Grant Thornton Brainstorming Questions PDF

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Mandatory Questions to ask Grant Thornton team, Dr. Caners Class...

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Membership Structure- Frank Kurre 1. Are partnerships/alliances typically implemented globally, or is there a “test market” before a global expansion? ○ Almost always test somewhere first ○ Consider testing with UK also (or top 5 or top 10 member firms) before going completely global everywhere 2. Do you believe you have in house talent that could assist in developing a new curriculum in partnership with General Assembly or would you need to hire? ○ We have a Chief learning officer (from Price Warehouse) -- we have tremendous expertise ○ There is a learning team with him that helps to develop curriculum ○ Also there are subject matter experts ○ We would need to hire more people because the people that we have are focused more on internal How are fees structured with partnerships? ○ We may do a service and incorporate that tool OR allow people to subscribe to a tool ○ They pay microsoft a couple million dollars for a few years and no one else can use it ○ We have partnerships with member firms that exist like that (85%,15%) ○ We need to be developing more apps and robotics to get to the next level ○ Could be a number of ways ■ Joint venture, LLC -- Were all putting different things into it and then we do profit allocation ■ Or could be a vendor project where we just pay them one time or a subscription revenue for their service but dont give them profits from the pie ■ You need to consider what would be the best option in case the project took off 3. Does GT ever have to re-train new talent brought in from acquisitions? ○ If theyre auditors they need to learn GT methodology and tools ○ Same for tax -- we have our own tax software ○ Advisory is very different -- they may or may not need training. It depends on the service line. 4. How will Grant Thornton tackle the need for their own data scientists in upcoming years? ○ There is an innovation leader for each section of the business (audit, tax, advisory) ○ There is actual a very easy entry point into these things ■ Need to understand what competitors are doing so we can have a better handle for how were handling things ■ Being proactive instead of reactive Who is teaching clients how to use a service? (GT, Partnership, or client themselves) ○ Depends on the particular product. Sometimes for example we just do

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implementation ○ We should make our own arrangements for this project. Is our idea a whole separate venture or does it fall under a new section? ○ Whatever we come up with. Could be either. ○ Business consulting and tech

Service Offerings- Kristina Vieni/ Matt DiDonato 5. Would we add our proposal in technology strategy and management or open it as a new line of advisory for GT? ○ Business consulting and technology section ○ Why would you come to GT for this service? ■ We need to figure out how this applies to Grant Thornton 6. How do you tackle the problem of training your own clients in new technologies or concepts? ○ GT cross trains through online courses or in person classes ○ GT University -- content online ○ Every employee has to attend 40 hours of training every year 7. What are the most popular programs/systems GT currently uses? Do you train your employees in these systems or expect they know it upon hiring? 8. Do clients ever discuss their issues with implementing new technology into their business operations?

Global Marketing Strategy- Lou Centanni/ Dan Kfoury 9. How does GT typically market a new offering or partnership to its clients? ○ New client: ■ A standard proposal (not usually that standardized though so the client doesnt feel like their name was just swapped out with another company) ■ Building relationships ■ Set the tone in the US and then getting peopel up to speed to globally ■ Lots of word of mouth + “do 1 thing a day that helps grow the firm” ● Ex, take someone to a game or reach out on linkedin ■ Referrals from clients with good relationships ■ Sports stadium branding 10. What is your average retention rate for clients? ○ 90 something percent 11. How do you determine customer lifetime value? ○ Case by case ○ We look long term -- except advisory projects are usually just one time 12. What differentiates Grant Thornton in the market from other firms? ○ Same quality of people as EY -- 93% of employees had offers from big 4

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A lot of our partners dont know how to pitch GT We service all top 10 global banks Peer audits for 2 of big 4 Were in 140 countries We audit a lot of the NFPs (more than any of the big 4) A lot of the big 4 doesnt have partners on site a lot but GT prides themselves on doing this anyway even though expenses are high

Some things to consider: -how if we pair with GA are they capable when we go globally? ***make sure to mention the global research that we did -dont worry too much about the financials; more about the WHY -could also be on an hourly basis...