Posts By: Gerry La Rocca

Corporate tax evasion ‘crackdown’ more bark than bite

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Canadian Economy, Corporate Restructuring, Corporate Social Responsibility, Fraud, Fraud Accounting, Taxation, Taxation & Planning.

Global efforts to stop companies from eroding tax base by moving profits offshore have no teeth, experts say Tax Evasion Tactics In December 2012, demonstrators led a country-wide protest against Starbucks over the coffee chain’s tax evasion tactics. A Reuters investigation found that through the magic of profit shifting, the company had avoided paying any… Read more »

Bitcoin: Be prepared for the rise of digital currency

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Canadian Economy, Currency, International Business Operations.

One bitcoin is worth $720 Cdn Each day, Lorne Lantz buys his lunch with bitcoin. Some say the burgeoning digital currency has no real value — but his sandwiches say otherwise. Cryptocurrency? Bitcoins and other “cryptocurrency” have started to rise from the fringes of the internet to the cusp of mainstream use — a remarkable… Read more »

Super Bowl commercials 2014: This year’s best , Expense or Capitalize Advertising Costs?

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Cost Accounting, Intermediate Accounting.

Who won the ad game during Super Bowl 2014? Millions gathered around television sets Sunday evening to watch the Seattle Seahawks take down the Denver Broncos in an easy 43-8 victory, but for many of those revellers the outcome of the game was secondary to the annual crop of splashy, big-budget Super Bowl ads. Commanding… Read more »

Raising minimum wage could rescue the economy

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Taxation.

Ontario premier and U.S. president both champion giving the poorest a raise! This week, Obama and Wynne talked about raising the minimum wage, with Ontario announcing on Thursday that the rate would rise to $11 an hour starting June 1.    Left-of-centre politicians want to raise the wages of the very poorest. From a humanitarian point… Read more »

Refunds: why retailers are making it harder for you to get them

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Fraud, Fraud Accounting, Marketing & Strategy.

Returns fraud costs customers in terms of higher prices, more restrictive store policies  Want your money back? Not so fast. Return policies are getting tighter as retailers try to protect themselves from returns fraud — and honest customers often pay the price. Not only that, but at many stores, policies are unevenly applied, a CBC… Read more »

Investing puzzle a hard one to solve (Tax Free Savings Accounts)

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Taxation, Taxation & Planning.

Increase in savings by Canadians Recent data indicate that Canadians are saving more. Statistics Canada reports that the Household Savings Rate is currently 5.4%, a 0.4% increase from the previous year. Likewise, a recent BMO Bank of Montreal study found that 48% of Canadians are now investing in Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), a 23% increase… Read more »

Target Stores & Neiman Marcus are latest victims of security breach

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Fraud.

  Neiman Marcus is latest victim of security breach Neiman Marcus confirmed Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014 that thieves may have stolen customers’ credit and debit card information and made unauthorized charges over the holiday season, becoming the second retailer in recent weeks to announce it had fallen victim to a cyber-security attack. (M. Spencer Green/Associated… Read more »