In light of the publication by the UK Government of the first tranche of guides on preparing for a ‘No Deal’ Brexit, Peter Legge, Tax Partner at leading business advisory firm Grant Thornton Northern Ireland, said:
“Brexit is an opportunity to look at your organisation and review operations and strategy. Businesses need to start planning now – those that do should outperform their competition once the dust settles.
“Brexit planning does not need to be a sunk cost that is lost should things change. Clients who have completed Brexit planning invariably find beneficial changes they can make today – delivering immediate value – and feel more confident as Brexit approaches.
“Should a business only plan for one scenario, it should plan for No Deal. It is the most disruptive and could be reality in less than eight months.
“In addition to anticipating the economic impact and what any new tax and customs arrangements may be, businesses must prepare for the effect on their suppliers and supply chain, their people and workforce, as well as the legalities around data and other regulations.
“We are assisting businesses across many sectors to plan for Brexit by looking at a number of different scenarios through various ‘lenses’ to explore the possible changes and then assessing these to identify business risks and opportunities. This methodology facilitates the identification of those ‘no regret’ decisions, helps formulate their contingency plans for each scenario and identifies opportunities to pursue.”