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Grant Thornton is a recipient of the 2010 WorkforceChicago award. The award, which recognizes leading Chicagoland companies that demonstrate exemplary learning and development practices, was presented by Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley to Grant Thornton's CEO Stephen Chipman. 
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Business leaders in the manufacturing space are pessimistic, with only a third (33%) expecting the U.S. economy to improve in the next six months, according to Grant Thornton's quarterly survey of U.S. business leaders. The hiring outlook for manufacturing companies is also gloomy - only 37 percent of manufacturing business leaders report that their companies will increase hiring in the next six months. 
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Grant Thornton's Business Optimism Index, a quarterly survey of U.S. business leaders, decreased significantly to 58.4 in August from a recent high of 67.6 in May. Business leaders are again becoming pessimistic, with only a third (34%) expecting the U.S. economy to improve in the next six months, down significantly from 63 percent in May. 
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"Bob Herz led the FASB during the most challenging time in its history. He has been a tireless leader with an unwavering focus on the users of financial statements and we are grateful for his service to the profession and wish him well in his retirement," said Grant Thornton LLP CEO Stephen Chipman. 
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Grant Thornton's Corporate Advisory & Restructuring Services today announced the release of The implications of the oil spill on deepwater exploration and production, a study outlining the ramifications stemming from BP's Macondo well disaster for energy exploration and production businesses, analyzing how a tougher regulatory environment, enhanced safety, new inspection procedures and consolidation will impact the business of deepwater drilling in the Gulf. 
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Grant Thornton LLP's Financial Service practice has created a paper - Financial reform: What public companies and their audit committees need to know about the Dodd-Frank Act - that outlines some key financial reform issues that public companies and their audit committees should understand, as well as actions they can consider to help guide their companies through this changing regulatory landscape. 
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Grant Thornton's Corporate Advisory & Restructuring Services professionals have analyzed the challenges facing the commercial real estate industry in the wake of the credit crunch and economic downturn in a new white paper. Their study found that real estate companies would be ill-advised to depend solely on the economic recovery to be competitive in today's market place. 
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Auto suppliers fighting for survival in North America during the recession may have cut their capital expenditures and research and development budgets too deeply and now face an uphill, ultra-competitive battle to attract new investors, according to Grant Thornton LLP's Corporate Advisory & Restructuring practice. 
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Grant Thornton LLP admitted 22 new partners and principals to the firm, effective August 1. These partners and principals are based throughout the firm's offices across the country. 
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Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity within the marketing services sector has returned to pre-recession levels, when measured by the number of transactions, according to a new report on the marketing services sector by Grant Thornton Corporate Finance. 
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Grant Thornton LLP today announced the release of a new report titled The Evolving Accounting Talent Profile: CFO strategies for attracting, training and retaining experienced accounting and finance professionals. 
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Flying J, Inc. (the "Company"), one of the largest retail distributors of diesel fuel in North America serving the trucking and freight industry, has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with the aid of Grant Thornton LLP, who served as the financial advisor to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors ("the Committee") and Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP, who served as counsel to the Committee. 
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In a new white paper - The effects of carbon legislation on independent power producers - Grant Thornton LLP Corporate Advisory & Restructuring Services professionals discuss the impact of pending legislation, issues to be considered by the Independent Power Producers, including capital investment, risk management and trading and hedging. 
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Grant Thornton's national Retail practice has created a new white paper, A roadmap to success: Convenience stores on the fast track, to help convenience store companies identify trends affecting the industry. The white paper touches on both big-picture trends, such as merger and acquisition activities, as well as trends in technical areas that may get overlooked as executives grapple with strategic issues. 
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Grant Thornton statement on the Supreme Court decision regarding the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). 
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According to Grant Thornton LLP's 17th Bank Executive Survey, conducted in conjunction with Bank Director magazine, one-third (33%) of bankers said that their bank was very likely to go the market to raise capital in the next 12 months (22%) or has already successfully gone to the market to raise capital (11%). 
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Saratoga Resources, Inc., an independent energy exploration and production company, with offices in Houston, and Covington, Louisiana, has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the aid of restructuring advisor Grant Thornton LLP. 
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Grant Thornton LLP's Capital Markets Group today announced the release of Market structure is causing the IPO crisis - and more, the groundbreaking study with new and updated data that further analyzes the initial public offering crisis, including its impact on unemployment in the U.S., and solutions to reinvigorate the growth economy through improvements to equity market structure. 
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According to Grant Thornton LLP's 17th Bank Executive Survey, conducted in conjunction with Bank Director magazine, the majority of bankers are optimistic about the U.S. economy in the coming months, with 45 percent expecting it to improve in the next six months. This is a statistically significant improvement over how bankers felt about the U.S. economy six months ago when less than one-quarter (24%) said that they expected the economy to improve. On the job front, a quarter of bankers say that their bank will increase hiring in the next six months, up from 18 percent in December; while the number of banks that plan to decrease staff has dropped slightly to 16 percent from 18 percent in December. 
