Advisory

At Grant Thornton, we offer a comprehensive range of Advisory Services to help you achieve your goals. We help you create, transform and protect value. From finding ways to finance growth to understanding how to manage risk and regulation, from identifying opportunities to optimise operations to getting the best from talent - our global network provides the expert support you need to thrive in a fast changing world.

We focus on delivering tangible value to customers with:

• our breadth of services and capabilities
• industry and subject matter expertise
• global reach with local know-how
• adding value to your performance through profitable and functional solutions
• focusing on a thorough understanding of your ambitions, high-quality customised services and personalised relationships
• strategic and structured approach to deliver insightful and systematic analysis for effective, unbiased decision making

Business risk services

Being flexible and adaptable in the market while providing competent and proactive business solutions and maintaining corporate governance principles and efficient processes – these are some of the challenges that clients face in order to remain successful in today’s complex and fast evolving business world. We build foundations for growth through oversight, intelligence, and disciplines focused on effective and measured risk management. Our team of professionals with experience across major industries can help strengthen governance and controls to prepare for and overcome barriers to growth.

Enterprise risk management: Risk arises naturally and directly from the implementation of corporate objectives and operations initiated by the management and staff. Such risks must be regularly monitored and actively managed until the objectives have been achieved (or the risk realised). We assist businesses in formulating their ERM framework primarily based on COSO framework through:

• Drawing risk policy including risk appetite and risk tolerance
• Conduct risk assessment workshop to identify and assess inherent risks, controls and residual risks
• Compilation of comprehensive risk register along with risk heat maps

Internal audit: Organisations need to create and implement internal controls to safeguard business assets and processes. Internal audit plays a critical role by efficiently and effectively assisting the Board and management in their duty to oversee, lead and manage the organization. Through an independent value add service which can be delivered in tandem with ERM framework, we tailor our solutions in collaboration with you in order to meet your specific requirements. We provide outsourced and co-sourced internal audit services, quality assurance reviews as well as process assessments

Transaction advisory

Our team advises and supports clients in all aspects of a transaction, whether a disposal, an acquisition or fund raising, which may include debt and equity (both private and publicly listed). We adopt a hands on approach that supports you through every step of the transaction process, from feasibility review through to completion.

We also provide advisory services to companies in financial distress or to their creditors and stakeholders.

Financial and commercial due diligence: We seek to identify key issues that impact value through rigorous and tailored risk and business analysis process rather than simply confirming what may already be known. This is linked to your requirement as strategic buyer, financial investor and also suitable for your funders.

Vendor due diligence: Our approach to vendor due diligence is independent, recognising the vendor’s desire to control the process and protect shareholder value, balanced by the requirement for a robust and independent report to be used by the purchaser and their funders.

Valuations: Acquisition, disposal, merger, business restructuring, valuing annuity portfolios, borrowing, settling disputes – in such situations you need an independent, formal valuation opinion. As each valuation work is unique, it requires a high level of adaptability, flexibility and innovation, which we pride ourselves on being able to offer.

Capital markets: As a registered Corporate Finance Adviser, we assist with IPOs and other transactions entered into by BSE listed companies. We assist in preparation of investor prospectus, determination of IPO price and setting up roadshows with potential investors.

Buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory: Globalisation and company growth ambitions are driving an increase in M&A activity as businesses look to increase their footprint in domestic market and beyond. As governments turn to private sector to transform emerging economies, there is need to reinforce necessary skills within organisations for sharpening their competitive edge. We provide strategic advice and execution support for acquisitions, sales and fund raising. Our range of services include:

• Grooming the business for disposal
• Performing business valuation and advise realistic price
• Preparation of Information Memorandum which provides potential parties with detailed business understanding
• Ensure value optimization through selection of appropriate deal structure
• Identify and contact potential parties (strategic/ financial investors) and steering the transaction process

Independent Business Reviews (IBRs): We assist clients to improve their operational performance, efficiency and effectiveness; usually prompted when its funder has concerns about the client’s business relating to profitability, management or operations.

