Guest column: Carl Williams of Grant Thornton on how the UK needs a fresh approach to business

Carl Williams, North West managing partner at Grant Thornton, says a fresh approach to economic and civic life is needed amid a growing feeling of disconnection between communities and those in power and business…

The UK is at a pivotal point in its history.

This month’s election shows the need for government and politicians, nationally and locally, to work together to reshape our economy. Government cannot, and should not, do that alone. We all have a big role to play and the ability to make a difference.

Over the past 18 months, Grant Thornton has brought together people, leaders, sectors and communities up and down the UK to discuss what matters to them and how they can work together to create a Vibrant Economy.

We believe that trust and integrity lie at the heart of our vision for a vibrant economy.

According to the Edelman Trust Baromenter, Trust in UK business is falling and we need to rebuild it.

Together, trust and integrity, provide the basis for adoption of innovative products and services, higher productivity, investment and a ‘licence to operate’.

We need a systemic approach to restoring trust. Corporate governance coupled with an essential reform of our tax system can help in the short term.

More than profits

In the longer term, we need a shift in business models from: the primacy of profits to a focus on achieving a wider purpose; regulatory compliance to sustainable business culture and finally a focus on speculative investment to a financial system where UK savers invest in line with their values.

This will mean moving to a model where shareholder value is not just realised through profits but also the benefits business brings to the social, economic and environmental system in which it operates.

In order to move to a situation where the majority of businesses in the UK deliver wider social and environmental outcomes as well as profits we recommend the new government:

-Fully utilises the Social Value Act and public procurement

-Promotes full understanding and application of existing directors’ duties under Section 172 of the Companies Act

-Supports continued development and adoption of integrated reporting

-Scales-up impact investing

-Works with institutional investors to identify and tackle regulatory and other barriers to them investing in UK businesses and infrastructure (such as investment risk profiles and restrictions on pensions investing in private companies)

Grant Thornton will play its part by continuing to celebrate businesses with a purpose, through our Faces of a Vibrant Economy and the work of our Vibrant Economy Commission, as well as developing open-source tools with not-for-profit organisations to support businesses who want to adopt ‘profits with purpose’.

Better together

Our blueprint for the economy also includes putting collaboration at the heart of the industrial strategy.

Why? Because in the face of accelerating global and technological change, the strategy should provide a long-term plan for domestic and international growth.

Strong evidence suggests innovation and exporting delivers improved business performance, enabled by workforce skills, investment and ‘openness’ to working with external partners.

While leaving the EU creates challenges, particularly around customs and border management, it also offers an opportunity to reverse the UK’s export performance, create a strong trade culture and exploit new high-growth markets.

The core elements of future growth, we believe will be the creation of a strong exporting culture, a healthy pool of skills and talent for businesses and public services, collaboration and innovation.

In particular we recommend that government

-Grows a new collaborative model of exporting;

-Incentivises collaboration between employers and education and

-Implements a sustainable immigration policy.

We pledge that Grant Thornton will support growth by developing our expertise in exporting, strategy, finance and operational delivery, enabling us to help connect businesses to key trade destinations and global opportunities. By 2020, at least 20% of our people will have expertise in international trade.

We will also roll out our School Enterprise Programme across the UK, enabling year 7 and 8 students to run their own business and develop financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills, and we will also work with Touchpaper, a new not-for-profit network promoting collaboration between large corporates and start-ups.

Our third pillar for change, relates to Place.

While our economy has grown as we have recovered from the financial crash, it has not been evenly spread.

As we take advantage of the benefits of globalisation and new technology, we must share the resulting growth and give different places the tools to shape their own vibrant local economies.

Our Live Lab events identified infrastructure as a main priority in every city. Local priorities in the North West include east-west transport links, high speed broadband, and linking smaller towns to big urban centres.

We welcome the devolution of powers from Westminster to Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region, and believe that it encourages innovation, collaboration and trust.

The government should give cities and counties across the UK powers and frameworks to support collaboration on strategic issues and raise the finance for investment in their infrastructure priorities. We recommend the following actions:

-Greater flexibility for local experimentation in models of leadership, governance and delivery of public services

-Devolution to strategic local bodies of services and policies including immigration, skills, health and social care, housing, local and regional transport

-Giving local bodies the flexibility and freedom to support innovation and infrastructure investment

We will work with others to:

-Create a Place Based Leadership Academy, in partnership with Collaborate and others, providing a platform for people to share information and work together to develop public services and shape cities, towns and communities. Bringing together public sector leaders with not-for-profit and private sectors, to support local strategies, financial management, data insight and leadership and culture development to deliver results.

-Bring together public, private and third sectors to uncover new ways to work collaboratively towards delivering solutions to London’s housing pressures, including developing new analysis to better understand the areas that hold the greatest opportunity to increase supply.

Let’s all play our part in a new era for our country, creating a new more equitable and Vibrant Economy.