The Atcon affair

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Canadian governments.

Description: In most Canadian jurisdictions, citizens would be upset if their government lost $70 million of hard-earned taxpayers’ dollars. But in a small jurisdiction like New Brunswick, the pain is magnified. On March 24, Auditor General Kim MacPherson, released a report on the NB government’s loss of $70 million for various financial arrangements it had… Read more »

Mega-Food

Posted by & filed under Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Description: As some have observed, for years people have been putting Heinz Ketchup on Kraft Dinner. So maybe that serves as visual reminder of another mega merger this past week as the two companies join together. One motivation seems to be to open the Kraft brand to more international markets. The second motivation could be… Read more »

Blackberry’s black ink

Posted by & filed under Financial Accounting, Marketing & Strategy.

Description: Well, there’s sort of good news and bad news to this story. The good news is Blackberry’s fourth quarter results surprised observers with $28 million in reported profit, about 4 cents per share. The bad news is that the revenue figure of $660 million was below what some analysts felt it should be. The CEO… Read more »

Who’s the boss?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Theory, Advanced Accounting.

Description: Doug McGregor, head of RBC’s capital markets operation, earned $13.25 million in 2014. That’s a pretty fair payday, no doubt. But one of the surprising things about it is that it outstripped the pay of his boss, RBC CEO Dave McKay. According to proxy circulars, at the other Canadian banks pay for their heads… Read more »

The bothy

Posted by & filed under Public Finance, Student life.

Description: How would you like to live in a bothy for a while during your university term? A bothy is a Scottish word for a small cabin, and the government is funding a series of these bothys in rural Scotland as a form of artist retreat. One designer, Gareth Neal, will soon install a bothy in… Read more »

More on the Target exit

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Ethics.

Description: Documents requested by Target Canada’s suppliers indicate that the retailer began considering winding down in Canada early last fall. Target contacted its Canadian law firm in September to look at various “strategic options.” Target’s suppliers are upset as they believe that Target should have begun reducing orders of inventory – rather than increasing them… Read more »

Taxes and democracy

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Student life, Taxation.

Description: A new film, The Price We Pay, is bringing to us the European debate about how to handle huge companies that use tax havens to shift billions in profits offshore. Companies like Starbucks and Amazon have already seen pressure on this issue. The  film questions whether some of the tax havens may have received… Read more »

Selling off Hydro One

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Canadian Economy, Public Finance.

Description: Premier Kathleen Wynne has now joined the list of three previous Ontario premiers who have proposed selling of Hydro One, the provincially owned electric utility. With a probable value in excess of $15 billion, Hydro One may be an attractive target for privatization. The Premier sees the funds generated from sale of this Crown… Read more »

Canadian CFO leaving Google

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers.

Description: Canadian Patrick Pichette, Google’s CFO since 2008, announced his retirement from the huge company last week. At only 52, this can be considered an early retirement and he intends to do more traveling. The decision was spurred by a question his wife asked him as they stood on top of Mount Kilimanjaro last fall…. Read more »

Mega-rich like Toronto

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Canadian Economy, Taxation.

Description: According to a  report released on March 5 by real estate  consultants  Knight Frank, Toronto ranks among key cities for the Mega-rich. Those with lots of money apparently see much that is attractive in Canada’s most populous city. Meanwhile, Sotheby’s International Realty Canada suggests that Toronto will continue to lead the luxury real estate… Read more »