Insights

Private equity firms around the world are adapting to a 'new fundraising road map', according to the Grant Thornton Global Private Equity Report 2013/14.

The economy of France continues to suffer as the eurozone crisis continues. Following a deep contraction in 2009, the economy recovered robustly, posting seven consecutive quarters of expansion. However, France has stagnated over the past two years as problems in southern Europe intensified, with growth slowing as unemployment and government debt rise.

Presidential elections in some of the world’s largest economies, the sovereign debt crisis and the US fiscal cliff have all contributed to a global sense of economic uncertainty. How are major and developing markets faring in the face of these developments and what does the year ahead have in store?

Our International Business Report with insights gained from in-depth interviews with five senior female executives from around the world, this report looks at the role of education in improving female participation and how this can help boost business growth.

The appetite for cross-border deals has rocketed by 18% during the past 12 months. This is the key finding from our latest research that looks at attitudes to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) among business leaders worldwide.

In the second of our Future of Europe series, we look at three aspects of the sovereign debt crisis: the stagnation of the region’s economies, closer integration and the future expansion of Europe.

For tech companies, the regulatory environment is tougher now than ever before. To protect national interests, governments are using compliance to restrict companies that could potentially disrupt established industries which can creating a knock on effect for tech companies. Rapidly expanding companies also face a wider range of individual regulations as they expand into new territories, be it employment law, taxation, product safety or licensing.

Scaling a tech business is like walking a burning tightrope. The faster you go, the more you risk falling off. But go too slowly and the rope will burn through.

Business-minded technologists have always planned for global business empires. It used to take decades before they could grow globally. Today, it can be more or less instantaneous – creating a new set of opportunities and threats.

As global attitudes towards tax change, tech companies need to future-proof their tax practices to stand up to enhanced scrutiny. The way in which companies markets and sells its services can also have tax implications. Therefore, one thing is clear – tax matters, and ambitious tech companies need to develop a tax strategy that can keep pace with their growth aspirations.

These are the results of the Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index (GDI) 2013, an annual research project designed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which ranks the development of the business growth environments of 60 of the world's largest economies over the past 12 months.

Grant Thornton understands that multinational tax challenges are among the most complex and expensive issues facing companies with international operations. And expatriate tax issues are a key consideration for companies working across borders.