Description: The Halifax Chronicle Herald is one of Canada’s oldest continuously publishing newspapers, but its future may be in jeopardy following news that its parent company, the Saltwire Network, is seeking creditor protection. Saltwire owes about $94 million, with about one third of that on the books of its largest creditor, Fiera Private Debt. Stephen Kimber, who teaches in the journalism program at Halifax’s University of King’s College, believes that Saltwire made a strategic mistake following a lengthy employee strike by using the Fiera financing to purchase a wide-swath of regional newspapers. Saltwire also owes money to its pension plan as well as millions to the government of Canada.
Date: March 11, 2024
Source: cbc.ca
Discussion points:
1) Do you have a local newspaper in your university town?
2) How do you think the decline of local newspapers will influence our democracy?
3) Pages 14-8 to 14-10 of Wiley’s Auditing: A Practical Approach discusses the Going Concern issues an auditor must consider. If you were the audit partner responsible for Saltwire’s financial statement audit this year, what type of disclosures might you consider?
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