A Budget in 17 Minutes

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Canadian Government.

Description: One unusual outcome of the current corona virus situation may have been the unusual co-operation at the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick on Friday. While budget debates are often long and perhaps divisive, this year in NB the budget and an additional bill passed in 17 minutes, with no one voting against the budget…. Read more »

Tough quarter at HBC

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Corporate Restructuring.

Description: A tough quarter: that’s a quick way to summarize the financial results at the Hudson’s Bay Company for the three months ended August 3. HBC’s loss was booked at $984 million. The loss averaged $5.35 per share. Date:  September 12, 2019 Source:  citynews1130.com Link: https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/09/12/hudsons-bay-co-reports-984m-second-quarter-loss-1-9b-in-revenue/ Discussion points:   1) Do you shop at the Bay?… Read more »

Canada Goose is flying high

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Marketing & Strategy.

Description:  With winter-like weather hitting several parts of Canada last week, you may have seen many citizens enjoying the warmth of a “Canada Goose” jacket. With rising revenues, the company is seeing its shares up about twenty percent. Meanwhile, Canada Goose has invested in the acquisition of Baffin, a footwear manufacturer. It looks like Canada Goose… Read more »

Exxon lawsuit

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting.

Description:  Exxon calls it “baseless allegations.” But the New York Attorney General is moving ahead with a lawsuit, saying Exxon deliberately understated the potential liability for dealing with carbon costs in Canada’s oil sands.  Right now the Attorney General is floating a figure of approximately $30 billion in understatements.  The aim of the legal claim seems to… Read more »

Now that’s thinking!

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Marketing & Strategy.

Description:  In many locations in Canada last Wednesday lines formed outside retail establishments as customers queued up to purchase marijuana on the first day of legal sales. One enterprising Edmonton Girl Scout spotted an opportunity. Nine year old Elina Childs visited the line with her Girl Guide cookies and quickly sold out her supply to… 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 »

Still looking to cut that deficit

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Canadian Economy.

Description: The deficit is still here. And Canada’s Finance Minister, Bill Morneau, says it will be for the foreseeable future. Morneau is projecting a deficit of slightly less than $20 billion for the Canadian government for the 2017-18 fiscal year. He is forecasting the deficit will continue to decline over the next several years, despite… Read more »

Moving along the merger

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting.

Description: It takes a while to bring two giants together. The planned merger of agricultural companies Agrium and Potash Corp has been ongoing for over a year. The latest hurdle has been cleared by Agrium’s sale of an Idaho phosphate producer for $100 million dollars, a move which was designed to ease the approval of… Read more »

Big charities merge

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting.

Description: We often hear of corporate mergers in reading the financial press. But it’s not every day that we hear of the merger of two large charitable organizations. That did happen this past week, however, when the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation joined forces. With declining revenues, the merger will help… Read more »

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 »