EY Joins Forces With GTKonnect For Global Trade Services Expansion

As part of EY’s international trade management services expansion, over 100 staffers from GTKonnect became a part of EY member firms in India and the United States. EY said the transaction would bolster the ability of its teams to keep offering exporters and importers “operational efficiencies” via integration, automation and collaboration offerings that allow for the “seamless sharing” of data, according to an announcement.

Kate Barton, EY global vice chair, tax, said in the announcement, “Global trade is undergoing a seismic change as tariff wars, protectionism, regulatory uncertainty and now a pandemic, disrupt established business models and trade relationships. Organizations are struggling to respond and find it increasingly difficult to address their supply chain ecosystems, focus on operational costs and, ultimately, define their medium-to-long-term strategies.”

Barton continued, “We are excited to further expand EY global trade managed service offerings through this strategic transaction.”

The teams of EY will tap into the software technology of GTKonnect, which covers a number of areas with the inclusion of free trade agreements, import/export compliance, country of origin, master data management, foreign trade zones and tariff classification as well as reconciliation. GTKonnect, for its part, provides access to international trade content for 180 nations, assists in allowing collaboration as well as access to industry knowledge, and provides international trade project management functions.

Shankar Ram, founder and chairman, GTKonnect, said in the announcement, “I am proud of the organization we built with dedicated employees and leading-edge technology. Combining our team and technology with the deep technical knowledge and global trade experience in the EY organization is truly a game-changer for clients.”

In January, news surfaced that the biggest accounting firms — EY, KPMG, PwC and Deloitte — are putting billions of dollars toward artificial intelligence (AI) and data technology products to reshape the industry. The investment extends beyond only automating procedures, moving into entrenched AI work, tech training for all staffers and data analysis.