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News from the Canada Revenue Agency UPDATED July 4, 2019
Public Practice - Key Dates for 2019/20
Call for CRA questions ends Oct 11
CPABC will soon start organizing our annual liaison meetings with the Canada Revenue Agency. Members have an opportunity to ask questions about the Agency’s administrative practices and policies but we must submit them well in advance.

Please keep in mind that CRA will not discuss specific case files or answer technical tax questions. Questions that deal with technical matters, such as the interpretation of provisions of the Income Tax Act or the Regulations, will not be sent to CRA as they are beyond the scope of these liaison meetings.

If you have any questions about administrative practices and policies at CRA, please send them to ProfessionalAdvisory@bccpa.ca by Friday, October 11, 2019.
Auditing a Federal Election Candidate
Have you been approached to act as the auditor for a candidate in the upcoming federal election? If so, be sure to download the Audit and Assurance Alert: Audit of a Candidate in a Federal Election for a sample engagement letter.

In addition, CPA Canada has published the updated 11th edition of A Guide for the Auditor of a Candidate in a Federal Election Pursuant to the Canada Elections Act. This guide provides detailed guidance on meeting the reporting requirements in the legislation and complying with CPA Canada Handbook standards. The guide is available for purchase ($25) from the CPA Store as an eBook.
Progress on New Compilation Standards
In case you missed the news, the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has been meeting to deliberate feedback received to the Compilation Engagements exposure draft and discuss the key issues raised by stakeholders. After the June 2019 meeting, the Board announced it will consider the effective date of the new standard and, if appropriate, approve the final standard at a future meeting.

We encourage practitioners to monitor progress on the Compilation Engagements project page on the Financial Reporting & Assurance Standards Canada website.
Major Changes to Quality Management Proposed
The Auditing and Assurance Standards Board is proposing significant changes to the foundational quality control standards at the firm and engagement level. The Board issued in April 2019 the Quality Management at the Firm and Engagement Level, Including Engagement Quality Reviews exposure draft for comment.

To learn more about how these proposed standards might affect your current practice, you can read this Audit and Assurance Alert: Quality management, and watch the archived Explore the AASB’s Exposure Draft on Quality Management webinar.
Creating a New Strategic Direction for the CPA Profession
Members have likely heard about the Foresight project from CPA Canada – a multi-stakeholder project exploring ways for the CPA profession to face the challenges of the future.

Phase 1, a six-month consultation process that included in-person roundtables and a digital conversation with over 1,200 members and stakeholders, is now complete. We invite you to read the findings and learn about a new strategic direction for the CPA profession in The Way Forward.
Updates About CRA Policies
Do you follow the CPA Canada Tax Blog? In case you missed them, there’ve been recent postingsabout Payments for Services: CRA Policy Unchanged for Now and CRA Requests for Personal Banking Info: Out of Line?

In addition, if you have been following the case between Cameco and CRA, there’s now a statement from the Canada Revenue Agency regarding the decision in Canada (National Revenue) v. Cameco Corporation (2019 FCA 67) available on Canada.ca.

Public Practice News & Views Knowledge Base