A rather expensive party

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Canadian Government.

Description: This year represents the 150th anniversary of confederation for Canada. And both the previous Conservative administration and the current Liberal government have been piling up the cash to help the celebration along. All told, $500 million has been budgeted to commemorate the anniversary in various forms. Meanwhile, the Department of Finance is predicting the… Read more »

Digital ads dominating

Posted by & filed under Corporate Strategy.

Description: It probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to most of us: digital advertising is continuing to profit while print is in trouble. But television advertising is also seeing its numbers slipping. TV execs are placing some hope in the arrival of “addressable TV” where each home would receive ads based on its… Read more »

Cybertheft

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Data security.

Description: This past Thursday one of the world’s biggest steel manufacturers, ThyssenKrupp, revealed that earlier this year it had been hit by cyberattacks. The hackers, from somewhere in Southeast Asia, stole valuable trade secrets from ThyssenKrupp. The company delayed informing the media about the attack until new security features were put in place. Date: December… Read more »

Library nap time

Posted by & filed under Student life.

Description: It has happened to a lot of us, nodding off in the library in the midst of studying for our exams. Students at Edinburgh University have another option now though rather than resting their heads on a desk or finding a comfortable chair in the reading room. Students at the university voted to install… Read more »

Enron anniversary

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Ethics.

Description: December 1, 2001: It has been 15 years since that infamous date in financial history when Enron filed for creditor protection under US bankruptcy provisions. Enron’s failure had huge impacts on the accounting profession with the collapse of one of the largest auditing firms, Arthur Andersen. And the Enron collapsed generated additional accountability provisions… Read more »

Doctors heading south?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Personal Tax.

Description: Doctors are warning that specialists may flee this country for the United States in the face of changing Canadian tax regulations. Canada’s March 2016 budget promised changes that would block certain partnerships and corporations from accessing the small business tax rate. Physicians initially thought that the government had simply swept their group up into… Read more »

Implementation failures

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Personal Tax.

Description: In his latest report the Auditor General of Canada expressed frustration with what the Government of Canada has done – or not done – with his previous recommendations. Half way through his ten year term, Michael Ferguson said that when his auditors go back to audit a program for a second time, they often… Read more »

Harris painting hits new heights

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Accounting Theory, Taxation.

Description: This week art markets saw a new record auction price for a Canadian painting. Lawren Harris’s 1926 work, Mountain Forms, attracted a winning bid of $11.2 million, far more than the anticipated $3 million to $5 million. The buyer remains anonymous. Date: November 24, 2016 Source: cbc.ca Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/lawren-harris-mountain-forms-auction-1.3864470   Discussion Points: 1) The… Read more »