Ultra CGA

Alan Salmon’s Software Review – A CGA-BC Exclusive 

Vol. 39 / No. 3 • FALL 2012 

A PUBLICATION OF THE CERTIFIED GENERAL ACCOUNTANTS ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 

Ultra CGA 

Why one member is racing 

to make a difference 

Partners, 

get on the same page! 

Before you 

even say a word... 

take this expert’s 

public speaking advice 

40069088 

Terry Craig, CGA 

See page 24

30 28 40 

Vol. 39 / No. 3 • FALL 2012 

features views spotlight 

24 

A true Ultraman 

CGA Terry Craig participates in a gruelling 

endurance event – and proves that organ 

donors can go the distance 

contents 

16 

28 

30 

Trends in accounting 

software 

Alan Salmon reviews the most popular 

accounting software options for you and your 

clients 

Investment options in a time 

of low interest rates 

Steve Zadra highlights income investment 

options that offer decent returns 

Life-cycle assessment 

LCA lets you understand the true, long-term 

costs of an investment decision 

06 

09 

12 

14 

34 

taxmatters 

Ed Kroft looks back on the 

major developments in 

Canadian tax this summer 

techview 

Your notebook is valuable – 

learn how to keep it (and its 

data) safe 

periscope 

Career coach Joanne Loberg 

outlines fail-safe tips for 

building a successful career 

ethics in focus 

Evaluating an ethical 

dilemma 

publicpractice 

Edifier 

Steve Erickson says partnerships 

with a high degree 

of trust are more profitable 

23 

36 

38 

40 

42 

keepingTabs 

CGAs in the news and 

members on the move 

currentAssets 

A roundup of all the latest 

gadgets, tech gear and apps 

snapShots 

Photos from CGA-BC events 

partingShot 

Meet Angela Trif, CGA, a 

business consultant with the 

Interior Health Authority and 

dedicated CGA-BC volunteer 

morethanNumbers 

Letting the data tell the 

story 

32 

Before you even say a word 

Planning and preparing for your public speech 

is just as important as the speech itself 

You can follow CGA-BC 

on Facebook and on Twitter at 

www.twitter.com/cgabc 

Cover photo (and related story photos) 

by Rick Kent. 

outlook 03

editor’smessage 

outlook 

> 

are so afraid of public speaking 

that they’d rather be in the casket 

than giving the eulogy. Maybe 

that’s a bit of an exaggeration 

on his part, but when you finish 

What Did You Do This Summer? 

executive committee 

Chair: Cindy Choi, FCGA 

Past-Chair/Treasurer: Bruce Hurst, FCGA 

First Vice-Chair: Candace Nancke, FCGA 

Second Vice-Chair: David Sale, FCGA 

Chief Executive Officer and Secretary: Gordon Ruth, FCGA 

executive staff 

Chief Executive Officer: Gordon Ruth, FCGA 

Director, Administration, HR & IT: Dan Cheetham, CGA 

Director of Marketing & Communications: 

Edward Downing, MA (Journalism) 

Director of Education & Student Services: 

W. D. (Bill) Johnson, FCIS, PAdm, FCGA 

Director, Executive and Corporate Affairs: Juliana Laing, BA 

Director of Member Services: Pamela Skinner, BSc, CFP, CGA 

We hear clichés like “hit the 

ground running” or “head of the 

pack” all the time. But CGA Terry 

Craig really lives and breathes 

those sayings as his performance 

in the Ultraman Canada 

competition headlined in this 

issue shows. He battled the heat 

of an Okanagan summer to run, 

bike and swim distances that 

some of us wouldn’t even drive. 

He did it to highlight the need 

for living organ donation and 

to show that even when you 

have donated a vital organ like 

a kidney you can be an ultracompetitive 

athlete. 

Speaking of the heat of summer, 

the ever perceptive and 

insightful Ed Kroft shows that 

while we were enjoying the 

beach or travelling this summer, 

a lot was happening in the 

world of taxation. He reports, for 

example, that the CRA has been 

conducting various income tax 

audits in the area of tax-free 

savings accounts and retirement 

compensation arrangements. 

Many of us have heard the 

Seinfeld line about people who 

reading Chris Molineux’s article 

(and possibly taken his course), 

you are going to be ready to 

conquer all your public speaking 

fears. Like everything you do as 

a CGA, it’s really about planning 

and being prepared. The rest is 

just technique. 

If you are in public practice, 

then Steve Erickson’s piece on 

getting partners on the same 

page has some solid tips. And 

ethicist Michael McDonald, CGA 

(Hon.), tackles some of the everyday 

ethical issues that many 

of us confront. 

As always, we love to hear 

from our readers. We did get 

more mail than usual about last 

issue’s article on Gerry McKinnon, 

CGA (Hon.), and he even 

penned a letter himself. Remember, 

if there’s something you’d 

like to say or a story idea that 

you would like covered, don’t 

hesitate to contact us. 

outlook staff 

Managing Editor: Edward Downing (604) 730-6208 

Communications Manager: Patrick Schryburt (604) 730-6238 

Communications Officer: David Ferman (604) 730-6206 

Production Co-ordinator: Trevor Hargreaves (604) 730-6226 

Advertising Co-ordinator: Pardeep Clair (604) 730-6228 

Graphic Design: 

Core Associates Communication Design Inc. 

Regular Contributors: 

Ed Kroft, QC, LLB, LLM, CGA (Hon.); Dr. Michael McDonald, 

CGA (Hon.); Alan Salmon 

advertising 

For advertising rates, contact Pardeep Clair at 

(604) 730-6228 or visit our website at www.cga-bc.org. 

Outlook is the premier way to contact B.C.’s CGAs. 

Advertising in Outlook magazine does not indicate an 

endorsement of any business, organization, service or 

product by CGA-BC. 

Outlook is published four times a year by the Certified 

General Accountants Association of British Columbia and 

is sent to nearly 15,000 CGA members and CGA students. 

Opinions expressed are not necessarily endorsed by CGA-BC. 

Copyright CGA-BC 2012. 

articles, enquiries and letters 

Articles, enquiries and letters should be sent to Outlook: 

CGA-BC, 300-1867 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, V6J 5L4 

(604) 732-1211 or (800) 565-1211 

ISSN 1488-2337 Outlook - Certified General Accountants 

Association of British Columbia 

CGA on the web 

Members and students, you can find all of your most 

important CGA-BC services online at www.cga-bc.org. 

Edward Downing is CGA-BC’s Director of Communications 

edowning@cga-bc.org 

Agreement no. 40069088 

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: 

CGA-BC, 300-1867 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, V6J 5L4 

Printed in Canada 

04 outlook

feature 

“BS baffles brains. If you don’t have chutzpah it’s like a piece of wet lettuce: it just lies there. and 

that was the problem I had with so many accountants. I had to enrol them in public-speaking 

courses because they couldn’t express themselves effectively.” Gerry McKinnon, CGA (Hon.) 

CGA-BC’s first Executive Director instilled pride in all members and students 

By Quintin Winks 

> All his life Gerry McKinnon, CGA (Hon.), did great things: he became a decorated war 

veteran, raised and supported a family, was successful in business and served countless 

volunteer hours. Throughout, McKinnon was influential in shaping the communities 

and societies where he lived. 

Among his most recognized achievements was propelling the Certified General 

Accountants of British Columbia forward, helping it establish a sense of identity in 

the 1960s that enabled the organization to become the industry leader that it is now. 

It is difficult to imagine today’s CGA-BC, with all its power and polish, operating 

with just McKinnon, Fran Maynard and two staff members. In 1967 they worked in a 

dreary little office on Hastings Street. The organization had 600 CGA students, with 

an additional membership of about 600. CGA-BC was the governing and regulatory 

body responsible for their training and certification. 

Today the organization boasts nearly 15,000 CGAs and CGA students. Which makes 

it all the more remarkable that McKinnon was able to achieve what he did for the 

organization without being an accountant. 

Yet for all his achievements as Executive Director, McKinnon says he is most proud 

of the letters BBE, which appeared after his name at his retirement from CGA-BC on 

December 1, 1981. The letters stand for Best Boss Ever and were bestowed on him by 

affectionate staff. 

“He was realistic in how he perceived staff and the organization,” says Vernon Dean, 

who met McKinnon through CGA-BC in the 1960s and remains a close friend today. 

“He was fair and appreciated the staff and the work they did, and because of his own 

attitude a lot of them became CGAs.” 

Born on October 3, 1920 in Peterborough, Ontario, McKinnon embarked on his first 

career as a military man in Brockville as World War II drew more and more countries 

into the fray. 

34 outlook 

In 1942, McKinnon was sent to a 

new school in Nanaimo on Vancouver 

Island. He crossed the country 

by train that February, eventually 

arriving in the Lower Mainland. 

“I looked out at one point and 

there were snow-capped peaks 

and Holsteins standing up to their 

udders in green grass,” he says. 

“I thought I had died. Here it was 

February and we could wear short 

sleeves.” 

If that optimism is to blame for 

an ensuing bout of pneumonia that 

landed him in a Nanaimo military 

hospital, it must also be credited 

with introducing McKinnon to his 

future wife. 

While convalescing, the new 

brigadier intelligence officer met 

the “cutest little nurse” named Mary 

Campbell. The couple began dating 

and became engaged. 

But as love played out on 

Vancouver Island, war played out 

in Europe. Before long Mary was 

shipped east, so McKinnon applied 

to go overseas. As he lined up to 

board the ship sailing for England 

he looked up, into the sea of faces, 

and saw Mary. 

“Everything was secret and classified 

and we had no idea the other 

would be aboard,” he says. “Yet we 

ended up going overseas together.” 

The reunion lasted as long as the 

voyage. McKinnon was transferred 

to the British army, Mary to a 

hospital elsewhere. They had a brief 

reunion over beer one evening 

before McKinnon was shipped to 

Normandy as part of the D-Day 

invasion. 

“We were totally surrounded by 

people, some of them in big black 

helmets,” he says of the experience. 

“It was an indescribable situation.” 

McKinnon was wounded during 

the invasion and flown back to England. 

Back on friendly soil, he was 

eventually transferred into Mary’s 

THE PRIDE OF ONE 

F 

N 

O 

E 

outlook 35 

letters 

Standing a 

quarter-inch taller 

Kudos for Article 

Thanks for the great article on 

Mr. McKinnon. His is an amazing 

story and very worthy of sharing 

with the membership. Thanks! 

Allen Szeliga, CGA 

Chief Financial Officer 

Darford International Inc. 

Vernon, B.C. 

O1 

1 

OF ONE 

I enjoyed reading the article on 

Gerry McKinnon in the recent 

Outlook issue. We owe a lot to 

the ‘pioneers’ like Gerry and 

his comments are ‘right on the 

money.’ 

Mary McKenna, CGA 

Capital Budget Analyst 

Provincial Health Services 

Authority 

Vancouver, B.C. 

Today I received my copy of the 

summer edition of Outlook and 

as much as I am embarrassed, I 

do thank you for remembering 

me. I certainly cherish the time 

Mary and I spent with the Association 

and its wonderful and 

dedicated people all across this 

beautiful country – many are still 

our closest friends. 

I really must acknowledge 

that all our goals and objectives 

were set by resolutions of our 

Board of Governors that I had the 

pleasure of working for and with. 

I did “tease” them every so often, 

but after all these years, many of 

them are still my very best friends 

today. 

If I may, I would like to correct, 

for the record, that it was not our 

B.C. office staff that revamped 

the course of study – that was 

accomplished by the then 

National Coordinating Council on 

Education and the faculty at UBC. 

I was the Secretary-Treasurer of 

that group. 

Many thanks to you all and 

again congratulations to us all 

on this [sic] our 60th anniversary 

year. Perhaps it is now time, after 

all our historical success, to add 

another quarter-inch and from 

now on stand a half-inch taller 

with justifiable pride. 

G. F. McKinnon, CGA (Hon.) 

Comox, B.C. 

Have an opinion? Email your “letter” to edowning@cga-bc.org 

Blair Mackay Mynett 

Valuations Inc. 

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Left to Right: 

Vern Blair, Cheryl Shearer, Robert D. Mackay, 

Kiu Ghanavizchian, Chad Rutquist, 

Gary M. W. Mynett, Chris Halsey-Brandt, 

Andy Shaw, Jeff P. Matthews, Farida Sukhia 

outlook 05

Ed Kroft, QC, LLB, LLM, CGA (Hon.) 

and Soraya Jamal, LLB, LLM 

taxmatters 

Given that I’m writing 

this in September, 

it seems fitting to 

talk about what has 

transpired during the past 

three months in the Canadian 

income tax world, particularly 

if you have been busy with 

tax return compliance or otherwise 

occupied. The matters 

that follow will be discussed 

at upcoming tax update 

seminars to be held this fall. 

Income tax legislation 

in the 2012 Federal 

Budget 

The Federal Budget was tabled 

on March 29, 2012, and 

47 resolutions were in the 

Notice of Ways and Means 

Motion tabled on that day. 

