Sunday News Roundup 22.01.02: Whining auditors, buy and sell, competition law and more 

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TORONTO, Jan. 02, 2022 – Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are well-rested ahead of tax season. One of the big stories over the holidays was Xero’s acquisition of Canadian software icon TaxCycle but we’re saving that story for its own standalone article. So, on to the odds and ends of news from the world of Canadian accounting — holiday edition. 

Critical of the audit profession? Pity!

But before we get to the Canadian stories, we can’t stop ourselves from mentioning this amusing article in the Financial Times (UK), in which PWC UK boss Kevin Ellis complains that all the criticism over audit failures is making it hard to attract recruits. The solution? Please stop criticizing us! 

In Audit profession unattractive to new recruits, says PwC boss, Ellis said “said criticism of the audit industry from politicians and regulators was harming the profession,” and attrition levels for qualified auditors have jumped, prompting the Big Four to search for new recruits overseas. In the story there’s a little lesson for Canada, if we ever have the misfortune to live through the kind of corporate collapses that the British have seen in the last few years — audit scandals make it harder to attract new recruits. 

Buy and Sell: The accounting edition

December closed with a couple of deals in the accounting sector. Grant Thornton, for example, bought S&W LLP, an accounting firm based in Etobicoke, Ont., and will move its team to Georgetown, a fast-growing city between Brampton and Milton. And MNP continues to build its presence in La belle province, acquiring Eric Duguay CPA (Gaspé) Duke CPA Inc (Cowansville, in the Brome-Missisquoi region). Smart move by MNP, as Quebec has one of the strongest economies in Canada. 

Bay Street lawyers like the Competition Act just fine, thank you very much

Interesting article in the Toronto Star: Calls for more progressive laws on competition face push back from Bay Street establishment. The Competition Bureau and a number of economists believe the ancient Competition Act no longer works in the Digital Age. To the best of our knowledge, the Big Four accounting firms, have yet to weigh in on the issue. 

Canadian immigration surpasses record target

Did you know that in 2021 marked Canada’s highest immigration year on record? Despite the continuing pandemic and its restrictions, Canada welcomed 401,000 new permanent residents, surpassing the previous record from 1913, the most newcomers in a year in Canadian history. Bloomberg and Reuters both had similar takes on the record but pointed out that immigration is our government’s primary strategy for growing the Canadian economy, mitigating wage pressures and filling in labour gaps. 

Happy Tax Day to all, and to all a good filing!

Patrick Brethour in the Globe and Mail published his entertaining take on ‘Twas the Night before Christmas, A Very Tax and Spend Holiday Message. It gets off to a roaring start with “Twas the week before year-end, when all through the land/No audits were stirring, not even by hand/Tax-haven returns were filed with care/In hopes the CRA would never look there.” 

Also recommended from the Globe and Mail’s columnists is Tim Cestnick’s How the federal government’s New Year’s resolutions will affect Canadians. Cestnick focuses on those items in Prime Minister Trudeau’s mandate letter to Finance Minister Freeland that will affect individuals and families, although there are some tax strategies that will affect businesses as well. 

Sage buys all of Brightpearl

The Sage Group already owned a minority stake in the software company Brightpearl and its Retail Operating System (ROS) for retailers and wholesalers. But just a few days before the holidays, Sage announced it had acquired the rest of Brightpearl, which will help the company scale Sage Intacct, broadening the value proposition for mid-sized businesses. That’s good news for CPAs in corporate management accounting. 

Quick Hits

Planning a staycation? You can claim a tax credit if you travel in Ontario this year (CBC)
Trudeau's 2022 climate plan — more carbon taxes (PostMedia)
Federal Government Releases Draft Digital Services Tax Legislation (Mondaq)
Oil patch sees carbon capture tax credit as the future. Opponents say it’s an unnecessary lifeline (Globe and Mail)
Ultra-rich families hold a quarter of Canada’s wealth (National Observer)

By Canadian Accountant staff.