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More than half of leaders of private companies globally (52%) and in the United States (54%) believe that greater transparency is a key benefit of financial reporting, according to latest research from the Grant Thornton International Business Report 2010. The research covers the opinions of more than 7,400 private business owners in 36 countries. Private companies in Ireland, the Philippines and Taiwan were the most enthusiastic about greater transparency, with 85 percent of businesses citing greater transparency as a key benefit. 
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Grant Thornton LLP is the first firm to be named Certified Implementer of Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE (R) corporate tax solutions, offered by the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters. 
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Grant Thornton LLP's Business Optimism Index, a quarterly survey of U.S. business leaders, increased significantly to 67.6 in May from 58.8 in February. Business leaders are becoming much more optimistic, with 63 percent expecting the U.S. economy to improve in the next six months, up from 43 percent in February. The hiring outlook is the best it has been since 2007 - 44 percent of business leaders report that their companies will increase hiring in the next six months, with only 12 percent saying that their companies will decrease the number of people they employ. 
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The number of at-risk and failed banks has increased drastically over the past few years. Many of these troubled banks are being acquired by healthy banks through FDIC-facilitated acquisitions. For qualified banks, acquisitions of these failed banks present opportunities to grow aggressively. Grant Thornton LLP's Financial Institutions practice has created a new white paper, Accounting for FDIC-assisted transactions: Acquisition of loans, application of ASC 310-30 and other issues, to help institutions understand the accounting challenges behind acquiring a failed bank, potential traps and guidance on making the process as efficient as possible. 
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Grant Thornton LLP's Not-for-Profit practice has created a white paper - Maintaining sufficient reserves to protect your not-for-profit organization - that offers some practical guidance to not-for-profit organizations that wrestle with this issue. 
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Grant Thornton LLP's Advisory Services practice has created a new white paper in its CorporateGovernor series, Fraud in the economic recovery, to help companies think strategically about how they should combat fraud in a recovering economy. The white paper discusses the key issues organizations face when it comes to identifying, dealing with and protecting themselves from two important types of activity: fraud committed by or against a private enterprise and fraud committed by entities against the federal government. 
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In a national survey of U.S. CFOs and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, the vast majority (81%) support reforming lease accounting rules and half (51%) would continue to use leases more or less in the same manner as they currently do. However, there is less agreement on how to measure the lease obligation. A majority prefers to measure the lease obligation as either the noncancellable amounts due or those amounts plus amounts that are highly probable and reliably measurable instead of the more comprehensive estimates currently under consideration by the FASB and the IASB. 
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An overwhelming majority of senior financial executives say their tax department's top priority is not tax savings or their effective rate, but timely and accurate tax return and financial reporting, according to a national survey of CFOs and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP. 
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In a national survey of U.S. CFOs and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, a third (37%) responded that the balance sheet should display both fair value (exit value) and amortized cost of assets. 
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Effective today Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, is relocating its Washington, DC, office to 1250 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC, 20036 - in downtown Washington's Golden Triangle Business Improvement District. 
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Grant Thornton LLP will be participating in the Institute of Internal Auditor's (IIA) 2010 International Conference, being held from June 6-9, 2010, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. 
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In a national survey of CFOs and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, CFOs in the health care industry are less optimistic about the state of the U.S economy and their own company's financial prospects over the next six months than their counterparts in other industries. 
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Michigan business owners concerned that their commercial property tax assessments may be too high must file appeals by May 31, 2010. An over-valued assessment increases a company's tax burden, something many Michigan businesses simply can't afford in a fragile economy. Grant Thornton LLP has noted a significant increase in appeals this year on state commercial property assessments, resulting in a backlog of cases at the Michigan Tax Tribunal. 
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Grant Thornton LLP has purchased assets of Dallas-based IT consulting and software solutions firm Avalion Consulting LLC. The transaction, which falls under Grant Thornton's Business Advisory Services (BAS) group, comprises two partners; Avalion's IT consulting staff; and its IT and governance, risk and compliance (GRC) intellectual property, including Avalion's patented GRC software solution - ComplianceSet (R). 
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Mary Foster has joined Grant Thornton LLP as an executive director in the firm's Higher Education and Not-for-Profit practices. In this role, Foster will report directly to Frank Kurre, Grant Thornton's Higher Education and Not-for-Profit national managing partner. 
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In a national survey of U.S. CFOs and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, 40% of CFOs said that state and local tax compliance is more demanding than federal tax compliance. An additional 32% of CFOs said SALT compliance was about as demanding as federal tax compliance. 