On April 23, 2012, the 

Minister of Finance tabled a 

Notice of Ways and Means 

Motion to implement some 

of the proposals in the 2012 

Budget. These include the 

temporary measure to allow 

certain family members to be 

RDSP plan holders (portion 

of resolution 1); extension of 

the mineral exploration tax 

credit for flow-through investors 

(resolution 2); split and 

late eligible dividend elections 

(resolution 3); taxation 

of the Governor General’s 

salary (resolution 15); partnership 

waivers (resolution 

27); gifts to foreign charitable 

organizations (resolution 42); 

political activities of charities 

(resolution 43); changes relating 

to tax shelters, including 

tax shelter identification 

numbers and increased penalties 

for failure of promoters 

to file information returns 

(resolutions 44 to 47); and 

additions to the list of eligible 

expenses for the medical 

expense tax credit (Regulation 

5700). 

On April 26, 2012, the Minister 

of Finance introduced 

Bill C-38, which implements 

certain tax measures from 

the 2012 Budget and enacts 

and amends several other 

Acts. Bill C-38 also implements 

all of the GST/HST 

A review of noteworthy income tax developments during the 

past three months 

What Happened This Summer? 

06 outlook 

Budget proposals. These 

address health services (including 

medical and assistive 

devices, pharmacist services 

and providing corrective 

eyewear), the book rebate 

for literacy organizations, tax 

on imported rental vehicles 

and streamlined accounting 

thresholds. On June 29, 2012, 

Bill C-38, the Jobs, Growth 

and Long-term Prosperity 

Act, received Royal Assent 

as Chapter No. 19. 

On August 14, 2012, the 

Department of Finance 

released draft legislation 

and explanatory notes 

pertaining to other items 

announced on March 29. 

The draft legislative proposals 

include the following 

measures: 

Personal Income Tax 

• Improving Registered 

Disability Savings Plans 

(RDSPs) following the review 

of the RDSP program 

in 2011. 

• Including an employer’s 

contributions to a group 

sickness or accident insurance 

plan in an employee’s 

income to the extent that 

CRA has been conducting 

various 

income tax audit 

initiatives, including 

audits of tax-free 

savings accounts, 

domestic trusts and 

retirement compensation 

arrangements. 

Ed Kroft, QC, LLB, LLM, 

CGA (Hon.), is a partner 

with Blake, Cassels & 

Graydon LLP. He is a 

member of the firm’s Tax 

Group and leader of its 

Tax Controversy & Litigation 

Group. 

Soraya Jamal, LLB, LLM, 

is an associate with 

Blake, Cassels & Graydon 

LLP, where she provides 

tax advice on domestic 

and international corporate 

taxation matters. 

the contributions are not 

in respect of wage-loss 

replacement benefits payable 

on a periodic basis. 

• Amending the rules 

applicable to retirement 

compensation arrangements 

to prevent certain 

schemes designed to 

inappropriately reduce tax 

liabilities. 

• Amending the rules applicable 

to Employees Profit 

Sharing Plans to discourage 

excessive contributions 

for employees with a 

close tie to their employer. 

Corporate Income Tax 

• Expanding the eligibility 

for the accelerated capital 

cost allowance for clean 

energy generation equipment 

to include a broader 

range of bioenergy equipment. 

• Phasing out the Corporate 

Mineral Exploration and 

Development Tax Credit. 

• Phasing out the Atlantic 

Investment Tax Credit for 

activities related to the oil 

& gas and mining sectors. 

• Providing that qualified 

property for the purposes 

of the Atlantic Investment 

Tax Credit will include 

certain electricity generation 

equipment and clean 

energy generation equipment 

used primarily in an 

eligible activity. 

• Reducing the general 

Scientific Research and Experimental 

Development 

(SR&ED) investment tax 

credit rate to 15 per cent 

from 20 per cent. 

• Reducing the prescribed 

proxy amount, which taxpayers 

use to claim SR&ED 

overhead expenditures, 

from 65 per cent to 55 per 

cent of the salaries and 

wages of employees who 

are engaged in SR&ED 

activities.

• Removing the profit element 

from arm’s-length 

third-party contracts for 

the purpose of calculating 

SR&ED tax credits. 

• Removing capital from the 

base of eligible expenditures 

for the purpose 

of calculating SR&ED tax 

incentives. 

• Preventing the avoidance 

of corporate income 

tax through the use of 

partnerships to convert 

income gains into capital 

gains. 

International Taxation 

• Ensuring that transfer 

pricing secondary adjustments 

will be treated as 

dividends for Part XIII withholding 

tax purposes. 

• Improving the integrity 

and fairness of the thin 

capitalization rules by: 

- reducing the debtto-equity 

ratio from 2-to-1 

to 1.5-to-1; 

- extending the scope of 

the thin capitalization rules 

to debts of partnerships of 

which a Canadian-resident 

corporation is a member; 

- treating disallowed 

interest expense under the 

thin capitalization rules as 

dividends for Part XIII withholding 

tax purposes; and 

- preventing double 

taxation in certain circumstances 

where a Canadian 

resident corporation 

borrows money from its 

controlled foreign affiliate. 

• Restricting the ability of 

foreign-based multinational 

corporations to transfer, 

or “dump”, foreign affiliates 

into their Canadian subsidiaries, 

while preserving the 

ability of these subsidiaries 

to undertake legitimate 

expansions of their Canadian 

businesses. 

• Phasing out the Overseas 

Employment Tax Credit. 

Other draft income 

tax legislation 

On July 25, 2012, the Department 

of Finance released 

draft legislation to amend the 

Income Tax Act. The draft legislation 

would add new sections 

12.6 and 18.3 regarding 

stapled securities and would 

amend the definitions of 

“non-portfolio property” and 

“excluded subsidiary entity” in 

subsection 122.1(1) and the 

instalment rules for SIFT trusts 

and SIFT partnerships. As well, 

the draft legislation includes 

an amendment to subsection 

214(3) to address the issue of 

withholding tax on amounts 

that are payable from a 

Canadian resident trust to 

a non-resident beneficiary 

but which are actually paid 

after the trust ceases to be a 

Canadian resident. 

On June 8, 2012, the Department 


draft legislation to amend 

the Tax Court of Canada Act 

and the Income Tax Act. These 

proposed amendments will 

implement the changes 

required to improve the 

caseload management of the 

Tax Court of Canada. 

We have had a tax legislative 

hangover for many years. 

Legislation announced in 

2000, 2002 and 2003 has 

sat unpassed yet has been 

administered at times by 

the CRA as if it were law. This 

has caused mass confusion. 

Proposed legislation dealing 

with issues such as restrictive 

covenants, attribution, foreign 

trusts and other technical 

matters was released in July 

2010 but has not yet been 

passed. On August 19, 2011, 

draft legislation and regulations 

emerged regarding 

rules relating to foreign affiliates. 

Some rules are new and 

others are revised from an 

earlier release on February 27, 

2004. On December 14, 2011, 

On June 8, 2012, 

the Department 

of Finance 

released draft 

legislation to 

amend the Tax 

Court of Canada 

Act and the 

Income Tax Act. 

the Department of Finance 

released for consultation draft 

income tax legislation, regulations 

and explanatory notes 

regarding pooled registered 

pension plans. 

On October 31, 2011, the 

Department of Finance 

released for comments draft 

legislation, regulations and 

explanatory notes regarding 

technical amendments to the 

Income Tax Act and the Excise 

Tax Act. This package includes 

technical changes relating to 

trusts, investment corporations, 

mortgage investment 

corporations, mutual fund 

corporations and agricultural 

cooperative corporations; the 

treatment of non-residents 

with Canadian service providers; 

corporations that carry on 

an insurance business; and 

the reporting of recaptured 

input tax credits. 

On March 16, 2011, the Department 


draft income tax legislation in 

response to decisions in three 

recent court cases. They are 

Collins v. The Queen, 2010 DTC 

5028 (FCA), regarding contingent 

amounts; Lehigh Cement 

Limited v. The Queen, 2010 

DTC 5081 (FCA), regarding 

withholding tax on interest 

paid to a non-arm’s length 

non-resident; and The Queen 

v. National Life Assurance 

Company of Canada, 2008 DTC 

6141 (FCA), regarding a life 

insurance corporation’s segregated 

fund policy reserves. 

Income tax case law 

released during the 

summer 

The appellate courts and 

the Tax Court of Canada do 

not sit frequently in July and 

August and decisions are not 

issued very often. However, 

the Supreme Court of 

Canada released Craig, which 

involves a Toronto lawyer 

who claimed farming losses 

outlook 07

without the application of the 

restricted farm loss rules. In a 

landmark decision, the Court 

unanimously rejected the 

application of the Moldowan 

decision and has enunciated 

a new interpretation 

of the rules in section 31 of 

the Income Tax Act. This is 

welcome news for taxpayers. 

The Alberta Court of 

Appeal issued two decisions 

(Canada Safeway and Husky) 

that dealt with the Alberta 

General Anti-Avoidance Rule 

(“GAAR”). The taxpayers were 

both successful as they had 

been in the lower courts. 

Future case law 

The Tax Court of Canada and 

the Federal Court of Appeal 

are expected to release a 

number of decisions this fall 

that will deal with various 

aspects of the GAAR. These 

cases deal with claims for 

capital losses, claims for other 

types of deductions and 

losses, transfer pricing and 

the imposition of non-resident 

withholding taxes. 

Taxpayers are also 

anticipating the Supreme 

Court of Canada’s decision 

in Daishowa, which will 

be heard next March. The 

case will address whether 

a vendor of a business will 

be required to include, as 

proceeds of disposition, the 

amount of assumed contingent 

liabilities associated 

with the assets sold. 

Some current CRA 

audit initiatives 

CRA has been conducting 

various income tax audit 

initiatives. One involves “high 

net worth individuals” and 

information request letters 

have been issued to various 

taxpayers. CRA continues to 

audit and reassess taxpayers 

who have made “leveraged 

donations” or who bought 

and sold real estate within a 

relatively short time frame. 

CRA has also been conducting 

audits of tax-free 

savings accounts, domestic 

trusts and retirement compensation 

arrangements. CRA 

is initiating audits of trusts 

throughout Canada, alleging 

that the affected trusts are 

resident in the jurisdiction in 

which the beneficiary resides 

notwithstanding that the 

trustee is resident elsewhere. 

The CRA is relying on the 

unanimous decision of the 

Supreme Court in Fundy 

Settlement, which determined 

that residence is based on 

central management and 

control of the trust and not 

the residence of the trustees. 

Other projects include 

audits of non-profit organizations, 

the frequent imposition 

of penalties for failure 

to file forms and slips and, 

generally speaking, a move 

to risk-based assessments. 

CRA is still interested in 

scrutinizing employee and 

shareholder benefits, deductibility 

of expenses, claims 

for scientific research and 

experimental development 

ITCs, and various valuationbased 

claims involving fair 

market value. 

Other audit issues have 

surfaced in connection with 

professional corporations, 

transfer pricing, indirect tax, 

international tax matters 

(such as cross-border loans 

and the taxation of non-resident 

employees working in 

Canada), domestic non-arm’s 

length transactions, interprovincial 

allocations and “tech 

wreck “ loss/gains transfers. 

Conclusion 

Some of you may have reflected 

long and hard about 

the thrilling aspects of tax 

during the summer. Others 

may have shunned any 

mention of tax. The contents 

of my review here may have 

reaffirmed your actions. The 

remainder of 2012 should 

prove interesting, as it seems 

that income tax law and 

practice never stays static. 

May the rest of 2012 bring 

you health, happiness and 

prosperity. 

08 outlook

Alan Salmon and Randy Johnston 

techview 

We’re all busy 

these days, but 

that’s no excuse 

to get sloppy 

when it comes to securing 

the safety of your notebook 

and other portable devices. 

These handy tools are valuable 

– making them popular 

targets for thieves – and they 

also tend to contain valuable 

and sensitive personal and 

professional information. In 

this article, I outline some 

tips for protecting these 

devices at home and on the 

road, including advice for 

protecting your data as you 

travel internationally. 

Keep the following in 

mind: 

• A notebook is easy to carry 

to and from work, presentations 

and client meetings 

– but that means it is also 

very easy for a thief to walk 

off with it. 

• Because a notebook is 

small and portable, it is 

easy to accidentally leave 

it behind – as a friend of 

mine did when he left 

his notebook in the seat 

pocket on an Air Canada 

flight to Antigua. 

• Your notebook is valuable 

to you because it 

can speedily give you 

access to important data, 

information and software 

– which also makes it 

valuable to others and of 

interest to thieves. 

Statistics show that there 

is a 1 in 14 chance that your 

notebook will be stolen. 

Even the FBI loses, on average, 

10 notebooks a month. 

Here are 10 common sense 

tips to protect your valuable 

portable devices. 

Carry your notebook 

with you 

Always keep your notebook 

with you on a plane or train 

rather than checking it with 

your luggage. It is easy to 

lose luggage and it is just as 

easy to lose your notebook. 

If you are travelling by car, 

keep your notebook out 

of sight by locking it in the 

trunk when you are not 

using it. 

A little time and effort now can save you lots of grief and 

headaches later 

Secure Your Notebook! 

Don’t put your notebook 

on the floor 

Setting it on the floor is an 

easy way to forget about it as 

you talk at a ticket counter or 

order your cappuccino. If you 

do set it down, put it between 

your feet or lean it against 

your leg. 

Keep an eye on your 

notebook 

As you go through airport 

security, hold your bag until 

the person in front of you has 

gone through the screening 

process. 