Recovery and reorganisation

Our specialists are highly qualified to bring together financial, operational, turnaround and restructuring skills to jumpstart your underperforming business to life. Our experienced specialist team provides a wide range of services including:

• Operational or financial restructuring advice to under-performing companies, their creditors or other stakeholders
• Realising value through taking appointments as a licensed judicial manager or liquidator in any corporate insolvency process
• Ancillary services to distressed companies such as exit strategy services and accelerated M&A

Business consulting

The environment for business is changing faster now than at any time in history. Forces such as globalisation and rapid technological change are disrupting traditional business models and creating challenges for organisations.

At Grant Thornton, we assist clients improve their operational performance and productivity through the provision of advice. We define strategic goals and formulate solutions that keep clients ahead. We help improving financial processes and systems, reduce costs and transform your finance function. We support businesses on strategic elements of human capital challenges they face, from organisation design to training, recruitment and managing cultural change.

Financial management: We support executive management in understanding the factors that drive an effective finance function. This can involve review, design and implementation of financial processes, systems and procedures resulting in improved finance and treasury functions. We provide cost and profitability analyses to identify the financial impact of activities, give better business insights, help directing management focus to high priority business areas and identify opportunities for value creation. We also build operating models covering the company’s future financial performance and comparative industry benchmarks to identify opportunities and set targets and systems for financial improvement.

Strategy: Grant Thornton support clients in development, assessment and planning of their strategic goals and plans. Using our 6-box tool, we engage with the leadership team on areas of their growth agenda, viz. realise strategic ambitions, finance growth, risk management, optimise operations, leadership & talent management and maximization of stakeholder value. This process assists the client to think more broadly, plan ahead note existing/ potential issues and prioritise strategic objectives. We also help businesses with market analysis in order to better understand the dynamics, opportunities and market challenges that they operate in to aid in development and implementation of their strategic goals. Our industry experts conduct feasibility studies to assess the practicality of new ideas, their strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats they face and the resources required; giving clients insight on their prospects for success.

Sustainability and integrated reporting: Increasingly, we see issues surrounding business sustainability having a significant impact on strategies, compelling organisations to revolutionise their operations. The Global SDG Indicator Framework was adopted by Botswana Government on 6 July, 2017 and all 17 SDGs are mapped to four strategic pillars in our Vision 2036. We assist organisations in enhancing their stakeholder reporting with Integrated Reporting Framework covering their environmental, social & governance (ESG) performance, which measure the sustainable & ethical impact of the business. Key word being ‘enhancing’ because many elements to support effective Integrated Reporting are likely to be in place already within each business.

Forensic advisory

Economic crime poses a real and substantial threat to business stability; if undetected and unchecked, it can create costly long-term problems. In collaboration with our anchor firm SNG-Grant Thornton in South Africa, we provide Pro-Active and Re-Active forensics services, related training and skills development across all industries in both public and private sectors. We supports clients with dispute resolution, fraud prevention and detection, insurance claims and other situations demanding detailed investigations.

Pro-active forensics: We have prepared fraud prevention and fraud risk management strategies, as part of our fraud prevention services, on behalf of a number of clients. Our pro-active forensics services include the following:

• Fraud and corruption risk assessments;
• Pro-active fraud audits and fraud detection reviews;
• Developing anti-corruption strategies, fraud prevention programmes and response plans; and
• Developing forensic investigation and forensic auditing units, methodologies, operational plans, forensics skills development and capacity enhancement programs

Re-active forensics: Our re-active forensics services include the following:

• Forensic investigation and audit (Investigations into all types of fraud, corruption and maladministration; Procurement and Supply Chain Forensics; Medical Schemes Forensics)
• Specialist forensic accounting investigations (Income and revenue collection, recognition and accounting fraud; Investigations into Debtors and Creditors fraud schemes; Fraudulent financial misstatement investigation; Net worth analysis investigations, including lifestyle quantification)
• Computer Forensics and Cybercrime investigations