Grant Thornton background with Hedgebook
Grant Thornton is the world’s seventh largest professional services network of independent accounting and consulting firms. Working with the Australian and New Zealand member firms, Grant Thornton provides growth advisory services to mid-size business and public sector entities. Grant Thornton Australia has more than 1,200 people working in offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, while Grant Thornton New Zealand has more than 250 people across offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Using Hedgebook for independent financial instrument valuations
For companies that use financial instruments such as foreign exchange forwards, options and interest rate swaps, there’s a requirement to measure these transactions at fair value. Auditors are required to independently verify these financial instrument valuations are reasonable, as well as understand the inputs that went into the calculations. Many auditors do not have access to the tools required to value these often-complex financial instruments. If they do have access to these tools it is often a select few members of the firm who understand them and therefore it can be a very inefficient, expensive and sometimes haphazard approach to this audit checking process.
Recognising many of its clients use derivative financial instruments, Grant Thornton felt that it was important to independently verify financial instrument valuations rather than just relying on bank confirmations as bank confirmations are sometimes materially incorrect (e.g. due to data entry errors). Accordingly, Grant Thornton was looking for a cost-effective solution and found that Hedgebook met its needs.
Why Grant Thornton adopted Hedgebook for derivative verification
Grant Thornton wanted independence, control and oversight around the valuation process at a palatable cost point. Relying solely on bank confirmations was not sufficient given the potential for material errors from simple data entry. Hedgebook Audit addressed this need with an efficient, standardised approach to checking fair values for FX, interest rate and commodity derivatives.
Because Hedgebook Audit is cloud based, auditors can access it securely from anywhere, including at a client’s premises. This removes the need to take client data back to a central office for checking and helps firms keep processes efficient while managing costs.
Transparent valuation inputs that demystify complex instruments
Hedgebook Audit not only calculates fair value, it also surfaces the inputs used in each valuation. This transparency supports auditors’ understanding and documentation of how the instruments work.
“Understanding financial instruments can be a challenge in practice but Hedgebook Audit is simple to use and very intuitive and has helped to take away some of that mystique around how these instruments work.”
Siva Sivanantham, Grant Thornton Australia
Derivative valuation is often a small, yet critical, part of the audit. Hedgebook’s cost structure is compelling for firms and can be passed on to clients as a disbursement where appropriate, helping maintain efficiency without compromising independence.
Outcomes for Grant Thornton’s audit teams
Hedgebook combines daily market rate feeds with a simple user interface and informative reporting to make it fast and straightforward to calculate and validate fair values. It helps ensure the necessary accounting standards are correctly applied and adhered to.
“Hedgebook Audit has been an excellent addition to our Audit Team’s toolset.”
Mark Hucklesby, Grant Thornton New Zealand
Hedgebook provides training and responsive support to get teams productive quickly. A regular review, ensures the relationship is working well and gives key staff a forum to request enhancements or provide feedback.
At a glance: benefits Hedgebook Audit functionality delivers to Grant Thornton
- Independent verification beyond bank confirmations to reduce error risk.
- On‑site efficiency through secure, cloud access during fieldwork.
- Clarity of inputs that support understanding and working‑paper documentation.
- Compelling cost profile that aligns with audit materiality and can be treated as a disbursement.
- Ongoing enablement with training, support and regular relationship reviews.
If you’d like to learn more about how accountants use Hedgebook – check out our Auditors page or our eBook on year-end valuations and reporting.