Avoid using computer bags 

Computer bags make it obvious 

that you are carrying a 

notebook. Instead, carry it in a 

padded briefcase or carry-on 

case. 

Use a screen guard 

These guards prevent someone 

from seeing your screen, 

and are particularly useful if 

you are working on sensitive 

data in a public place. 

Statistics show 

that there is a 1 

in 14 chance that 

your notebook will 

be stolen. 

Alan Salmon is a leading 

authority on accounting 

technology. He is the CEO 

of K2 Enterprises Canada, a 

North American consulting 

firm providing technology 

training to accountants. In 

addition to his work with 

consultants, accountants 

and software companies in 

both Canada and the U.S., 

he is the chairperson of 

the Accounting Technology 

seminar series. He can be 

reached by email at 

alan@k2e.ca or by visiting 

www.k2e.ca. 

Randy Johnston is a shareholder 

in K2 Enterprises 

(www.k2e.com). He has 

been a top-rated speaker 

in the technology industry 

for over 30 years. He was 

inducted into the Accounting 

Hall of Fame in 2011. 

He was selected as a Top 25 

Thought Leader in Accounting 

in 2011 and 2012 and has 

been selected eight times by 

Accounting Today as one of 

the Top 100 Most Influential 

People in Accounting. 

Don’t leave your notebook 

in your hotel room 

Many things get lost in 

hotel rooms, as they are not 

totally secure and there are 

too many key cards floating 

around. If you do leave your 

notebook in your room, put 

the “Do not disturb” sign on 

the door to keep hotel staff 

out. 

Buy a notebook security 

device or program 

If you do need to leave 

your notebook in your 

hotel room, use a notebook 

security cable to attach it to 

a heavy chair, table or desk. 

There are also programs and 

devices that will report the 

location of a stolen laptop. 

These work when the 

notebook connects to the 

Internet and can report the 

notebook’s exact physical 

location via GPS tracking. 

Absolute Software’s LoJack 

and its line of Computrace 

products, for example, offer 

physical location tracing 

as well as capabilities for 

remotely disabling a missing 

computer, retrieving or 

deleting data, and more. 

Affix your name and 

contact info to your 

notebook 

You should put your name 

and contact information, 

along with the promise 

of a “Reward if found – no 

questions asked,” on your 

notebook. This can substantially 

increase your odds of 

getting your notebook back 

in the event of theft or a 

simple mix-up. 

Use strong passwords, 

and do not keep them in 

your notebook bag 

Strong passwords stop unauthorized 

access to individual 

files and even to the entire 

operating system. Of course, 

outlook 09

the strongest password in 

the world is useless if you 

keep it in your notebook 

bag. 

Encrypt your data 

If someone does get your 

notebook and gains access 

to your files, encryption 

(scrambling your data) gives 

you another layer of protection. 

With the Windows 

operating system, you can 

encrypt both files and folders. 

If someone does gain 

access to an important file, 

they cannot decrypt it and 

see your information. With 

more advanced versions 

of Windows, BitLocker 

encryption is available, or 

third-party products like PGP 

or TrueCrypt can be used to 

encrypt the entire drive. 

Cross-Border 

Security for Your 

Portable Devices 

If you regularly travel to the 

U.S. on business, you face 

another potential security 

issue with your notebook 

and its data. U.S. laws allow 

Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) officers to search 

and confiscate notebooks, 

phones, cameras and other 

data-storing devices. Agents 

have also been known to 

download the contents of an 

entire computer hard drive 

and other storage media 

for later review. (Note that 

similar situations occur at the 

borders of other countries 

as well.) So what are your 

options to protect your portable 

devices and data from 

such seizures? 

Travel with a “bare” 

computer 

CBP officers cannot read 

what a device does not 

contain. That is why certain 

companies give their employees 

“forensically clean” 

computers for travel. These 

computers contain the 

operating system, required 

applications, and little or 

no data. Once they arrive at 

their destinations, employees 

work with data stored on 

company servers via secure 

virtual private networks 

(VPN). They can download 

files to their computers, 

upload the results to company 

servers and “forensically 

clean” their notebooks 

before travelling again. 

Since broadband Internet 

access is widely available 

across the U.S., there are few 

problems travelling with a 

clean notebook, unless you 

are downloading large files 

or are in an area with poor 

Internet access. 

Use software with “SaaS” 

Cloud computing is another 

solution to avoid having sensitive 

data on your portable 

devices. Your programs and 

data can be in the cloud and 

all you need to work is an Internet 

connection. However, 

this approach is less secure 

than total forensic cleanliness. 

Your web browser 

tracks your Internet activity 

using cookies, history and 

other data. Make sure you 

delete this record before you 

board your next flight. 

But what if the border 

agents really want your data? 

If a server (your company’s 

or a SaaS provider’s) resides 

within the borders of the 

United States, the U.S. Patriot 

Act enables U.S. government 

agents to access your 

data (and compel the SaaS 

company to keep the breach 

quiet). If the data resides 

outside U.S. borders, but the 

company’s head office or 

chief executives reside in the 

U.S., the data must be turned 

over upon request or the 

U.S. laws allow 

Customs and 

Border Protection 

officers to 

search and confiscate 

notebooks, 

phones, cameras 

and other datastoring 

devices. 

company/executives may 

face charges. 

Back up your data 

If border agents confiscate 

your computer, they cannot 

stop you from working if you 

have a backup of your data 

in a safe place, such as on 

another hard drive or your 

company’s servers. You will 

then be able to load that 

data on another portable 

device. 

Use a different user 

account to hold sensitive 

information 

Today’s computers can be 

used by different people, 

each with their own login. 

Users can password-protect 

their accounts so other users 

with access to that computer 

cannot access programs and 

documents that do not belong 

to them. You can set up 

your notebook with a “clean” 

non-administrative account 

while you are travelling and 

put your sensitive documents 

in a “safe” account for 

which you do not know the 

password. When you confirm 

your arrival at your final destination, 

the colleague who 

created the “safe” account 

can send you the password 

via secure email. 

If you follow the above steps, 

you will find that securing 

your portable devices and 

your data is a fair bit of work. 

However, what happens 

if you do not apply these 

security policies? The bottom 

line is that your devices and 

information are at much 

greater risk. You and your 

business can be liable for 

data loss. Never mind how 

long it will take you to reconfigure 

a new portable device. 

This is the technological version 

of the old adage: penny 

wise and dollar foolish. 

10 outlook

outlook 11

Joanne Loberg, BA, CMP, CEC 

periscope 

12 outlook 

Ready for your next 

career move? Building 

a successful 

career in financial 

leadership involves more 

than great work experience; 

it involves a tailored career 

plan, marketing tools and 

strategically leveraging your 

career to enhance your profile 

within and beyond your 

organization. 

Create a career plan 

The old adage “Keep your 

head down and work hard” 

doesn’t necessarily help you 

build a career as a financial 

leader. Instead, Recruitment 

Team Lead Jim Huynh of Horizon 

Recruitment (formerly 

WPCG Finance & Professional 

Recruitment) advises you to 

“develop a plan and know 

where you want to get in 5 to 

15 years.” 

Be a rock star 

Do your job well and consistently 

outperform your 

performance objectives. Not 

sure if your performance is on 

track? Don’t wait for your annual 

performance review, ask 

your manager for feedback 

and suggestions now to help 

you develop your expertise. 

Show initiative 

Increase your profile by 

speaking up in team and 

organization-wide meetings. 

Suggest strategies to tackle 

old problems and improve 

processes. Volunteer to take 

on projects − the more 

complex and challenging, the 

better. 

Commit to professional 

development 

Read what your leaders are 

reading. Notice the reading 

material on your senior leaders’ 

desks. Commit yourself 

to keeping abreast of the 

broader issues impacting 

organizations and fine-tune 

your technical expertise 

accordingly. Consider the 

CGA-BC Certificate in Executive 

Leadership to strengthen 

your strategic planning, communication, 

project and team 

management, and critical 

decision-making skills. 

Tips on building a robust and rewarding career 

Strategies for Career Success 

Build a sphere of 

influence 

Success rarely happens in isolation. 

Jim Huynh works with 

successful financial leaders 

and advises emerging leaders 

to leverage their careers 

by focusing on “building a 

sphere of influence while 

fostering connections and 

growing their reputation 

beyond their work groups.” 

Get a mentor 

The Corporate Leadership 

Council surveyed CEOs of 

Fortune 500 organizations 

and discovered that one of 

the top reasons CEOs believed 

they were successful 

was having a mentor. Mentors 

guide and direct you, and 

provide critical strategies to 

navigate and advance your 

career. 

Building a 

successful career 

in financial 

leadership 

involves more 

than great work 

experience; it 

involves a tailored 

career plan, 

marketing tools 

and strategically 

leveraging your 

career. 

Joanne Loberg, BA, CMP, 

CEC, provides career 

coaching services to 

professional and executive 

clients needing career 

testing; targeted, accomplishment-based 

resumés 

and cover letters; and interview 

practice to ensure 

they launch a successful 

job search. 

Raise your profile in 

your organization and 

beyond 

Individuals who rise to the 

top typically have rich networks. 

Network with other 

business units to find out 

about their financial reporting 

needs and how your 

division can better serve 

them. Outside your organization, 

use the professional 

networking site LinkedIn 

to build your network. As 

an extra bonus, LinkedIn is 

actively used by recruiters 

to source top talent. Lastly, 

join a Board (www.boardmatch.org) 

so that you can 

expand your network and 

build your leadership skills. 

Communicate your 

success 

In conversations within 

your business unit and 

with key decision makers, 

keep others apprised of key 

projects you have taken on, 

as well as your successes. 

Next time you’re in the 

elevator and a senior leader 

asks how you are doing, 

talk about key projects or 

initiatives you are involved 

with. For example, “Things 

are going well. I’ve just 

begun implementing new 

financial reporting software 

that will greatly improve 

our tracking of financial 

performance within our 

branch offices.” 

Be a great people 

manager 

Advance your people 

management skills: ask your 

manager for the opportunity 

to manage larger teams. 

Look for opportunities to 

turn around team performance, 

coach and develop 

employees, conduct performance 

conversations 

and terminations (when 

necessary), and drive teams 

to successfully tackle key 

projects. Develop a reputation 

for building high-performance 

work teams and 

engaged employees.

Learn the art of 

influencing 

Patricia Hazelwood, Division 

Director of Robert Half Finance 

& Accounting, specifically 

looks for candidates with 

well-honed listening skills, 

since “listening is important 

to management as you must 

listen to your team” in order 

to influence change. She is 

also looking for candidates 

who are decisive, articulate 

communicators without being 

arrogant or pushy. In her 

words, it’s all about “relationship 

management.” Top candidates 

have a track record of 

building strong relationships 

throughout the organization, 

which enable them to influence 

and drive change. 

Fine-tune your 

marketing tools 

Critical to career success in 

today’s highly competitive 

market is a well-crafted, accomplishment-based 

resumé. 

Set yourself apart by highlighting 

your results, such as 

managing large or complex 

projects, implementing IT 

systems and suggesting 

strategies to improve financial 

reporting and increase 

efficiency. Where possible, 

quantify your results. 

Polish your interview 

skills 

Diane Kerley, National Practice 

Leader of Accounting & 

Finance at Aplin Professional, 

states it is imperative that you 

Critical to career 

success in 

today’s highly 

competitive market 

is a well-crafted, 

accomplishmentbased 

resumé. 

consistently put your best 

foot forward. She looks for a 

“great attitude, enthusiasm 

and good communication 

skills.” If nerves get the best 

of you, engage in interview 

coaching with a career coach. 

If you lack confidence and 

clarity when communicating, 

she recommends attending a 

Toastmasters group. 

Kerley also advises you to 

know your resumé inside and 

out, as well as your key accomplishments. 

Successful interview 

candidates are able to 

readily discuss their successes 

and sprinkle these throughout 

their interviews. During 

interviews, present examples 

of your accomplishments 

related to process improvement, 

project management, 

team leadership and other 

contributions to the top- and 

bottom-line performance of 

the organization. 

All three recruiters advise 

that you be prepared for 

these commonly asked 

questions (which typically are 

poorly answered): 

• “Tell me about yourself.” 

(Ensure your answer is 

relevant to the role you are 

applying for.) 

• “Why do you want to work 

for us?” 

• “What do you know about 

us?” 

• “Walk us through your resumé.” 

(Talk about your key 

accomplishments within 

each role.) 

Create a well-defined career 

plan, establish a track record 

of solid performance, take 

on new projects, develop 

your sphere of influence and 

ensure your key accomplishments 

are captured in your 

resumé and presented during 

your interviews. Lastly, Jim 

Huynh says “don’t be afraid of 

change” in order to leverage 

your career and reach your 

goals. 

outlook 13

By Michael McDonald, PhD, CGA (Hon.) 

ethics in 

THE DILEMMA: 

Mark Chagall is a recently graduated CGA who has 

been acting as the junior on an audit of Picasso 

Industries with Hank Van Gogh as lead auditor. Mark 

and Hank have been friends for years and are employed 

by Turner and Matisse, CGAs. The audit has 

progressed very slowly and work is now three weeks 

behind schedule. One of the partners, Bill Turner, 

has asked Mark to explain the delays. 

