Friday News Roundup 21.05.21: KPMG Finance Plus, MNP Maritimes, aging reports and more 

TORONTO, May 21, 2021 – With politicians still focused on vaccines (and news that Canada will soon pass the U.S. in the number of adults vaccinated with one dose), there were still some odds and ends from the world of Canadian accounting news to report on. 

KPMG launches cloud accounting platform for SMBs

Finance Plus is an accounting software platform for small and medium-sized businesses in Canada. Launched this past week by KPMG, it promises SMBs “an efficient and affordable way to outsource bookkeeping and financial reporting, all overseen by a live KPMG professional.” The platform also provides access to QuickBooks Online, Xero, Hubdoc, Dext, ADP and Wagepoint. 

It’s an interesting move. As we reported, KPMG Canada has been bolstering its enterprise and SMB service lines, and this move appears to target the same market, traditionally the domain of small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) accounting firms, not one of the Big Four. 

Will Parliament subpoena documents and witnesses from KPMG?

The CBC reported this past week that KPMG has until the beginning of June to voluntarily comply with a request from the Standing Committee on Finance to disclose the names of its clients in the Isle of Man. KPMG has said it stopped selling the tax avoidance strategy in the mid 2000s and is citing client confidentiality in the hearings. How determined the committee is in pursuing disclosure is open to speculation but will likely wind up in the courts. 

MNP continues to build its Maritimes business model

Speaking of SME accounting firms, Canadian homegrown giant MNP has plucked DMK Chartered Professional Accountants of St. John's in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was just last year that MNP  entered the Newfoundland and Labrador marketplace through two mergers. 

Amnesty International breaks with UofT Law School

How much has the imbroglio over the actions of a Tax Court judge cost the University of Toronto in terms of both dollars and reputation? Was it worth the funding donated to the school by influential donors? This past week, Amnesty International announced that it is “pausing our relationship with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and its International Human Rights Law Program (IHRP).” 

Accountants: Protect your aging reports!

Howard Solomon at ITBusiness.ca says there's a recent trend in fraudsters asking accounting departments for aging reports. If you’re in corporate accounting, you know how common these accounts receivable records of deadbeats and delayers can be. Be careful! 

By Canadian Accountant staff.