Member Services

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the mental wellbeing of many people. According to a Statistics Canada  survey on COVID-19 and mental health conducted in 2021, one-in-four Canadians aged 18 and older screened positive for symptoms of depression, anxiety, or posttraumatic stress disorder (or PTSD), up from one-in-five in 2020.

An employee stock option plan could make up a substantial part of an employee’s total compensation package and provide them with a valuable tax deferral.

As ethical leaders and trusted advisors, CPAs rely on professional skills, values, ethics and attitudes to serve their organizations and clients.

The provincial government added the current temporary BC PST Rebate on Select Machinery and Equipment to its roster of COVID-19 tax incentives and benefits in March 2021. Since then, the BC Ministry of Finance has continued to update its webpage on the temporary rebate as additional details have become available.

CPAs in Canada are bound by a strict requirement of confidentiality that applies to all aspects of their professional work. In BC, the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct outlines the requirements and provides registrants with extensive guidance on this topic. In this article, we cover the major confidentiality rules in the CPA Code, describe situations that are prone to potential breaches of confidentiality, and provide some cautionary examples.

Succession planning is an important consideration for the founders and owners of family businesses, and the tax strategies available for selling shares to and purchasing shares from a third party versus a related party can vary significantly. Bill C-208 is intended to give families more flexibility to access certain tax advantages to facilitate intergenerational transfers of shares of small family businesses.

COVID-19 impacts have put financial pressure on many businesses and not-for-profit organizations, especially in certain sectors, resulting in reduced revenues and cash pressures. And while the government has provided substantial funding assistance since the pandemic started, this support is now in sunset mode, which means more CPAs will likely have to help their employers or clients manage through cash difficulties.

Here's what CPABC members had to say about the future landscape for employers and employees.

How do you bring more value to your role? For today’s CFO, the expectation is not only to provide counsel to the CEO, but also to identify strategic opportunities for the business that will produce evolution and growth and lead to new opportunities.

The pandemic has reshaped the way employees work. Many have been forced to work remotely, and some have chosen to relocate. But necessity has borne some interesting insights.

One silver lining that has emerged over the past year is that the majority of organizations have realized the value of digital efforts—from client service to marketing to stakeholder engagement—and are putting resources into planning and implementing them.

If there’s one thing business leaders have learned over the last 12 months, it’s that they need to be prepared for the unexpected. The rapid emergence of COVID-19 and its subsequent impact on businesses across industries underscored.

Imagine a future where audits can be done easily and quickly. All your ledgers, journal entries, donations, and other transactions are connected, sorted, and verified on the spot.

The recent economic downturn may bring forth unexpected tax issues. As creditors become more inclined to forgive or settle debt without full or even partial repayment, more corporations may find that they are settling debt for less than the principal amount.

During an economic downturn such as the one in which we currently find ourselves, many taxpayers focus on finding cost-cutting measures, including opportunities to decrease their immediate tax burdens. What may not be top of mind, however, are opportunities to minimize future tax burdens by freezing or refreezing an estate.

Many business leaders and accounting professionals are wondering how best to recover from the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and set their organizations up for success in the uncertain months and years ahead.