Mark is worried about what to say to Bill. The 

problem, as Mark sees it, is that due to excessive 

drinking, Hank has been very unfocused during the 

audit. In fact, Mark covered for Hank at two client 

meetings when Hank was too hungover to participate. 

Mark is worried that reporting this to Bill might 

jeopardize Hank’s position and his own friendship 

with Hank. What should Mark do? Further, if Mark 

does report this to Bill, how should Bill respond? 

The Situation 

There are two decision-makers in this dilemma – the 

junior CGA on the audit, Mark, and the senior CGA, Bill. 

Mark feels loyal to Hank both as a professional colleague 

and a friend. However, as a professional, Mark also knows 

that the audit delays will likely negatively impact both the 

client and the accounting firm. Mark has to decide what to 

tell Bill about the lack of progress in the audit and Hank’s 

role in those delays. As partner, Bill will have to decide 

what to do with Mark’s information. Even if Mark is silent 

about Hank’s role in the audit of Picasso, Bill still has the 

problem of dealing with an audit that is progressing far 

too slowly. 

A Response 

CGA member Cheryl Turcotte responded 

to this dilemma. In response 

to whether Mark should report the 

problems due to Hank’s behaviour, she 

wrote: 

I believe that Mark should let Bill know 

that the audit has fallen behind due to 

Hank’s obsession with the bottle. Not 

doing so ‘enables’ Hank to continue 

drinking and, of course, doesn’t solve 

any of his problems. I believe that Mark 

would actually be helping Hank by 

bringing the problem to light and making 

Hank face it. Furthermore, neither 

the client nor the firm should suffer for 

Hank’s addiction. 

I think that this recommendation 

heads in the right direction. It responds 

to the needs of the client and the firm. 

Hank’s drinking is not a purely personal 

matter, and telling Bill about the problem 

could also help Hank address his 

problems with alcoholism. 

But before he does this, Mark should 

remember R105 “Criticism of a Professional 

Colleague” in the CGA-BC Code 

of Ethical Principles and Rules of Conduct 

(CEPROC), since the conversation with 

Bill would be considered a criticism of 

Hank. This rule requires Mark to first 

discuss his issues with Hank and give 

him an opportunity to respond. This is 

only fair to Hank. The conversation may 

also suggest other options to Mark, 

such as letting Hank continue on the 

audit with a warning to “immediately 

clean up his act,” provided this does not 

compromise the integrity of the audit. 

However, Mark may decide that the 

only acceptable option is the request 

that Hank explain his personal issues 

and their impact on the client’s audit 

directly to Bill. Should Hank refuse to 

own up to his problem, Mark would 

then be obligated to inform Hank 

that he is bringing the matter to Bill’s 

attention. 

In regard to what Bill, the partner 

and senior on the audit, should do, Ms. 

Turcotte said: 

If we are to assume that Hank has 

been a valuable employee in the past, I 

believe that Bill should pull him off the 

audit, insist that Hank seek professional 

assistance such as rehab and/ 

or Alcoholics Anonymous and (finally) 

that he should let Hank know the company 

will provide him with a leave of 

absence and keep his job open for his 

return. Bill would be best served by letting 

Hank know that he must choose 

between his job and his drinking. 

Perhaps this will be Hank’s bottom and 

14 outlook

focus 

he will gladly take the chance afforded to 

him to get back on track. 

This is good counsel for Bill. By removing 

Hank from the audit, Bill is protecting 

the client and the accounting firm. Further, 

by ordering Hank to seek professional 

help, Bill is potentially saving a valuable 

employee. Finally, Bill is dealing with 

Hank in an intelligent and compassionate 

manner. Of course Hank may not take the 

opportunity and he may continue in his 

addiction. In that case, Turner and Matisse 

would have no option other than dismissing 

Hank. 

What’s an Ethics Issue? 

In her note, Ms. Turcotte went on to comment: 

I do not normally react to these questions 

but I honestly don’t think there are any 

Michael McDonald is Professor 

Emeritus of Applied Ethics at the W. 

Maurice Young Centre for Applied 

Ethics at the University of British Columbia. 

In 2006, McDonald received 

an Honorary CGA for his extensive 

work in accounting ethics education. 

McDonald welcomes suggestions 

for new cases and solutions for this 

column. 

other right answers. This seems to be more 

a question of addiction than of ethics. 

Furthermore, there are human rights 

issues at hand where one can argue that 

Hank is sick and should be given every 

opportunity to ‘cure’ himself. In short they 

should do all that they can to get Hank 

back on track, but Hank needs to know 

that it cannot be to the detriment of the 

firm and its clients. 

So what is an ethics issue? A useful way 

of thinking about this is suggested by 

my colleague, Professor Susan Cox, who 

distinguishes between big “E” and small “e” 

ethics issues. For CGAs, most big “E” Ethics 

issues are defined in CEPROC. Then there 

are the multiple small “e” ethics issues we 

face every day, ranging from matters of 

courtesy and politeness to issues of safety, 

human rights and acting with decency 

toward our fellow humans. 

In both Ethics and ethics, there are many 

black and white issues with clear right and 

wrong answers. However, there will also 

be grey areas where the decision-makers 

have to make judgement calls. Here, good 

people will sometimes disagree. Consider 

what a difference it would make if Hank 

was only a so-so employee or had been 

previously warned about his drinking 

problems. Those factors might shift the 

issue, leading to a different decision. 

The Next Dilemma 

Lydia Ko, CGA, is employed by Maxim Accounting 

Services. Lydia has just returned 

from an on-site meeting with a new client, 

Tom Rex, the CEO of Dinosaur Construction 

Ltd. 

She tells her best friend and colleague 

Francesca Paulo that it was a very disturbing 

and upsetting experience and that she 

doesn’t want to return to the site. Lydia spoke 

of sexist and racist remarks from the Dinosaur 

Construction workers, which Tom summarily 

dismissed with the comment “boys will be 

boys.” 

Francesca suggests that Lydia voice her 

concerns to their boss, Henry Morgan, who 

is also a CGA. Lydia is worried about Henry’s 

reaction. Henry asked her to work with Dinosaur 

because she has an ideal skill set for their 

business issues. He also mentioned that this 

account is so substantial for Maxim that “we 

can’t afford to lose it.” 

What should Lydia do? If Lydia does voice 

her concerns to her boss Henry, how should 

Henry respond? 

Please email us your thoughts on this ethical 

dilemma. We accept anonymous submissions 

provided we can verify that you are a CGA or 

student. Send your feedback to 

edowning@cga-bc.org. 

outlook 15

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$ 

$ 

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16 outlook

$ 

Trends in Accounting 

Software 

More features and a move to the cloud 

Accounting software continues to shift to “cloud computing,” which 

will ultimately move accounting software into a new dimension. 

Accounting in the cloud allows everyone in the organization to 

have the same information at the same time, with a common set of 

applications easily accessible over the Internet. 

This will involve a major shift in how organizations deal with data. When accounting moves online, it does 

not stay in its own cubicle and it naturally wants to link to everything else such as payroll, CRM, your website 

and your other business applications. When accounting is locked in a desktop application, only a few 

people use it in the back office. By contrast, online accounting is multi-user, allows front staff in, and links 

By Alan Salmon 

outlook 17


Software 

$ 

$ 

to all the other business systems. Online 

accounting will evolve into broader business 

management. 

Accounting in the new world will be 

a hybrid. Many enterprises are already 

looking beyond their private cloud and 

adopting hybrid cloud computing, which 

maintains the benefits of traditional servers 

and brings in the accessibility of the 

public cloud (a public cloud sells services 

to anyone on the Internet). 

As accounting software vendors move 

their products to the cloud, publishers are 

also recruiting commercial hosting companies 

to provide hosted versions of their 

client/server-based applications. With the 

escalating popularity of tablet computers, 

smartphones and other mobile devices, 

vendors are also making it easier to manage 

cloud-hosted solutions using these 

devices. 

Accounting remains the interpretation 

of the numbers, but the manual entry and 

coding of transactions will be reduced 

significantly over the next few years. A 

perfect example of this is the new Wave 

Accounting solution for small businesses. 

Wave Accounting imports bank data 

automatically from over 10,000 financial 

institutions, thereby eliminating manual 

data entry. 

Online systems also facilitate Electronic 

Data Interchange between banks, suppliers 

and customers. A centrally hosted 

application allows vendors to continuously 

link to more systems and reduce 

manual coding. Only brand new transactions 

should ever have to be coded. Even 

the smallest business will have a near 

real-time view of their financials. 

While the movement is definitely 

gaining momentum, there will be serious 

resistance to doing accounting in 

the cloud. Major concerns include data 

security, backups, legal issues as to 

who owns the data and concerns about 

Internet shutdowns. Those adopting 

cloud-based solutions should have a 

clearly documented strategy for getting 

their data out of the product should they 

decide to make a change. One example of 

a provider with excellent documentation 

is Google’s “Data Liberation Front” (www. 

dataliberation.org). 

So, does this mean the end of traditional 

server-based accounting programs? 

No! They will certainly be around 

for the foreseeable future. However, from 

my perspective, the move to the cloud 

will be a popular and practical choice for 

many organizations. 

Other trends in the accounting software 

world in 2012 include the following: 

• Businesses no longer want a standalone 

system. CFOs realize that integration 

provides transparency across 

multiple aspects of the enterprise, and 

that having one system cover multiple 

departments is a great way to achieve 

that visibility. It is also simpler and 

usually more cost-effective to maintain 

one system rather than several. 

• There is a desire to have standardized 

databases and tight integration with 

Microsoft Office for reporting in Excel 

and integrating with Exchange and 

Outlook calendars. 

• Buyers want to see systems designed 

specifically for their “unique” needs. 

Stand-alone accounting systems are 

inherently generic, and the specialtyspecific 

features of a system are typically 

found in the automation of other 

$ 

processes (shop floor control, project 

management, inventory control, etc.) 

that are removed from accounting. As a 

result, buyers seeking specialty-specific 

solutions naturally shy away from 

“generic” accounting applications and 

implement complete packages. 

• The emergence of Software as a Service 

enables collaboration and communication 

that was either very difficult or 

not achievable with older client-server 

systems. This collaboration enables 

companies to implement expansive 

systems to tie the enterprise together 

more easily. 

• Decision-makers are opting for systems 

that support consumer technologies 

and trends (such as remote access 

with mobile devices, integration with 

social media, and open and standardbased 

systems). This will naturally 

squeeze out horizontal accounting 

systems because they can offer only 

one function or cannot support the 

“must-have” consumer needs. 

$ 

Software vendors are reacting to these 

trends by offering additional modules 

and customizations built for specific 

needs and narrow vertical markets. Their 

customers then implement these packages, 

which enhance their generic, standalone 

accounting software, and usually 

integrate to other applications. This is evident 

in the software accounting solutions 

reviewed in this article. 

This trend seems to vary with company 

size. Most very small companies (with a 

handful of employees and less than $1 

million in annual revenue) looking for 

a $200-$500 accounting system will opt 

18 outlook

$ 

for generic packages such as QuickBooks 

or Simply Accounting. However, once 

buyers get above the $1 million to $2 

million annual revenue range, they tend 

to seek out industry-specific or integrated 

solutions. 

So, in summary, many businesses will 

continue to use their existing serverbased 

systems. However, larger businesses 

are increasingly moving some of their 

accounting to the cloud and that trend 

will continue to grow. 

A SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTING 

SOFTWARE TODAY 

Here’s a short synopsis of the direction of 

the major accounting software solutions; 

a more detailed analysis can be found 

online at www.cga-bc.org. 

.............. 

AccountEdge 

For 2012, the emphasis is on usability 

and mobility. A redesigned Command 

Centre, for example, improves the user 

experience. The new Side Bar and additional 

menus make it easier to navigate 

the company file, while retaining the 

familiar AccountEdge flow chart layout. 

Enhancements to AccountEdge Mobile 

(iOS) allow mobile users to record sales 

and activity slips, enter expenses and 

contacts, and sync to the desktop version. 

With the new mileage tracker (in both 

AccountEdge and AccountEdge Mobile), 

users can track the date, note the vehicle 

used, keep trip notes, apply mileage to a 

specific job and add mileage to customer 

invoices when billing with reimbursable 

expenses. 

Additionally, AccountEdge has responded 

to customer requests to support 

Many enterprises are 

already adopting hybrid 

cloud computing, 

which maintains the 

benefits of traditional 

servers and brings in 

the accessibility of the 

public cloud. 

$ 

multiple billing rates and retainers. The 

new billing rate matrix allows companies 

that bill for their services to set multiple 

rates for the same activity, which 

$ 

can be driven by customer or employee. 

Retainer management allows attorneys, 

graphic designers or any firm that works 

on retainer to receive payments and add 

expenses to a retainer account to pay bills 

on behalf of clients. A minimum retainer 

balance can be set and a single click is all 

that’s needed to replenish requests and 

print customer retainer statements. 

.............. 

Adagio 

Adagio is finalizing its cloud implementation, 

making it simple to deploy a 

hosted environment. Purchase Orders for 

Adagio 8.1C will ship with the familiar 

Adagio interface, providing a segmentleading 

purchase order tracking module 

for both product and service companies. 

