Brent White | Wiley Accounting Updates

Last friend standing at Blackberry

Posted 6:54 am by Brent White & filed under Corporate Restructuring, Succession Planning.

Description: This past week, Dan Dodge, the last member of the current Blackberry executive team with close ties to the pioneering Mike Lazaridis, announced he was leaving the company. Dodge was known to be a science and tech lover, just like Blackberry co-founder Mike Lazaridis. It will be interesting to see how Dodge’s departure impacts… Read more »

KPMG survey shows student plans and concerns

Posted 4:27 pm by Brent White & filed under Accounting Careers.

Description: A recent survey by KPMG shows students are looking far and wide for post-graduation employment. The survey covered business students in 27 countries, and, in all, close to 90 percent of them are looking at international opportunities amid concerns over the economy. Another interesting finding of the KPMG survey was that this generation of… Read more »

Pension takes off

Posted 7:00 am by Brent White & filed under Accounting Theory, Advanced Accounting, Contemporary Business Issues.

Description: This past week Air Canada announced that it is raised retierment compensation for its CEO, Calin Rovinescu. The amount of his pension at $791,300 will be close to double its previous amount and is conditional on remaining with the airline for another three years. Unifor, the union that represents the Air Canada customer service… Read more »

Beating a drum

Posted 7:00 am by Brent White & filed under Managerial Accounting, Marketing & Strategy.

Description: Ten years ago Larry Guay faced a huge challenge when his business of building furniture components was undercut by cheap knock-offs from competitors. Rather than fold up the manufacturing plant, he shifted product focus and together with his wife started Los Cabos Drumsticks. The team took their show on the road in the early… Read more »

Budget balancing

Posted 7:00 am by Brent White & filed under Canadian Economy, Canadian Government, Personal Tax.

Description: The federal government released its budget this week, with a planned surplus of over a billion dollars. One of the tax measures for Canadians was an increase in tax free savings account limit to $10,000 per year. There were also changes in the small business tax rate. Source: thestar.com Date: April 21, 2015 Link:… Read more »

Pension funds say on pay

Posted 7:00 am by Brent White & filed under Accounting Theory, Contemporary Business Issues, Executive Compensation.

Description: Three major pension funds are ready to throw out the board of Barrick Gold because they are concerned about the company’s executive pay plan. One of the three pension funds also expressed concerns about pay practices at CIBC. Although these funds are only minority shareholders, their public statements may raise important points regarding concerns… Read more »

Mobile gaming rewards

Posted 6:59 am by Brent White & filed under Corporate Strategy, Managerial Accounting.

Description: McGill grad Jeremy Zuckerman is looking to disrupt the world of mobile gaming. He plans a unique strategy of paying cash rewards to players of games offered by his company WINR Games. Success does not come easily in this $21 billion industry, so it will be interesting to see if Jeremy’s reward ploy works… Read more »

Shopify to go public

Posted 6:44 am by Brent White & filed under Canadian Economy, Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Description: Ottawa area tech company Shopify is getting set to go public, perhaps helping to put some lustre back on Canada’s tech image after well-publicized problems at Blackberry and Nortel. The initial public offering is expected to raise in the range of $100 million for the company. Shopify provides an internet platform that retailers can… Read more »

Down, but is it out?

Posted 7:00 am by Brent White & filed under Canadian governments, Taxation.

Description: Last week Globe and Mail political writer Jeffrey Simpson had a tersely worded warning for one Canadian province: “New Brunswick is flat on its fiscal back.” The article noted that New Brunswick is “the worst case in Canada” in terms of fiscal problems. One issue seems to be a reluctance to raise the harmonized… Read more »

A sweet story

Posted 6:58 am by Brent White & filed under Accounting Principles, Corporate Strategy.

Description: It’s spring. The sap is flowing. And the world’s largest maple syrup producer, the Province of Quebec, is facing increased competition from American competitors. Whereas Quebec once controlled 80% of the market through its tight supply management system, it is predicted that by 2018, that figure could drop to 63%. Source: Globeandmail.com Date: April… Read more »