Posts By: Brent White

No longer a crime

Posted by & filed under Financial Accounting.

Description:  Roughly 100 years after it was criminalized, later this week the Canadian government is ending its ban on marijuana. The provinces have developed various retail methods to place the product in the hands of consumers. But when the doors open on October 17, some are predicting product shortages. Part of the problem is a… Read more »

The Wealthy Barber

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Student life.

Description:  Rob Carrick, the Globe and Mail’s personal finance columnist, has helped a lot of Canadians improve their financial literacy. In a recent column, he answered a question from a grandmother wanting to know what personal finance book to purchase for her grandson.  Carrick’s answer: David Chilton’s The Wealthy Barber. The book is almost thirty years… Read more »

Not the list you want to lead

Posted by & filed under Corporate Social Responsibility.

Description:  It’s one list a company does not want to lead. But Nestlé Pure Life, Tim Horton’s, McDonalds, Starbucks and Coca-Cola are the top five identified brands in Greenpeace’s annual trash identification exercise on Canada’s beaches. Greenpeace gathered trash items on September 15, World Cleanup Day, on four separate beaches in various parts of Canada. The fact… Read more »

No time for education

Posted by & filed under Managerial Accounting.

Description:  A report this week in the Toronto Star discussed the disturbing findings of a survey showing that principals don’t have time to dedicate to improving education. It appears that too much time is eaten up by the day-to-day management of buildings and other administrative tasks. According to the Star, Annie Kidder of the group People… Read more »

And for this week’s comeback story

Posted by & filed under Financial Accounting.

Description:  Last week this blog featured a story on how Blackberry had turned a profit by transforming itself from a handset company to a software vendor with a valuable automobile industry component. This week, the Washington Post featured a story on how Toys R Us – a company that had shuttered its US retail operations… Read more »

Taxpayers subsidize UFC?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers.

Description:  It’s controversial. But in a 7-2 vote Moncton city council voted to provide $100,000 of taxpayers’ money to an upcoming UFC card in the city’s new entertainment complex. The use of public money on a sporting event is drawing lots of media attention. Those that voted for the move relied on staff reports talking… Read more »

Blackberry Shares Rising

Posted by & filed under Corporate Strategy.

Description:  After years of being on death watch, Blackberry is turning things around. Financial results for the latest quarters showed a profit of over $40 million U.S. These days the company is making its money in software and its fast-growing automotive division. Hiring is up and the company is looking for 1,000 or so engineers…. Read more »

Federal PBO critical of provincial debt

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Financial Accounting.

Description: He works for the Parliament of Canada. But that did not stop the newly-appointed Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), Yves Giroux, from criticizing provincial governments in his first report. While the federal government’s finances are sustainable, Mr. Giroux told a news conference that  “it’s a totally different story for provinces and territories.” Date: September 27 , 2018… Read more »

Death Spiral

Posted by & filed under Financial Reporting and Analysis, Student life.

Description:  The Globe and Mail is saying New Brunswick is in a ‘death spiral’ financially. The problem is that the tiny province is in the last stages of an election campaign and none of the political leaders really seems to be seriously engaging the issue. In the past ten years, New Brunswick has basically doubled… Read more »