Adagio ePrint automates report creation 

and filing, including accounting copies 

of forms, without compromising the 

audit trail. The addition of user-specified 

colour display in all master file grids 

allows companies to highlight customers, 

items or orders, so that details about the 

record can be known without having to 

drill down into it. 

Users may now add validation to their 

optional fields and force entry of valid 

values to virtually eliminate data entry 

errors. Personalization options, such 

as implied decimal entry for amounts, 

continue to improve a system already 

designed for high-speed data entry. 

Not-for-profit organizations will appreciate 

a streamlined budget entry process, 

improved departmental security and the 

ability to email complete sets of financial 

outlook 19


Software 

$ 

statements as an Excel Workbook in a 

single click off the general ledger. 

.............. 

Blue Link Elite 

The Automated Report Management 

module (ARM) is now part of the outof-the-box 

package. ARM facilitates the 

automated dissemination of reports or 

documents by email and/or fax to designated 

recipients, using easy to establish 

user-defined rules that dictate who 

receives what, when and how. 

Blue Link is continuing its tremendous 

success within the medical and food 

distribution industries through robust 

lot tracking/traceability and expiry date 

tracking. Bar code scanning is also fully 

supported as the industry places increased 

importance on warehouse automation. 

A fully revamped version of Blue Link’s 

apparel matrix now allows users to create 

and manage many size/colour/style variations 

of inventory. This matrix is useful 

for more than just the apparel industry. 

Blue Link offers a hosted solution 

of Blue Link Elite, priced per user per 

month, and includes a private virtual 

server environment with substantial data 

storage in addition to the ERP data, and 

(optionally) Microsoft Office Standard 

Edition. 

In early 2013, Blue Link will introduce a 

new user interface upgrade with advanced 

Office 2013-style ribbons. 

.............. 

Connected Accounting & ERP 

Connected will be adding mobile capabilities, 

enabling users to securely access 

their accounting information and enter 

data from any portable device (including 

Buyers seeking specialtyspecific 

solutions naturally 

shy away from “generic” 

accounting applications 

and implement complete 

packages. 

$ 

$ 

iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android), 

with the initial focus on iOS devices. This 

platform-independent approach will help 

managers check customer contact details 

and account balances/history, as well as 

other tasks, such as reprinting invoices, 

from anywhere that they have an Internet 

connection. Businesses looking to incorporate 

the convenience of electronic payments 

as part of the regular cheque run 

will have this capability in 2012, saving 

both time and money for the Accounts 

Payable department. Manufacturers will 

find efficiencies in the warehouse with the 

ability to use bar coding to scan inventory 

in and out by lot or serial number. 

.............. 

Microsoft Dynamics 

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 and 

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 will be 

released in the last quarter of 2012, adding 

new cloud deployment options and 

capabilities while enhancing the core 

functionality of the programs. 

Businesses can choose to host their 

business management software in their 

own data centres or in Microsoft’s 

facilities, and customers can license the 

software through an upfront payment 

or a monthly subscription fee. Microsoft 

Dynamics GP remains a great choice 

for companies outgrowing their entrylevel 

accounting software and Microsoft 

continues to enhance the migration 

experience for customers coming off 

solutions like QuickBooks. With its over 

200 certified add-on solutions, Microsoft 

Dynamics NAV remains the preferred 

choice for small and mid-sized businesses 

looking for deep vertical functionality 

within their specific industry. 

20 outlook

$ 

Sage 300 ERP 

(formerly called Sage Accpac ERP) 

Sage expanded mobile access with the 

launch of Sage 300 ERP 2012 in September 

2012. It will deliver a better 

customer experience through productivity 

enhancements that simplify business 

processes and seamlessly integrate with 

new web-based services to enable a mobile 

workforce. 

The latest version will improve user 

experience with Sage Visual Process 

Flows, which provides a graphical, process-oriented 

interface that can increase 

productivity, and Sage Advisor Update, 

which enables businesses subscribing to 

a Sage Business Care Plan to keep Sage 

300 ERP current with the latest updates 

and enhancements. Improvements to 

order entry for mobile salespeople and 

back-office personnel accelerate the sales 

process and make it easier to accept 

credit card payments using Sage Payments. 

New connected services, such as 

Sage Sales Tax and Sage CRM Mobile Access, 

expand and enhance Sage 300 ERP 

functionality using seamless integrations 

that can extend over the web and create a 

mobile workforce. 

.............. 

Sage BusinessVision 

Changes were made to simplify the point 

of sale process, including a new touch 

screen compatible interface, the option 

to hold a sale-in-process and reprint 

sales receipts, more straightforward sales 

returns, the ability to print gift receipts 

and the option to select a different sales 

person with each sale. There are also 

improvements to Canadian payroll reporting, 

specifically the ability to modify 

$ 

T4 values, print and electronically 

file T4 and T4 summary reports, and 

electronically file form T5018 for vendors. 

New tools allow users to define 

$ 

provincial-specific rules for charging 

either the full HST rate or just the GST 

portion of the sales tax, simplifying 

sales tax calculations for sales and drop 

shipments. 

.............. 

QuickBooks 

Intuit Canada is focusing on delivering 

a clean and simple user experience 

across an increasingly broad range 

of small business financial management 

software products. With the 

re-imagined and improved design of its 

flagship QuickBooks desktop product 

in 2013, Intuit Canada has signalled 

a renewed emphasis on both robust 

functionality and ease of use. A suite of 

enhancements in QuickBooks Accountant 

2013 will save time for accountants. 

These include a new batch enter 

transactions feature that lets accountants 

enter multiple transactions into 

QuickBooks in a single step, and a new 

feature that allows accountants to send 

general journal entries to their clients 

with the click of a button. 

Intuit Canada is also staying ahead 

of the curve in the market shift toward 

digital and connected services with the 

recently launched QuickBooks Online 

offering that makes it easy to manage 

critical business tasks on the go. This 

shift to the online world is also seen 

in Intuit’s push to expand its payment 

offerings, such as Intuit GoPayment, 

which allows small businesses to take 

credit card payments on an iPhone or 

Android mobile phone. Another payment 

solution, Intuit Merchant Service 

Center for QuickBooks, provides a 

credit and debit payment solution for 

small business owners who typically 

invoice and receive payments by mail or 

phone. 

.............. 

Sage 50 Accounting– 

Canadian Edition 

Formerly called Simply Accounting, 

Sage 50 Accounting 2013 (available in 

October 2012) continues to build upon 

its more than 25 years of experience to 

help Canadian businesses manage their 

business and financial information more 

easily, remain accurate and compliant 

with payroll, and glean relevant trends 

to make insightful decisions to grow 

their business. 

New features of Sage 50 will help 

users comply with payroll reporting 

requirements. Sage 50 records, tracks 

and enters the total insurable vacation 

hours directly onto the Record of 

Employment form that is created within 

the solution. Other new payroll tools 

will make it easier to pull up individual 

paycheques and to post paycheques into 

future years. Users will also find added 

convenience with electronic payment 

notifications to vendors and the ability 

to record, process and track credit card 

payments in U.S. or Canadian dollars. 

Improvements have also been made to 

Sage 50 Business Intelligence with the 

introduction of a Report Designer and a 

Trends Forecast dashboard. Lastly, a minor 

tweak that everyone will appreciate 

is a new and efficient five-click installation 

process. 

outlook 21


Software 

SYSPRO 

SYSPRO released a Point of Sale 

system earlier this year. This scalable 

web-deployed solution handles 

the customer-facing front-end of 

your business. Developed using the 

Microsoft® .NET framework, it has 

a flexible n-tier architecture that 

enables a high degree of extensibility 

and interoperability. Its ‘always-on’ 

design means the store can continue 

to operate even if the connection to 

the central database is lost, delivering 

real-time operations when and where 

they matter most. 

SYSPRO has also developed preconfigured 

process patterns. The 

SYSPRO Process Modeling system 

produces a baseline model of business 

processes and seeks to integrate them 

to SYSPRO’s predefined architecture. 

There are two very basic but compelling 

reasons to start with a predefined 

model. First, the models reflect best 

practice in a particular industry. For 

example, there could be eight scenario 

patterns of how to capture a requisition 

and you could choose the scenario 

that most closely matches your 

process and then configure the system 

to meet any additional requirements. 

Second, the business will know upfront 

what the system can and cannot 

do and use that as a basic point from 

which to start. This way, a business 

has a blueprint of how its enterprise 

software is mapped to its business 

processes, enabling organizations to 

review and re-engineer processes as 

and when needed. 

Software vendors are 

focused on making 

their products more 

user friendly, and the 

enhancements that we 

will see in 2012 and 2013 

continue that trend. 

.............. 

Alan Salmon is a leading authority on 

accounting technology. He is the CEO 

of K2 Enterprises Canada, a worldwide 

consulting firm providing technology 

training to accountants. In addition to 

his work with consultants, accountants 

and software companies in both Canada 

and the U.S., he is the chairperson 

of the Accounting Technology seminar 

series. He can be reached by email at 

alan@k2e.ca or by visiting www.k2e.ca. 

To read Alan Salmon’s detailed review 

of the latest accounting software, 

please visit the CGA-BC website at 

www.cga-bc.org. 

Wave Accounting 

This is one of the newer players on 

the scene. Developed in Canada, Wave 

Accounting is a free online doubleentry 

accounting app designed to 

make it easy for small businesses to get 

their books in order and get rid of the 

shoebox. 

How does Wave get rid of the shoebox? 

Wave Accounting imports bank 

data automatically, from over 10,000 financial 

institutions, eliminating manual 

data entry. The application is simple 

and easy to understand, but under the 

hood, it is full double-entry accounting, 

with reports, journal transactions and 

more. 

For business owners that need to 

track multiple businesses, Wave has 

an elegant solution that allows you to 

switch between tabs so you can see all 

of your businesses from one screen. Additionally, 

you can easily separate business 

and personal expenses to provide 

more accurate reporting. 

At time of writing, Wave had already 

surpassed 350,000 users, after being on 

the market for less than two years. Wave 

Payroll, a full-featured payroll solution, 

integrates to Wave Accounting or can 

be run on its own. 

Summary 

Accounting software in 2012 is in a 

stable environment and radical changes 

are not on the horizon. Software 

vendors are focused on making their 

products more user friendly, and the 

enhancements that we will see in 2012 

and 2013 continue that trend. 

22 outlook

CGAs are accomplished professionals. In this feature, we highlight members who land major new 

positions, get promoted or achieve significant professional success. Please share your news with us. 

keepingTabs 

> > 

CGAs in the 

News 

The CGA-Canada 2012 

Reviewer’s Forum will be held 

November 21–23, 2012, at the 

Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in 

downtown Toronto. For more 

information, visit ppm.cgacanada.org. 

Eileen Reppenhagen, CGA, 

was featured in The Globe and 

Mail in an article that examined 

social media usage and 

strategy. The article, titled ‘Many 

professionals missing out on 

social media opportunity,’ was 

published on July 5. 

The Certified General Accountants 

Association of Canada has 

donated $50,000 to a research 

centre at the Telfer School of 

Management at the University 

of Ottawa. The CGA-Canada 

Accounting and Governance 

Research Centre is expected 

to invest in research over the 

coming year on corporate 

governance, risk management, 

business and finance. 

Members on the 

Move 

Len Archer, CGA, has been 

appointed Director of 

Finance for the United Nations 

International 

School in Hanoi, 

Vietnam, 

one of two 

United Nations 

Schools in the world. 

Reid Hurst Nagy Inc.’s Daniel 

Dong, CGA, has been promoted 

to Manager of Client 

Services. He obtained his CGA 

designation in 2012. 

Tina Peters, CGA, CGA-BC’s 

Director, Public Practice 

Services, has left the 

Association after 15 years to 

return to public practice in 

Kamloops. 

Charles Reid, CGA, has been 

appointed President & CEO 

of BC Hydro. 

He joined BC 

Hydro in 2008 

and previously 

served as the 

company’s 

Executive Vice 

President, 

Finance and Chief Financial 

Officer. 

Brian Teed, CGA, has been 

appointed Chief Financial 

Officer for Digagogo Ventures 

Corp., a provider of information 

and marketing communications 

technology based 

in Santa Monica, California. 

Brian is also founding partner 

of Teed & Company, based in 

Surrey. 

> 

In Memoriam 

Anthony “Tony” Ducie, 

FCGA, passed away on August 

1. Tony was a Past-Chair of 

CGA-Canada. 

Mary Pattison, FCGA, passed 

away on September 4 in 

Victoria at the age of 93. Mary 

served as CGA-BC’s President 

for 1988 and she was one of 

its most active representatives 

at the local, provincial and 

national levels. 

Helen Knowles, FCGA, 

passed away on July 6 at the 

age of 89. In 1985, she became 

the second woman to be 

elected president of the Association. 

She was also named 

to CGA-Canada’s national 

celebration of 100 CGAs Who 

Have Made a Difference. 

