Saltwire Sadness

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Auditing, Canadian Government, Financial Accounting, Marketing & Strategy.

Description: The Halifax Chronicle Herald is one of Canada’s oldest continuously publishing newspapers, but its future may be in jeopardy following news that its parent company, the Saltwire Network, is seeking creditor protection. Saltwire owes about $94 million, with about one third of that on the books of its largest creditor, Fiera Private Debt. Stephen… Read more »

Big $ for Travelling Nurses

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Student life.

Description: The Auditor General of New Brunswick, Paul Martin, has decided that his Office will examine contracts for travel nurses paid for by the taxpayer. The contracts came under scrutiny after a national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, published an article on the use of high-cost travelling nurses in a number of provinces during the… Read more »

Big Fine for Deloitte

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Auditing, Ethics.

Description: In what could be described as somewhat of an embarrassment, Big Four audit firm Deloitte has been fined $1.59 million by CPA Ontario, the governing body for the accounting profession in that province. Deloitte’s problem was that some employees engaged in “deliberate backdating” of audit working papers on close to 40 audits. Somehow the… Read more »

The Underground Economy

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Auditing, Fraud.

Description: Statistics Canada reported last week that it estimates Canada’s underground economy was approximately $70 billion in 2021. This unreported activity was up about five percent over 2020. The largest components of the underground economy are residential construction, at 35 percent, followed by real estate rentals at 12.7 percent and retail at 10.5 percent. Statistics… Read more »

Not Much to Hear

Posted by & filed under Auditing.

Description: Last week this blog spoke of how New Brunswick’s auditor general, Paul Martin, was about to face questions from a legislative committee on why so many staff (over one-third) have been leaving his office since the start of this year. But for Mr. Martin, it does not appear to have been all that much… Read more »

Auditing the Auditor?

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Ethics.

Description: If you are an auditor general, you’re probably used to being the one asking the questions. Auditors general in Canada are generally highly esteemed in the public and the press, and rarely have to face scrutiny of their own. But on September 7 the Auditor General of New Brunswick may face challenging questions from… Read more »

Tax Decisions with Living Together

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Personal Tax.

Description: With tax season in full swing – despite the strike in effect at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) – experts agree that it is important that Canadians know how living together can impact your taxation status. With societal trends indicating that common-law relationships are especially prevalent among those 20-24 years old, many may be… Read more »

Real Estate Regulator Failing

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Auditing.

Description: The auditor general of Ontario has found that the provincial real estate regulator – RECO – is falling down on its job of protecting buyers and sellers. In her value-for-money audit of RECO, auditor general Bonnie Lysyk found various problems with the organization, including a lack of follow-up on consumer complaints and faulty processes… Read more »

Questionable Conduct at Laurentian

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Student life.

Description: In a special report on the Laurentian University financial crisis, Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk showed that senior management at the school erred by declining government assistance and heading straight to bankruptcy. Lysyk found that the Laurentian senior management and board of governors relied on external advisors in opting for the bankruptcy route, rather… Read more »

A Good Month for Jobs

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Canadian Economy, Student life.

Description: October was a good month for the Canadian economy with 108,000 new jobs added, exceeding projections by a factor of ten. Because more Canadians were actually looking for work last month, the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.2%. Despite the good news on the employment front, a higher number of Canadians report having trouble… Read more »