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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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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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We perform payroll accounting for companies whether they employ a few or hundreds of employees.
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Grant Thornton Baltic's experienced tax specialists support accountants and offer reasonable and practical solutions.
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We prepare annual reports in a timely manner. We help to prepare management reports and various mandatory reports.
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Our experienced accountants and advisors help you prepare consolidation tables and make the consolidation process more efficient.
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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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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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We help companies to implement accounting practices that are in compliance with local and international standards.
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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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Our specialists advise payment institutions, virtual currency service providers and financial institutions.
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We advise on legal, tax and financial matters necessary for better management of the company's legal or organizational structure.
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We provide advice in all aspects of the transaction process.
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We thoroughly analyze the internal documents, legal relations, and business compliance of the company to be merged or acquired.
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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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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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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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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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A good organizational culture is like a trump card for a company. We guide you how to collect trump cards!
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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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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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We perform due diligence so that investors can get a thorough overview of the company before the planned purchase transaction.
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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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Our experienced, nationally recognized forensic experts provide assessments in the economic and financial field.
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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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We help plan and document all aspects of a company's transfer pricing strategy.
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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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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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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!
Let’s start from the top. For years, the Commercial Register allowed companies to operate in the Estonian business environment as if disclosure of economic figures was optional. Last year, an abrupt change in direction occurred.
With the entry into force of the Commercial Register Act, the registrar was given greater rights in regard to levying fines on and/or deleting businesses from the register for failure to file an annual report by the deadline. According to the explanatory memorandum, the goal of the regulation is to improve discipline among companies and increase the trustworthiness of the economic environment.
Thus, legal persons can now be fined for failure to file an annual report by the deadline – with no advance warning. The registrar has been granted broad discretion on whether to impose a fine, meaning that a fine can be levied repeatedly until the report is filed. Among other things, it can consider, in deciding to impose a fine and the amount, how many times the legal person has failed to submit a report on time in the past, how much time has passed since the deadline and other circumstances that are considered important for the registrar.
As a second measure, the registrar can delete the legal person from the register if it fails to file the report within the term set by the registrar and at least three months have passed since the deadline required by law. An additional requirement for deletion is that the company lacks the assets entered into the register and the person cannot be a party to any court proceedings in progress.
Operating businesses should not automatically be deleted
It is since become clear that the Commercial Register has, in earnest and automatically, started pursuing compulsory dissolution and deletion of companies. If a company has employees and is doing business, however, such an approach by the registrar should not be considered correct or furthering the intended aims.
Does deletion of a going concern that pays employees wages improve the business environment? Legislators have not thought through the practical implications of deletion of businesses, because the current exclusions to deletion – registered assets or participation in judicial proceedings – outweigh the actual business activity and existence of employees. Among other things, the state would be deprived of tax revenue, which seems short-sighted given the current condition of the state budget.
True, the register should and must be purged of companies who maliciously shirk their obligations. But those non-compliant companies that have entered employees in the employment register, declare and pay workforce taxes and other taxes every month, and in such a case, the first option – monetary fine – could be used to bring the companies in line. After all, as noted, the fine can be levied more than once.
Employees should spring to the defence of the company?
We have also asked MPs for an explanation and received interesting feedback: the suggestion that employees should file action in court to prevent the company from being deleted. In other words, employees are saddled with the obligation to constantly track procedural information disclosed on their employer and keep at the ready a potential statement of claim against their employer. But an employee who is satisfied with their job and who gets paid on time, whose taxes are paid on time on their earnings, shouldn’t be drawn into this process; they shouldn’t’ even have to think about it!
Under law, companies have the possibility of being reinstated within three years of the deletion date if the shortcomings are eliminated, meaning in this case that the outstanding annual reports are filed. But what happens in the meantime? The company has been deleted from the register, the employees’ employment relationships have been terminated (the Labour Inspectorate says it considers this a layoff situation) and reinstatement takes time (the auditors’ docket is an average of five or six months long). In other words, if the company’s annual report is subject to audit requirements and the auditor can only get around to auditing the several months later, the company can only be reinstated after the report is audited. A deleted company cannot operate or participate in business activity. Even if it is reinstated, employees’ continuous employment period has been interrupted, they lose their health insurance, too, after some more time has passed, and obviously the company’s financial health will suffer. Along with the other aspects, deletion of a company from the register means that the company loses access to its bank account, meaning that employees cannot be paid for their work, fulfil tax obligations and so on.
Yet another facet – customer relations and business activity
We have also had situations where a service provider has been dissolved compulsorily at the initiative of the Commercial Register but it continues to do business and invoices have been sent out for services provided. Here, too, there is a lack of legal clarity. The safest recommendation for customers of such a company is not to pay the invoices, but what if the invoice has already been paid?
In our opinion, the invoice recipient has only poor options to choose from. Should it pay for the services and take the risk that the payment might be considered ineligible as a business expense? In addition, there is additional expense from VAT, if VAT was charged on the invoice, since it isn’t possible to claim a deduction for input VAT paid on an invoice sent by a deleted company. The alternative could be to declare the disbursement as a payment made to a specific natural person. And finally, there is the option of being naïve and hoping that the service provider will be reinstated in the register.
To sum up this lengthy explanation, the current practice used by the Commercial Register is not acceptable. Businesses that failed to do work over a period of years are now suddenly being held accountable, without substantive analysis being performed. The compulsory dissolution of companies can in no way be accepted if the company is active and has registered employees, pays taxes on employee earnings and is posting results, since closing an operating business is not something that makes the business environment better or increases trust in the business environment. All the more so considering that the registrar has an alternative – fining the company, which ultimately also exerts a disciplining effect.
Calling companies to order must not result in greater harm for the economic environment as a whole and increase unemployment. Compulsory dissolution should be faced only by the companies that are not actually involved in actual business activity and maliciously fail to comply with the obligation.
If you have similar challenges and questions, please contact our specialists.