We appreciate your contributions to ‘Keeping Tabs.’ If you would like to submit 

news or updates concerning yourself or a CGA you know, please email the details to: 

outlook@cga-bc.org. 

outlook 23

feature 

“Everything I have in my life I owe to Laura, and I hope that one day what I have done in this long 

weekend will come back in the form of a life-saving gift for her.” Terry Craig, CGA 

Terry Craig, CGA, shows that organ donors can take on the world’s 

most challenging athletic events 

By Lynn Sully 

A True Ultraman 

> 

Like most British Columbians, you probably spent the August long weekend enjoying 

the sun, watching the Olympics and relaxing with family and friends. Terry Craig, CGA, 

spent his long weekend a little differently from the rest of us. 

As one of 31 participants in the three-day Ultraman Canada Championships, he 

swam 10 kilometres, cycled 420 kilometres and ran 84 kilometres – all in under 34 

hours. And the 45-year-old did all this with only one kidney, having donated the 

other to his wife Laura seven years ago. Craig’s goal was to raise awareness that organ 

donors can continue to live life as fully as everyone else. 

Craig’s Ultraman was a gruelling event, made more complicated by tendonitis, 

headwinds, significant elevation gains and record high temperatures in the Penticton 

area. “However, at no point did I ever question whether I would be able to 

finish,” he says. “Having my wife Laura in the crew vehicle, and being able to see her 

regularly throughout the race was my inspiration. I could keep pushing and I knew I 

could do it.” 

Craig has participated in a handful of other triathlons. But while he says he completed 

these other races for himself, the Ultraman was different. “I did this for Laura 

and for everyone who suffers from kidney disease, which is a debilitating, life-threatening 

and exhausting condition. I want people to know that you can make a huge 

difference in someone’s life by donating a kidney.” 

The road to Ultraman 

When you talk with Craig, the conversation circles back continually to his wife. Laura 

and Terry met in 2003; at the time, she had polycystic kidney disease and knew that 

she would eventually require a transplant or dialysis. 

“When I met Laura, she was just starting to feel the effects of the disease,” remembers 

Terry. “She had been working with autistic children and waitressing, but she 

eventually became too weak to work and had to give up her jobs.” 

Unknown to Laura, Craig began researching whether he was a potential match 

as an organ donor. Although he 

originally thought that having 

colitis would make him ineligible, 

he discovered that he was a match 

for Laura and that he met all the 

physical criteria. 

The two were married in September 

2005, after which Craig 

informed Laura that he was a 

potential match. Two months later, 

the newlyweds came to Vancouver 

for the transplant operation. “It 

was only once they wheeled Terry 

out for the operation that I finally 

believed that this was happening,” 

says Laura. 

Craig’s transplanted kidney 

began working in Laura right away. 

Within a few weeks, he was up and 

about and he returned to work five 

weeks later. 

“Donating a kidney to Laura was 

a phenomenal experience,” Craig 

says. “It was incredible to see her 

going from being so sick to being 

able to do the things we all take for 

granted.” 

“Kidney disease is subtle,” explains 

Laura. “You’re tired all the time, but 

you just assume that tiredness is 

normal. After the transplant, everything 

was so vibrant. Food tasted 

amazing. I had so much energy. 

I hiked up a mountain in Banff 

eight months after the surgery, we 

travelled to London, I started working 

full-time again and I was able 

to do things I’d never been able to 

do – like going for bike rides with 

my kids.” 

Unfortunately, after four years of 

living life to the full, Laura became 

ill with a serious virus. While fighting 

the virus, her body recognized the 

donated kidney as a foreign object. 

The kidney began to fail, and a yearand-a-half 

later, it had deteriorated 

to the point where she needed to 

go on dialysis. She expects to have 

24 outlook

1 

RIDE OF ON 

O 

E 

N 

OF ONE 

outlook 25

feature 

Learn more 

Visit www.bethekidney.com 

to read Terry’s day-by-day recap 

of the three-day Ultraman 

event and to learn more about 

how you can make a difference 

through organ donation. 

Go to www.transplant. 

bc.ca/living_donation.htm 

for more information about 

being a living kidney donor. 

If you haven’t already 

registered that you would 

like to donate your organs 

after your death, go to 

www.transplant.bc.ca to 

complete the online registration 

form. 

Your business or organization 

can help, too. One option is 

to allow employees to take a 

leave of absence to be a living 

donor, as is done by Novartis 

Pharmaceuticals and provided 

for in the collective agreements 

for B.C.’s public school teachers, 

public sector employees and 

employees of the Provincial 

Health Services Authority. You 

can also register your business 

with EI’s SUB program 

to provide a top-up salary to 

employees who take time off 

to be a living organ donor. See 

www.servicecanada.gc.ca/ 

eng/cs/sub/060.shtml for 

more information. 

to wait for 10 years for a cadaver 

kidney, as the wait list in B.C. for 

those with her blood type tends 

to be longer than the norm of six 

years. 

Laura is philosophical about 

the setback, but it’s clear that it 

exerts a heavy emotional and 

physical toll. When you have 

kidney failure, she explains, your 

battery doesn’t recharge and it 

can take a long time to recover 

from even basic tasks. It means 

that she tires easily – and that she 

is now more of a cheerleader for 

her husband and two children 

rather than participating alongside 

them. 

As Laura and Terry grappled 

with the effects of Laura’s kidney 

disease, Craig felt a sense of 

responsibility to raise awareness 

about the value of organ donation 

and how it can transform the 

lives of both the recipient and the 

donor. He says that he wanted 

to show people that living organ 

donors are not limited by the 

donation and that they can continue 

to live a full and healthy life. 

The ultimate 

physical challenge 

“I wanted to do something that 

would really stand out, so that 

people would take notice,” says 

Craig. He crossed events like 

marathons and triathlons off his 

list, since thousands of British Columbians 

will participate in these 

endurance events each year. 

He wanted something uniquely 

challenging, and he found it in 

the Ultraman Canada Championships, 

open to only 31 invited 

participants. If he could do the 

Ultraman, Craig told himself, he 

could show the world that living 

organ donors can do anything. 

Training for an Ultraman is like 

heading into unknown territory. 

How do you prepare your body 

for three full days of physical 

activity encompassing longdistance 

swimming, biking and 

running? Further, given how few 

people complete in Ultraman 

events (there are only two other 

Ultraman races held each year, in 

Wales and Hawaii), it’s not like you 

can easily find training programs 

or meet up with training partners 

at your local running store. And 

when you’re a CGA who manages 

a busy practice in Osoyoos 

and values time with his family, 

how do you carve out the hours 

needed to prepare physically for 

an event of this magnitude? 

Dave Nielsen, CGA, a partner 

in Schmitz, Anderson & Nielsen 

in Prince George, completed an 

Ironman in 1992, and he sheds 

some light on the training and 

personal sacrifices required to 

train for an endurance event. 

Each day, he says, requires training 

for two of the three activities. 

He would get up at 6:00 for a 

swim and then do two hours 

of cycling or running at night. 

Nielsen admits that finding the 

time for training was particularly 

difficult during tax season. 

“The training is as much mental 

preparation as physical,” he 

says. “The mind has to know that 

you are physically able to do it.” 

Craig also insists that endurance 

events require as much – if 

not more – mental stamina as 

physical stamina. He claims that 

shorter races are the true test of 

your physical capabilities, and 

that endurance events are more a 

test of your emotions. 

“Doing something like the 

Ultraman is being able to say, ok 

this is what I need to do to get 

through the next 12 hours,” says 

Craig. “It’s the same thing with 

work and those 12-hour days during 

tax season, when you have to 

figure out how to pace and push 

yourself to get through the day.” 

For Craig, the longer distances 

are a real test of patience and 

perseverance. “And that’s where 

I look to Laura for inspiration. For 

her, every day is an endurance 

test. That’s why I have her picture 

on my bike – to remind me of her 

courage and strength.” 

Eliminating the 

financial costs of 

organ donation 

In addition to demonstrating that 

organ donors are not physically 

limited by their donation, Craig 

wants to reduce the financial 

barriers that might prevent 

people from donating an organ. 

These are the costs associated 

with travel, accommodation and 

medical expenses, as well as the 

lost income during the up to 

eight-week recovery period. 

Eileen Reppenhagen, CGA, says 

that under the Income Tax Act, 

both the organ donor and recipient 

– as well as one additional 

individual for each person – may 

be able to claim reasonable travel 

and medical payments associated 

with organ transplants as a 

medical tax credit to reduce taxes 

payable. 

This doesn’t fully address the 

financial issue, however, as it does 

not reimburse donors for their 

expenses. Lorraine Gerard, Executive 

Director of the BC Branch of 

the Kidney Foundation of Canada, 

believes that in an ideal world, 

organ donors would not be out 

of pocket for any expenses associated 

with donation. 

In 2006, the BC Branch of 

the Kidney Foundation and BC 

Transplant launched an innovative 

pilot program to cover the 

expenses of organ donors – 

26 outlook

“Doing something like the Ultraman is being able to say, ok this is what I need to do to get through 

the next 12 hours. It’s the same thing with work and those 12-hour days during tax season, when 

you have to figure out how to pace and push yourself to get through the day.” Terry Craig, CGA 

including travel, accommodation, 

meals and some loss of income. 

Organ donors were reimbursed 

for 50 per cent lost wages (up to 

$350 per week) during the period 

of their operation and recovery. 

“We knew it was the right thing 

to do, but we wanted to launch 

the pilot project to see if it could 

be sustainable,” says Gerard. “We 

also wanted to create an equitable 

program that would appeal 

to other jurisdictions and encourage 

a more consistent approach 

to expense reimbursement across 

the country.” 

The pilot project was a definite 

success, and in 2011 it became 

fully funded in B.C. by the Provincial 

Health Services Authority. As 

of April 2011, there are reimbursement 

programs in all provinces 

(often modelled on the B.C. pilot) 

so that anyone donating a kidney 

(or portion of their liver) to a 

Canadian recipient is eligible to 

make a claim for reimbursement. 

B.C. recently increased its loss of 

income support to 55 per cent 

of net income to a maximum of 

$400 per week. To date, more 

than 600 donors have been reimbursed 

for expenses associated 

with donating an organ to a B.C. 

recipient. 

While it’s difficult to prove a 

direct correlation between the 

reimbursement program and an 

increase in the number of living 

organ transplants, Gerard says 

that the program has enabled donors 

to schedule surgeries around 

the best time for the recipient, 

rather than when it is financially 

convenient for the donor. 

The next step, according to 

Terry Craig, is to find ways to 

cover all of a donor’s lost wages. 

He would like to see businesses 

and organizations step up and 

do what they can to cover 

these costs. This past spring he 

registered his business, Kemp 

Harvey Kemp, through Employment 

Insurance’s Supplemental 

Unemployment Benefit plan. 

Through this top-up program, 

any employee at Kemp Harvey 

Kemp who takes time off to be an 

organ donor will receive up to 95 

per cent of their salary for up to 

six weeks. 

He wants other businesses 

to get on board, and he will 

be approaching local service 

organizations to promote the 

idea. Craig would also like to see 

the federal government provide 

businesses with a tax credit or 

grant in exchange for paying their 

employees’ salaries while on leave 

to donate an organ. 

Craig points out that organ 

donations are far more costeffective 

than dialysis. In B.C., he 

says, the waiting list for a cadaver 

organ donation is six years; the 

annual cost of dialysis for a patient 

with end-stage renal disease 

is $60,000. A transplant, on the 

other hand, costs around $23,000, 

with ongoing annual costs of 

$6,000 for anti-rejection drugs. 

“Over a six-year period, we’re 

comparing a cost of $360,000 

for dialysis to $60,000 for the 

transplant option,” he says. “Organ 

transplants are incredibly costefficient, 

and I think that government 

should be doing everything 

it can to offer incentives or grants 

to individuals, businesses and 

organizations to encourage 

donation.” 

Showing it can be 

done 

On the third and final day of the 

Ultraman event, Craig completed 

the equivalent of a double marathon 

in just under 11 hours. He 

crossed the finish line accompanied 

by Laura and the cheers of 

hundreds of supporters, many 

wearing yellow “be the kidney” 

shirts designed and hand-painted 

by Laura and Haley, Craig’s 

14-year-old stepdaughter. 

“The highlight of the event 

was holding Laura at the end,” he 

says. “It capped off an incredibly 

emotional three days – this was 

the most emotional race I’ve ever 

done.” 

A few days later, Craig was 

quoted in the Penticton Western 

News as saying “I always just have 

to look to my wife for inspiration, 

because she has to do the same 

thing every day. She doesn’t have 

a choice, and I felt the same way. 

I just didn’t have a choice for her 

and for everyone who suffers 

from kidney disease, this was the 

difference I can make in their 

lives.” 

As Laura says, “People get 

scared that their life might be 

limited if they donate an organ. 

But Terry shows us all that you 

can live a full, active and insane 

life with just one kidney!” 

outlook 27

feature 

“If you think rates can’t go any lower, I can tell you that current yields to maturity for Swiss 

bonds at five years or less are actually negative. Although this is an unlikely scenario for 

Canada, it’s very likely that rates will remain historically low in the near future.” Steve Zadra 

GICS (Guaranteed 

Investment 

Certificates) 

GICs offer yields usually favourable 

to Government of Canada bonds 

and can be a good option for fixed 

income investors. With potential government 

guarantees, this is an attractive 

choice in lieu of Canada bonds. 

