Friday News Roundup 20.10.23: WFH despair, Carney climate, Thomas KPMG, MNP Moncton and more

TORONTO, Oct. 23, 2020 – This week, the two major news events captivating our attention were the final US presidential debate and the Liberal government surviving a confidence vote in the House of Commons, through the support of the NDP. But there were some other stories among the odds and ends from this week’s news that were relevant to world of Canadian accounting: 

Is working from home really working out?

Recruiting firm Hays revealed some serious problems with employee satisfaction during the pandemic, with nearly half of Canadians considering leaving their current job. Factors cited included a lack of employer support, feelings of loneliness and isolation, and the challenges of working from home. Astonishing numbers. 

Carney on climate accounting standards

On Thursday, Liberal prime-minister-in-waiting Mark Carney spoke at a virtual conference on making finance green, organized by the Institute for Sustainable Finance at Queen's University. Carney continues to work on promoting standardized risk disclosure in financial statements as well as climate accounting rules. The former head of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England asserted that the push for standardization is “coming from $150 trillion in global private capital that wants that risk quantified.” 

KPMG continues with Canuck

Bill Thomas, FCPA, FCA, who used to be the head of KPMG Canada, has been unanimously reelected to serve a second term as Global Chairman & CEO of KPMG International. The decision by the Global Board was made one year ahead of schedule and extends Thomas’ tenure into 2025. Rooted in Europe, KPMG continues to trail its brethren in the Big Four in terms of both revenue and brand value, having been hit by a number of international scandals, but announced record revenues of $29.75 billion for 2019, a jump of 6.2%. 

MNP Moncton, Prince George moves

Hot off the heels of last week’s acquisitions of two Ontario accounting firms, MNP LLP is building further capacity in Atlantic Canada with the acquisition of the fully bilingual Moncton, N.B., based professional services firm Boudreau Albert Savoie & Associates. MNP entered the Atlantic Canada marketplace in January 2017 through a merger with the Nova Scotia-based firm, WBLI (with offices in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and Truro). 

Meanwhile, MNP’s office in Prince George, B.C., has moved to a new energy-efficient space that will allow it to expand its professional staff. ““We invested in our Prince George regional hub because we believe in the Northern B.C. market and see substantial growth and opportunity here,” explained Jameel Sayani, Regional Managing Partner. As reported by Canadian Accountant earlier this year, as Deloitte and PwC leaft the region, MNP expanded its footprint through mergers. 

FRAS Canada volunteer opportunities

And by the way, if standard setting is your thing, deadlines are fast approaching to apply for a number of volunteer positions at the various agencies under the Financial Reporting & Assurance Standards Canada umbrella. The Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, Academic Advisory Committee, Accounting Standards Board, and Pension Plan Working Group all have volunteer positions open. 

By Canadian Accountant staff.