All Insights

Rob McGillen, global head of technology at Grant Thornton, asks how important ICT infrastructure to business growth prospects and which economies are performing best.

Drawing on 10,000 interviews with company leaders and international forecast data, this report considers the outlook for the global economy and what this means for business growth prospects in 2015.

New research from the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) reveals that while business confidence in 2014 climbed to levels not seen since before the financial crisis, a recent spate of uncertainty is weighing on growth prospects for the year ahead.

Real estate and construction is probably not the first sector that comes to mind when you think about environmental sustainability. The construction process consumes large amounts of natural resources and energy, and can create significant waste. While the progress of development continues to add to our quality of life, the built environment is responsible for approximately two-fifths of global energy use and a third of carbon emissions. This means that, from design to demolition, the buildings in which we live, work and play have a huge impact on the environment.

Businesses in the world’s three biggest economies, the United States, China and Japan, are increasingly feeling the heat when it comes to recruiting skilled staff. Given that these countries together represent over a third of global output, a deficit of skilled staff could have a significant knock-on effect on economic growth not just in these economies but beyond.

Technology is at the cutting edge of efforts to make growth more sustainable. As the global population swells and more people move into higher consumption classes, the demand for food, for energy, for water, will all increase. But the resources our planet offers will not. Clearly the status quo is not sustainable.

Efficiency and cost savings are big business in hospitality and tourism. It's hard to think of another sector which was such an early adopter of environmentally-friendly business practices.

Ed Nusbaum, global CEO of Grant Thornton, discusses the Q3 global economic outlook and finds the slowdown in Germany threatening eurozone and world growth prospects.

With momentum building towards the UN Climate Change Conference in Peru, new figures from IBR reveal that businesses leaders in emerging markets are more focused on the sustainability of their operations compared with peers in developed markets.

Francesca Lagerberg, Global head of Tax services welcomes moves towards global taxation transparency.

The second quarter of 2014 brought a raft of very cheery economic news. The pace of growth in China kicked back up to 7.5% following a mini-stimulus from the government which included speeding up infrastructure project approvals, tax relief and credit easing. The United States roared back after a particularly bitter winter to post 4.0% growth (at the annual rate). Spain was buoyed by news that growth had accelerated to 0.6% (from the previous quarter) and the unemployment rate has started to fall.

Sustainability is a buzzword of the moment. Whether as business leaders or consumers, we cannot escape from being told to consider the long-term implications of our actions or spending decisions.

Investor calls for transparency and the rise of social media have thrust the impact businesses have on the economy, the environment and society more firmly into the spotlight. Drawing on more than 2,500 interviews with business leaders in 34 economies, Corporate Social Responsibility: beyond financials, looks at how companies are responding to this challenge; how they are making their operations more sustainable and what role they feel integrated reporting can play.

Nathan Goode welcome growth opportunities extra government scrutiny brings

As the global economy slowly recovers its verve, so business leaders in the hospitality and tourism sector are looking at new ways to grow their operations. So says our International Business Report (IBR), which interviews around 150 senior executives in the sector globally every quarter.

The technology sector is riding the crest of a wave. We interview approximately 150 technology companies around the world every quarter through our International Business Report (IBR) and what’s struck me since the beginning of the year is how bullish the leaders of these companies are about their growth prospects.