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In a national survey of CFOs and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, 64 percent of public companies do not currently report financial results using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL); and of those, half have no plans to in the future even though the SEC mandated that public companies have to report their financials using Interactive Data by 2011. 
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On Friday, May 7, Chicago-headquartered companies, Grant Thornton LLP and McDonald's USA, will participate in "Spring for Strength," a single-day national fundraising event. The proceeds will benefit Breast Cancer Network of Strength, an organization that provides immediate emotional relief for those affected by breast cancer. 2010 marks Grant Thornton's fifth year and McDonald's sixth year as national sponsors of the organization's Mother's Day Walk to Empower event series. 
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In a new white paper - Health care financing in challenging times - Grant Thornton LLP Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Services (CARS) professionals offer a number of suggestions for health care organizations to assist them in restoring rigor and discipline throughout their businesses. 
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Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF), the non-profit 501 (c)(3) research affiliate of Financial Executives International (FEI), and Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations, today announced the release of Raising Capital in the Current Credit Markets. The report examines methods companies are employing to raise capital in today's credit environment and provides essential information that executives need to consider in these challenging times. 
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The trend for banks to have a chief risk officer is picking up steam, according to Grant Thornton LLP's 17th Bank Executive Survey, conducted in conjunction with Bank Director magazine. In the second quarterly installment, which surveyed bank audit committee members, 71 percent of public institutions reported that they have a chief risk officer on board, compared to just 40% of public institutions who reported they had one three years ago. In comparison, only 32% of private banks have a chief risk officer. 
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In a national survey of U.S. CFOs and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, 53 percent said they plan no salary changes in the next six months, while 32 percent plan to decrease and 15 percent plan to increase. 
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In a national survey of U.S. CFOs and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, only 29% plan to increase hiring in the next six months, while 22% plan to decrease. Hiring is weaker amongst Fortune 500 firms (firms with revenues of $5 billion and higher), as 31% plan a decrease in hiring over the next six months, while only 23% plan an increase. 
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Grant Thornton's Corporate Advisory & Restructuring Services (CARS) Managing Partner Loretta Cross has been named as one of the Most Powerful and Influential Women in Texas for 2010 by the Texas Diversity Council. Cross was selected for her commitment to diversity and her excellence in leadership. 
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In today's volatile financial environment, valuation has rapidly become one of the most important, but often misconstrued, concepts for business owners. In a newly released book, Valuing Early Stage and Venture-Backed Companies, author Neil Beaton, partner in charge of Valuation Services for Grant Thornton LLP, equips neophytes and seasoned valuation executives with a solid foundation of the ins and outs of early stage and venture-backed valuations-no matter what their field.
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Business corruption in the global marketplace is becoming an increasing menace to U.S. organizations. In a newly released book, The Anti-Corruption Handbook: How to Protect Your Business in the Global Marketplace, author William P. Olsen, principal in the Advisory Services practice and National Practice leader of Investigations at Grant Thornton LLP, provides hands-on experiences on the front line of the battle against corruption. 
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Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations, today announced the release of The Audit Committee Handbook, Fifth Edition. The book is co-authored by Grant Thornton LLP's audit committee experts R. Trent Gazzaway, national managing partner of audit services, and Robert H. Colson, partner in public policy and external affairs, along with Louis Braiotta, Jr., professor of accounting, School of Management, SUNY Binghamton, and Sridhar Ramamoorti, principal, Infogix Advisory Services. 
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Recent economic woes have had a decided impact on the funding of defined contribution plans. According to the 6th annual Retirement Plan Survey, conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP and Plan Sponsor Advisors, one fourth (26%) of employers have either scaled back their contributions or eliminated the company match altogether in an effort to reduce costs. What's more, some employers are in no hurry to reinstitute previous benefits: among those who have scaled back or eliminated contributions, 53 percent have not yet decided whether to return to previous levels in 2010 and 33 percent have no plans to do so. 
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Grant Thornton LLP today announced the release of TechDashboard, a quarterly publication for technology industry executives. In the latest issue, author John R. Barber, International Tax Services partner for Grant Thornton, cautions software companies that are doing business internationally or considering doing so to be aware of the relevant withholding tax rules. Barber provides useful tips to software companies for minimizing their tax liabilities and maximizing their income.
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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the nation's largest industrial trade association representing small and large manufacturers, has named Grant Thornton LLP's Walter (Wally) D. Gruenes to its Board of Directors. Gruenes is the National Managing Partner, Consumer and Industrial Products for Grant Thornton, and is based in the firm's Dallas office.
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If 2008 can be characterized as a year in which private equity buyers battled to acquire aircraft component manufacturers, then 2009 was a time of strategic acquirers fighting to secure defense technologies. Detailed information on M&A activity in the Aerospace and Defense sector was recently published in a Grant Thornton LLP white paper Aerospace & Defense Update: Mergers, Acquisitions and the Operating Environment.
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