Income options in a low interest rate economy 

By Steve Zadra 

A New Normal 

> 

Interest rates have been at historical lows for many years now, with 10-year Canadian 

government bonds breaching the 1.65 per cent level this June. Low rates are 

supposed to boost the economy by making lending cheaper and stoking economic 

activity. However, there is a growing countereffect to savers who are earning much 

less income than in the past. This is particularly troubling for the growing population 

entering, or already in, retirement. 

And if you think rates can’t go any lower, I can tell you that current yields to maturity 

for Swiss bonds at five years or less are actually negative! Although this is an unlikely 

scenario for Canada, it’s very likely that rates will remain historically low in the near 

future. 

So what are investors to do? Over the past few years, the managers of the Canada 

Pension Plan have increased exposure to global real estate and infrastructure assets. 

Some Canadians have followed suit by looking at U.S. real estate options, but for many 

investors the costs and time are not worthwhile, nor do they have the expertise or 

buying power of the CPP or other pension funds. 

There are a number of other options for individuals seeking passive income. 

Although the list below is not exhaustive, it does summarize some of the income 

investments that are available. 

Corporate Bonds 

With the high demand for the safety 

of Government of Canada bonds, 

good quality corporate bonds (also 

referred to as “investment grade 

bonds”) may offer a nice premium in 

yield to government bonds. 

Convertible 

Debentures 

Debentures, depending on who has 

issued them, will likely have more risk 

than a traditional corporate bond, 

but may provide nice yield enhancement 

in a diversified income portfolio. 

Current yields tend to range from 

four to seven per cent depending on 

the issuer and term. The conversion 

feature can also provide price upside 

if there is significant appreciation of 

the underlying common share. 

High Yield Bonds 

High yield bonds, also known as 

junk bonds, are less developed in 

Canada than in the U.S. Canadian 

investors can choose U.S.-based high 

yield bond exchange traded funds, 

providing diversification along with 

currency hedging. 

28 outlook

Preferred Shares 

This investment option offers 

the attraction of the dividend 

tax credit for non-registered 

accounts, thereby potentially 

providing higher after-tax returns 

than equivalent-paying 

interest investments such as 

bonds. With the fear of interest 

rate volatility, many new 

preferred shares are issued 

as five-year rate resets. These 

preferred shares give investors 

some protection to interest 

rate risk over the long term as 

opposed to the traditional perpetual 

preferred. Rates offered 

tend to be in the 4.0 to 5.5 per 

cent range depending on the 

quality of the issuer. 

REITS (Real Estate 

Investment Trusts) 

REITs are publicly traded 

vehicles offering diversified 

exposure to various forms of 

real estate, including residential, 

commercial, industrial and 

retirement properties. This has 

been a fabulously performing 

sector as REITs have benefited 

from lower mortgage costs 

due to declining rates. Yields 

are approximately five to 

seven per cent. 

Royalties 

The most common public 

royalties tend to be royalties 

on sales from restaurant 

operators. For example, A&W 

Canada restaurants pay a royalty 

on their sales that flows to 

investors via the A&W Revenue 

Royalties Income 

Fund. There are a handful 

of different royalties 

that provide current 

income of approximately 

six to seven per cent. 

Equities 

Although investors might not 

think of equities when they 

think of income, many companies 

that have stable businesses 

provide attractive and often 

growing dividends. Sectors 

such as utilities, pipelines and 

telecom are excellent places 

to look for good income yields. 

Annuities 

Annuities are offered through 

insurance companies and can 

provide either fixed or variable 

amounts of lifetime income 

depending on the product 

chosen. 

Each income investment described 

above has various risk 

and reward characteristics that 

should be considered carefully 

and in consultation with a 

professional advisor. 

Steve Zadra is an Investment 

Advisor with National Bank 

Financial. 

outlook 29

feature 

“Life-cycle costing is an example of that, where you look at all the costs and all the benefits too. 

It’s a matter of looking at a complete picture.” Corey Sue, CGA 

Life-cycle assessment helps you see the true long-term 

costs of an investment 

By Nina Winham 

Taking it All into Account 

> 

You’re helping your CEO with a decision about a new piece of equipment. Do you 

purchase the cheapest option or the most energy efficient? Is there a “best practice” 

way to decide? 

Corey Sue is a CGA with a 20-year career spanning a variety of sectors – from hospitality 

to higher education to high tech. He says it’s true that operating costs such as 

electricity consumption were traditionally overlooked when making new investment 

decisions, but this is changing. 

“It’s not always consistent, but it’s increasingly important to really see what the dependencies 

on a decision are, and include as many bases as possible in the decisionmaking 

process,” he says. “Life-cycle costing is an example of that, where you look at 

all the costs and all the benefits too. It’s a matter of looking at a complete picture.” 

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly being used when organizations want 

to understand and track their environmental impacts, such as carbon emissions. But 

it goes beyond just operating inputs (such as energy) and outputs (emissions). A full 

LCA considers social impacts (such as human toxicity, working time, accidents) and 

also the costs and impacts incurred both during the production of a product and its 

eventual demise (including recycling costs). It’s a full-picture analysis of how a product 

or service will impact what is around it. 

LCA is a process for making decisions based on the full costs that will be incurred. 

In our simple example above, the cost of energy use over the lifetime of a lessefficient 

machine may be so high as to eliminate any upfront purchase cost advantage. 

(For example, BC Hydro estimates that the purchase and installation costs of a 

compressed air system represent just 12 per cent of life-cycle costs, while electricity 

consumed accounts for 76 per cent. Efficiency pays.) 

Rick Truong, a Key Account Manager for BC Hydro who specializes in supporting 

municipalities, says his clients are increasingly interested in understanding all costs 

– including the social and environmental 

– of new decisions. “There’s 

always some pressure to gravitate 

towards projects that are going to be 

lowest in [upfront] cost,” he says. “But 

municipalities are becoming more 

sophisticated when they’re assessing 

projects. Projects are assessed 

based upon various viabilities, from 

maintenance costs through to social 

benefits and political goodwill. Simple 

payback is one quick way to make a 

decision, but if it is the only tool used 

then it could cost the company in the 

long run.” 

Truong says a “perfect storm” of 

factors over the past few years has 

nudged LCA increasingly to the 

forefront. Electricity rate increases, 

the economic downturn, increasing 

demand for good environmental 

practices and the requirement for 

municipalities to reduce their carbon 

footprints have created a climate 

where understanding the true, 

holistic costs of decisions is a must. 

At the same time, the practices and 

tools available to make such assessments 

have become more robust and 

accessible. 

Often, however, a full picture is not 

available unless it is one person’s job 

to bring the pieces together. Truong 

points to BC Hydro’s successful Commercial 

Energy Manager program, 

which supports the creation of these 

new roles in business and municipal 

offices as a factor in driving the 

adoption of LCA. “Energy Managers 

have been trained and encouraged 

to assess projects on a life-cycle cost 

perspective,” he says. “The financial 

folks may understand the concept [of 

LCA], but they may not fully understand 

the scope of benefits and costs 

30 outlook

Corey Sue, CGA, says more 

businesses are using life-cycle 

assessments when making 

major financial decisions. 

Mark Your 

Calendar 

that need to be looked at. 

Energy Managers are able to 

collect that information and 

feed it into the management 

team.” 

Truong says such assessments 

are important not only 

for general decisions, but 

also to assess the value of 

investing in energy-efficiency 

projects, where reducing costs 

over time may be the main 

benefit. 

As LCA is increasingly put 

to use, there are growing 

opportunities for training, support 

and learning from others. 

A UBC Continuing Studies 

course on LCA bills itself as 

“a practical introduction to 

the science of sustainability.” 

The Green Design Institute at 

Carnegie Mellon University 

offers free online software for 

LCA. An interdisciplinary “Life 

Cycle Assessment Alliance” at 

UBC is working to understand 

and improve life-cycle analysis, 

and interested parties can 

ask to be part of their email 

discussion group. Even the 

UBC Thunderbirds have used 

LCA to assess the impact of 

sporting events. 

Business decisions have 

become more complex as 

people start taking into account 

environmental and 

social impacts. Understanding 

the tool of life-cycle assessment, 

so that all costs are 

accounted for, is one way to 

make sure today’s decisions 

still look good when viewed 

10 or 50 years down the road. 

Member Appreciation 

Event on December 5 

Investing and Doing 

Business in the USA 

This full-day seminar features 

eight presentations from lawyers, 

accountants, lenders, brokers and 

logistics experts on cross-border 

issues with the United States. This 

seminar is invaluable for those 

who are considering investing or 

doing business in the U.S., or who 

advise clients on their cross-border 

issues. 

You’ll learn about several important 

facets of doing business in the 

U.S., including: 

Expanding Your Business into 

the United States 

The seminar will outline the 

immigration, taxation, business 

planning, customs, and marketing 

issues that should be considered 

before expanding into the United 

States. 

Investing in U.S. Real Estate 

Presentations will cover potential 

investment and tax consequences 

of a real estate investment, as 

well as liability protection, rental 

use of the property, and foreign 

exchange issues. 

IRS Offshore Voluntary 

Disclosure Initiative 

The speakers will explain the 

common disclosures required 

for Canadians and outline the 

potential penalties involved for 

non-compliance. 

Date: December 5, 2012 

Time: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm 

Cost: $201 + HST 

for members, 

$241 + HST 

for non-members 

CPD: 7 CPD hours 

Location: Executive Airport 

Plaza, Richmond 

outlook 31

feature 

“The real reason you are speaking is to affect people’s opinions and behaviour, and the facts simply 

serve to back you up. So you have to start your writing process by asking ‘what do I want people to 

do or think after they have heard my speech?’” Chris Molineux 

Know what you want to communicate 

Before You Even Say 

a Word... 

By Chris Molineux 

> 

It’s Christmas morning. The perfect Christmas morning. You are the first one in the 

house to wake. You wrap yourself in the coziest of robes and pad your way quietly 

downstairs where the young light of the new day reflects off the fresh snow and fills 

your living room with a magic glow. Then you realize ....aaah! ....nothing has been 

done yet! You still have to go out and buy meaningful gifts, find the perfect tree, 

decorate the house, bake up a storm – and wherever will you find a turkey! Ruination! 

Why didn’t you prepare?! 

Showing up to give a speech without proper preparation can yield equally mortifying 

results. Simply knowing your subject and organizing a coherent order for your 

speech will not ensure success. The following is a very brief summary of the things 

you can do to help you truly prepare so that your speech will be easier to deliver and 

far more effective. 

Determine what effect you are trying to produce 

I cannot overemphasize the importance of this point. So often when we put together 

a speech, we assemble it the same way we would write an essay, with an introduction, 

main points and conclusion. What this little grocery list fails to take into account 

is the reason(s) why you are making the speech. If it was simply to impart raw facts 

you could email a factsheet to your audience. 

The real reason you are speaking is to affect people’s opinions and behaviour, and 

the facts simply serve to back you up. So you have to start your writing process by 

asking “what do I want people to do or think after they have heard my speech?” The 

speech content should be determined by this and the motivational aspect should be 

woven into the entire structure rather than briefly summarized in your conclusion. 

Chris Molineux was educated in Canada and the U.K. and has had over 20 years of experience 

as a stand-up comedian performing at Just for Laughs and working with the likes of 

Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey and Ellen DeGeneres. He worked as a staff writer at Electronic Arts, 

owned his own event organizing company and, most recently, he provided the voice that 

began the 2010 Olympic opening ceremonies. Chris has been working as a public speaking 

and communication skills coach since 1998 and his unique one-on-one approach offers immediate 

and practical solutions in the areas of public speaking and teambuilding. 

Create supporting 

materials 

If you are making an important 

presentation, try to make sure that 

your audience receives information 

in advance about you and/or your 

topic. Conferences often have websites 

and organizers will distribute 

printed matter in advance; make 

sure you take advantage of this. 

Sometimes having printed material 

distributed immediately beforehand 

is useful as well. Things that can be 

read are things you might not have 

to say, and it gives your audience 

something to refer to before, during 

and after your speech. 

Know your room 

In a perfect world, every situation 

we speak in would be problem free. 

But until that perfect world arrives, 

it is best to be aware of all the little 

things. Make sure your sound, sightlines 

and lighting are the best they 

can be. Simple things like making 

sure everyone has a clear view of 

you and that you are well lit and 

amplified will help your audience 

focus on you. Also, check that you 

have everything you need – from 

a podium to a glass of water – and 

double check anything that’s 

plugged in. The last thing you 

want is to have to play MacGyver 

in the middle of a keynote address 

to fix a technical glitch. 

Know your crowd 

Get a sense of who your crowd is 

beforehand and see that they are 

seated to maximum advantage. 

If you are in a big room that isn’t 

very full and people are all pressed 

to the back or scattered around, 

try to get them to gather together 

near the front. People are usually 

happy to co-operate and it can 

make a world of difference. Arrive 

at the room well in advance of your 

speech time and, if possible, mingle 

with the crowd so you can get a 

32 outlook

sense of them and they can get 

familiar with you. Pay attention to 

how they react to other speakers 

so you know what you can do to 

make the most of the situation. 

Take care of 

yourself 

So obvious, yet so important. 

Make sure you are in a good 

place when you finally hit the 

podium. The night before, keep 

your tequila shots to a minimum 

and get a good night’s 

sleep. Wear clothes that make 

you feel good about yourself 

and don’t study your script 

after you arrive in the room 

where you are presenting – it 

only ties you up in knots. Keep 

notes with you if needed, but 

stay casual and relaxed before 

you start so that your mind and 

body are best prepared for the 

task at hand. 

