign language is invaluable.
To the capital city for studies and work
Gaily recalls that she picked taxation as her speciality at the university level because she had always felt comfortable in the world of numbers. Gaily was a member of the first graduating class in the newly established speciality at the Academy of Security Sciences. In studies at the diploma level, Gaily completed an internship and started her first job in the speciality at the Tax and Customs Board. “I was an enterprising and industrious young tax specialist. That experience gave me my first comprehensive knowledge of the field and the work and also convinced me that I wanted to be in this field in a slightly different capacity,” Gaily recalls, thinking back on that time. During her work at the Tax and Customs Board, she also entered the master’s degree programme in politics and governance at Tallinn University. Later she also studied at the University of Tartu Faculty of Law. “I realized that that law, taxes and legislation were all equally important in my work and I decided to go in a direction where I would be able to use all of my knowledge and skills in my work to an equal degree.”
That is how Gaily gravitated to the Taxpayers Association, where she was employed as a lawyer. Next she received an offer to work for Grant Thornton Baltic (then called Rimess OÜ) in tax services. She made a substantial contribution to achieving Grant Thornton’s professional goals in 2006-2008. After that, Gaily worked for Big4 and starting 1 September 2021 she is back in the Grant Thornton ranks – first as head of customer relations and later, from autumn 2022, head of business process solutions. “Indeed they made an offer for me to return. Over the years, the company had changed a lot and I sensed I had new enthusiasm for joining the team here. I still kept up with many of my former colleagues and good friends made during my first stint. In the interim, I had seen what was being done elsewhere so I had a good comparison point. When I left Grant Thornton the first time, I came away with good emotions and I wanted to come back. So I viewed the offer to return in a positive light. What I like about Grant Thornton, what is close to my heart, is that mid-level managers also have free rein and the right to decide how to advance their field in the company.”
A new beginning at Grant Thornton – exciting possibilities to grow on a team and leadership level
In the last two years that Gaily has been back with Grant Thornton, leading her own team has been important for her. Today there are over 40 people on the accounting team.
“What became important for me again as I returned to Grant Thornton: in the past, the business area had had the same manager for more than 10 years. When the baton was passed to me, I felt it was important to maintain the same sense of being a team and develop it further. Today I am the head of accounting and during that time, about ten new people have joined our team. The last few years have been an exciting journey for both myself and my team. I have to admit that although I have worked as a project manager before, I haven’t been the head of a business area. So I’ve made an effort, studied up and gotten to know my team,” explains Gaily, noting that the position of department head has been a big challenge and a forward step. “A stable group has been a big help for getting everything to flow smoothly. Our team includes people with very disparate backgrounds, age and experience. The team has people with 30 years of experience and others who have just finished school, so it’s a diverse bunch and we all complement each other.”
An open mind and positivity always lead forward
When I ask Gaily what type of co-worker she can best get in sync with and reach the desired goals, she said that open communication and cooperation are always important for her and she expects the same values from her co-workers.
“Accounting is a demanding and stressful business area. We have deadlines breathing down our neck and that imposes restrictions on the work. I believe that cooperating with and considering each other are especially important in this regard, to overcome stressful situations more easily. Communication on the team and among ourselves are important for me. If there’s a problem, we look for solutions, because all problems can always be overcome if you just want it. I always learn from all situations, even the more complicated ones and I am able to evaluate them,” she adds.
Gaily considers communications with clients to be just as important as keeping a united team. “I believe that no matter what the work-related topics are, human contact should never be lost. If there’s a problem or proposal, you have to make a call or meet face to face with the client because open communication and offering good service always go hand in hand. I can tell you that we find it important to ask all of our clients for feedback at least once a year, map service and implement the necessary additions and innovations,” says Gaily of her everyday work.
Gaily prefers to come in to the office everyday but as to her colleagues, she says that naturally accounting can also be done at the home office. “We have flexible work arrangements. Our company’s offices are in Tallinn and Tartu. Our accountants are mainly in Tartu so I go there often to be there for the Tartu folks,” she adds.
And although Gaily says it’s a stressful field, it is also exciting. For her, numbers are what keep her in the profession. In addition, there were programs, professional work experience – everything has come together to create an atmosphere where every work day is different, you can put yourself to the test and grow. “There have been many opportunities in life. All of the directions and possibilities in my life have followed logical paths and I have chosen those paths. I have only gained experience and knowledge through the years, I just got my fill of dealing with tax topics, so I enjoy being where I am now,” she says, adding that flexibility and challenges are extremely important for her. She now tries to put these to work for the team.
I always give 100% at work so I can rest at other times
What will the near future bring for Gaily? What does she look forward to and where does she want to go? “I hope that the next year will bring interesting management ideas and management techniques into my life. This autumn I started participating in the Grant Thornton network management programme, which lasts one year and where the world’s top specialists share their tips on leadership. I can say that I have taken that as my key for the year. Over the course of that management programme I want to become more inspiring for my team.”
In her working hours, Gaily focuses 100% on work and tries to clear her head of thoughts about work at other times. “My family is certainly my inspiration and energy source. I have two children and as a parent I devote considerable time to supporting my daughter in the Pirouette rhythmic gymnastics troupe Celladoria. My love of handicraft comes into play. I enjoy making my daughter’s gymnastics costumes, sewing and gluing sequins on them one at a time. One of those costumes can have 3000 to 10,000 gems on it! That helps clear your head from work thoughts and it’s the best kind of meditation – being in the moment. In mid-October, the girls came in first at a world cup children’s tournament in Italy.
Active movement and sports play an important part in her life. “We keep the team spirit high in our company with joint tennis practices and tournaments. Thanks to Grant Thornton, I discovered the allure of tennis and the first three months of tennis practice sessions are under my belt now. We also participated in a Grant Thornton team in a football tournament organized by Big4. It’s good to square off with competitors in the athletic field. It’s great that we were able to also field a women’s team – such a refreshing and pleasant way to build esprit de corps.” Gaily also enjoys hiking and being outdoors. “Being in the fresh air helps clear the mind of work-related thoughts – and generates new interesting ideas. I am also an active armchair sports fan. I also relish watching others compete and I also attend sports events.”
“Of course I like travelling too. I travel on my own for fun and attend professional conferences abroad. We have quite a few conferences in the Baltics, and so I take the opportunity to share experiences with Grant Thornton colleagues from other countries,” says Gaily for whom diversity is also important.
Gaily also enjoys cooking. “We have a very nice tradition of regular pancake breakfasts at the office. That lets us take time out, have conversations in a more informal vein and discuss non-work topics. Our office has a really pleasant terrace that we start enjoying come spring, when the first sunrays and warmth arrive, until the first winds of autumn. The view of the city and the zigzagging roofs all around are a source of inspiration,” Gaily is most happy with the cosy work environment and office. She sees Grant Thornton as providing plenty of professional challenges for the long term.
Gaily Kuusik’s recommendations for accountants:
- Don’t assume! Ask and talk to one another! Time is our greatest resource and open communication leads us toward the goal.
- Be systematic and specific. There is always a solution, it just has to be found.
- Every client and their needs are important. Learn to know your client and their business!
- Automation in accounting profession changes a lot! Keep up to date and embrace the future with its opportunities.
- Talking to each other is the key to success. A good customer relationship gives positive impetus to cooperation.
The article was first published in a magazine "Raamatupidamise praktik".
Photos: Meeli Küttim
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