Friday News Roundup 21.01.08: Major mergers, climate accounting, CPA breakup on Reddit, and more

TORONTO, Jan. 8, 2021 – The world watched in shock this week as the United States descended into insurrection, one day after the Democrats scored surprising, pivotal victories in Senate runoffs in Georgia. As discussed in Canadian Accountant, these victories will have major consequences for U.S. economic policy, according to Canadian accountants and economists. The shambolic scene south of the border made it easy to miss this week’s odds and ends in the world of Canadian accounting: 

A flurry of accounting firm mergers

As we reported in Canadian Accountant, Grant Thornton LLP announced a major expansion this past week, adding seven well-established practices to its network across Canada. But homegrown accounting firm MNP LLP also added Beth Maynard & Associates, an insolvency practice in Sudbury, Ont., to its substantial bankruptcy and insolvency advisory services. 

G&M calls for climate change accounting standards

It’s pretty rare that CPA Canada is mentioned in a Globe and Mail editorial. But last Saturday, Canada’s National Newspaper called for the proper assessment of risks due to climate change, echoing calls by the leaders of Canada’s largest pension funds. While acknowledging the challenges of quantifying climate risks (citing CPA Canada), the G&M also noted the growing momentum at the end of 2020 for unified standards. 

CPA Manitoba calls for more pandemic business support

In a highly detailed article on New Year’s Day outlining the financial troubles of Manitobans and available supports, the CBC quoted CPA Manitoba president and CEO Geeta Tucker, who wants to see “more supports in the form of forgivable loans or grants for businesses to run safely, especially when it comes to personal protective equipment.” 

Canadian job creation stalled as provinces entered more lockdowns

The Canadian economy lost 63,000 jobs in December 2020, about twice as much as most economists were predicting, as provinces entered strict pandemic lockdowns over the holiday season. According to Statistics Canada, the jobless rate came in at 8.6 per cent, a slight increase from from November 2020. It was 5.6 per cent last February, before COVID-19, and peaked at 13.7 in May. 

As reported by the CBC, Canada's numbers for December are broadly in line with the U.S., where the job number was also about twice as bad as expected, at 140,000 jobs lost. 

Reddit blows up over accountants’ breakup story

A surprising number of accountants hang out on Reddit, typically in the r/accounting forum (of course). But this week, one CPA who works “at one of the Big Four accounting firms earning $89,000 per year,” blew up the “r/AmItheA**hole” forum. Her tale of splitting with her girlfriend of five years earned her widespread condemnation from accountants and non-accountants alike. An interesting read, as are the comments from many accountants. 

By Canadian Accountant staff.