Give – and get – 

a good 

introduction 

It is often a good idea to 

mention your main motivating 

theme(s) in your intro. As I 

mentioned before, people often 

save their main point as a sort of 

“surprise” at the end. It makes far 

more sense to do the opposite 

and include it in your introduction. 

That way people can orient 

their minds to fit with your 

ideas throughout your entire 

speech. Also, consider exactly 

how you will be introduced and 

try to make this work to your 

benefit. At times, the MC for 

an event is preset and inflexible, 

but it will raise your level 

of importance if you can have 

the president of the company 

or another high-profile person 

introduce you to the crowd. 

Your audience will have their 

eyes on you and want to know 

what you have to say before 

you even say a word. 

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outlook 33

“Peak performance is difficult to achieve when partners or employees do not have absolute confidence 

in the leadership and direction of the firm.” Steve Erickson 

publicpracticeEdifier 

Partners, Get on the Same Page! 

Improve partner relationships and watch your firm’s performance and 

profits soar 

By Steve Erickson 

Ihear a very common concern from 

employees in many of the firms I visit. 

“The partners are not all on the same 

page. In fact many of the partners 

openly disagree or criticize other partners.” 

If you were an employee in one of these 

firms, how would you feel? Maybe a little 

fearful or concerned about the future and 

how partner differences might negatively 

impact your career? 

Your staff will leave if they think their 

future is in question at your firm, and they 

will not give your clients the level of service 

you expect. The old saying “Happy people 

work better than unhappy people” applies 

to employees as well as partners. 

I have surveyed more than a thousand 

partners and I have discovered a direct correlation 

between the level of trust among 

partners and firm profitability. If the level of 

trust and respect is high, profitability is also 

high – and just the opposite is true when 

trust and respect are low. While this might 

seem to be common sense, achieving trust 

can be hard to accomplish. I have come to 

the conclusion that many partner relationships 

face conditional barriers to trust 

Steve Erickson is a nationally recognized 

consultant to accounting 

firms, specializing in resolving the 

partner and people issues that limit 

the success of professional service 

firms. He speaks frequently at national 

and international conferences 

and has been listed as one of the ten 

most recommended consultants in 

the United States by INSIDE Public 

Accounting. He writes extensively 

for professional publications and is 

frequently quoted in national news 

and professional periodicals. 

depending on profitability and income. 

If partners are making money, they will 

trust and respect each other. Absent that, 

they will withhold judgment and question 

motives. Peak performance is difficult to 

achieve when partners or employees do 

not have absolute confidence in the leadership 

and direction of the firm. 

You can take deliberate steps to remove 

these conditional barriers to success. Doing 

business as usual and paying lip service 

to the issues will not facilitate change. A 

leadership and culture intervention is the 

place to start. 

Hold a Partner Summit 

I call this a summit as it is about firm 

strategy at the very highest level, and it 

emphasizes the urgency and importance 

of these matters. This is not about the “soft” 

stuff; it is about the “smart” and important 

stuff that really makes you money. 

Adopt a Partner “Code of 

Conduct” 

Typical subjects include behaviour, time 

and billing requirements, scheduling and 

resource management, and adherence to 

systems and processes. The approved Code 

of Conduct must be supported by leadership. 

If the partners don’t follow the rules, is 

it realistic to think employees will? Partners 

must “walk the talk.” 

Adopt or Re-emphasize your 

Firm’s Core Values 

Many core value statements are overly 

complex and not followed in daily practice. 

Pick three or four non-negotiable core 

values and live them every day, no excep- 

34 outlook

esources, courses and 

tools of the trade 

practiceUpdate 

tions. Once adopted, the core values 

must be adhered to by both partners 

and employees to maintain trust in the 

partners’ ability to govern the practice. 

Invite Senior Staff to a 

“Leadership Summit” 

Inform senior staff of the policies and 

rules that have been adopted and 

solicit their input to gain support and 

ideas for implementation. This is a very 

important step! Partners often try to 

implement policies without the support 

of management, only to subsequently 

have the effort fail. 

Include your management team 

in the solution by letting them have 

a stake in the outcome. This could include 

decisions about how the policies 

will be applied and how staff can help 

with the implementation. 

Many firms make the support of 

these policies and core values a component 

of their evaluation process. This 

lets everyone in the firm know that you 

are serious about improving the culture 

in the firm. 

Announce the Initiatives 

Hold a firm-wide meeting to announce 

the new initiatives and then develop a 

program to keep the word out among 

your employees. To be effective, these 

matters must be continually reinforced. 

Partner accountability and unity was 

listed as the top concern in the 2011 

Private Companies Practice Section 

survey of accounting firms. This is a 

huge issue in the profession. Take some 

action now to improve partner and staff 

relationships and watch 2013 be the 

best year ever! 

An earlier version of this article was 

published on January 26, 2012 at 

www.steveericksonllc.com. 

Fall Public Practice Speed 

Interview Nights 

Public Practice Speed Interview 

Nights are free events that provide 

CGA firms with the opportunity to 

recruit staff efficiently and quickly. 

The next Speed Interview Night 

in the Fraser Valley takes place on 

November 15. To register your firm 

contact Anita Fortune at 

afortune@cga-bc.org. For job seekers, 

check CGAjobs.org for registration 

start dates. 

Participate in the 2012 Public 

Practice Survey 

Practitioners are invited to participate 

in the 2012 Public Practice 

Survey. Every participating firm 

will receive survey results for any 

of the three parts submitted: 

1. Salaries and Charge-Out Rates 

2. Practice Management 

3. Information Technology 

This helpful tool provides you 

with useful statistical information 

compiled from your CGA colleagues. 

The submission deadline 

is October 31, 2012. 

ASPE 2012 Annual Improvements 

Approved 

The Accounting Standards Board 

(AcSB) has approved the proposed 

2012 Accounting Standards for 

Private Enterprises (ASPE) improvements. 

Amendments will be 

effective for years beginning on or 

after January 1, 2013. In respect of 

transitional provisions, the AcSB 

agreed that prospective application 

will be permitted for the 

changes to Sections 1651, Foreign 

Currency Translation, and 3051, 

Investments, and all other changes 

will be applied retroactively. Earlier 

application will be permitted. 

outlook 35

In time with the season, this issue’s Current Assets features a variety of fall fashions for your desk and office 

workspace. These nifty accessories will help customize and stylishly gadget-equip your desk. 

$15.99 

$13.99 

$9.99 $4.99 

currentAssets 

By Trevor Hargreaves 

gadgets 

> 

Camera Pencil Sharpener 

Anyone with an eye for vintage photography 

will recognize this convincing 

recreation of a classic twin-lens reflex 

camera. Normally at this point I would 

launch into a detailed description of the 

features the gadget boasts, but this one 

isn’t so complicated. It sharpens pencils, 

comes equipped with an onboard sharpness 

adjustment knob, has a desk-protecting 

rubberized bottom and features 

an easy-to-clean slide-out shavings tray. 

thinkgeek.com 

> 

Laser Guided Scissors 

This is supposedly “great for gift wrapping, 

crafts or scrapbooking,” but on a 

more exciting note, it’s also the kind of 

office equipment that Q from James 

Bond would issue if he worked in your 

office supply room. 

thinkgeek.com 

> 

The Cubicle Doorbell 

The ultimate in office etiquette. Make 

cubicle knocking a thing of the past 

with this handy piece of digital 

technology. 

thinkgeek.com 

> 

Keyboard Keys Stationery Set 

Keep your desk neat and tidy with this 

handy little set. The magnetic “enter” 

key holds your paper clips and keeps 

them ordered. Also comes equipped 

with a keyboard brush, hole punch and 

#10 stapler. 

thinkgeek.com 

36 outlook

$19.99 

$9.99 

$24.99 $12.99 

$14.99 

> 

Mantis LED Desk Lamp 

Attaching with ease to most laptops, 

monitors, shelves or tabletops, this versatile 

device adds a great deal of light to your 

workspace in a location that won’t take up 

additional desk space. 

thinkgeek.com 

> 

5-in-1 Pen 

Also straight out of the MI-5 standard spyissue 

category, this pen boasts a replaceable 

ballpoint pen, a digital stylus, an LED flexible 

flashlight, a UV light and a red laser pointer. 

thinkgeek.com 

> 

Mini Business Card File Cabinet 

Now this is a stylish storage option for those 

with an array of business contacts! 

thinkgeek.com 

> 

Dual Heated Travel Mug 

This clever device allows you to heat your coffee 

by drawing power right from your desktop. 

Equipped with both USB and cigarette lighter 

adaptors, this 16 ounce travel mug is ideal for 

anyone who wants a hot cup of joe on the go. 

thinkgeek.com 

> 

Drinklip Portable Cupholder 

Beverage accessibility is a clearly advantageous 

modification to the average workspace. 

This cupholder attaches easily to any desk, 

table or shelf and can be ergonomically placed 

within easy reach. 

thinkgeek.com 

outlook 37

2 

3 

1 

4 

5 

6 7 

snapShots 

Conference 2012 A Big Success 

1: CKNW’s Bill Good, Vaughn Palmer of The 

Vancouver Sun, and Global TV’s Keith Baldrey 

provided their insight in their Cutting Edge from 

the Leg. 

2: William Yau, CGA, and Gershom Chi Ip Lee, CGA. 

3: David Fairhall, FCGA, had pointed questions for 

the political panel. 

4 (from left to right): Rita Caron, CGA; Board 

of Governor Member C.Y. Tay, CGA; Kelly 

Nichols, CGA; and Charlene McComber, 

CGA. 

5: Patricia Yu-Hsiu Chang, CGA, and Stanley 

Chang, CGA, attended the Conference 

Trade Show. 

Annual Public Practice Meeting 

6: Janet Kirby, CGA, (right) presents flowers 

to former Director of Public Practice Tina 

Peters, CGA, who recently returned to public 

practice in Kamloops. 

7: Kristen Karlstedt, CGA, is all smiles at the 

annual public practice meeting. 

38 outlook

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partingshot 

In each issue of Outlook, we profile a member or CGA 

student who is helping to build the CGA brand. This month 

we spoke with 

Angela Trif, CGA 

Business Consultant, Interior Health Authority 

By Patrick Schryburt 

Can you briefly describe 

your role with the Interior 

Health Authority? 

I am the Business Consultant 

supporting Dr. Jeremy 

Etherington, the VP of Medicine 

and Quality. In this role 

I meet regularly with physician 

leaders and corporate 

and network directors to 

help them understand their 

financial reports and explain 

the variances from budget. 

What do you enjoy most 

about your job? 

The brilliant people I get to 

work with on a daily basis. 

Working with high achievers 

is very motivating. Everyone 

wants to do the best 

they can and this synergy is 

resulting in efficiencies for 

the organization. 

What is the one thing 

that would surprise 

people the most about 

our system of health care 

delivery? 

That it costs $4.8 million 

per day to run the Interior 

Health Authority. We 

operate 24 hours a day, 

seven days a week, which 

translates to $200,000 an 

hour. Over the last eight 

years, B.C. has gone from 

being the province with 

the third-highest costs for 

health care to one with 

the second-lowest costs, 

all while achieving better 

outcomes for our patients. 

What do you like most 

about accounting as a 

career choice? 

Accounting is my passion 

and I love understanding 

the meaning behind the 

numbers. It gives me great 

satisfaction when I can 

solve issues and find ways 

to save money. 

Why did you choose CGA 

for your professional accounting 

designation? 

I liked its flexibility, particularly 

in how it enabled me 

to continue to work while 

completing my accounting 

studies. The CGA program 

offers professionals a 

truly distinctive edge and is 

Canada’s most respected accounting 

studies program. 

40 outlook

O1 

TH 

IDE OF ONE 

F 

O 

E 

N 

1 

OF ONE 

You are a member of the 

Okanagan Chapter and 

you were the Volunteers’ 

Coordinator on the 2012 

Conference Committee. 

What motivates you to volunteer 

for the Association? 

I like that I contribute to 

making the CGA brand well 

known, ensuring that British 

Columbians know CGAs are 

respected professionals who 

support their communities. 

Why do you think this 

year’s CGA conference 

in Kelowna was the best 

ever? 

The setting for the conference 

was the beautiful Okanagan. 

Participants enjoyed a 

variety of learning situations, 

including keynotes and 

interactive sessions. We were 

able to assimilate important 

knowledge and insight from 

exceptional presenters and 

facilitators. I can hardly overstate 

how awesome “The Fun 

Night” was for everyone who 

attended. 

Do you have a personal 

mantra? 

Never stop learning and 

always try to better yourself 

and your surroundings. 

Develop strong relationships 

with people in the organization, 

as it is guaranteed to 

further your career. 

What are your favourite 

hobbies? 

Spending time outdoors 

I like that I 

contribute to 

making the 

CGA brand well 

known, ensuring 

that British 

Columbians 

know CGAs are 

respected professionals 

who 

support their 

communities. 

with my family, hiking, 

biking, skiing and camping. 

Travelling to countries rich 

in culture and history gives 

me a better appreciation for 

living in the best country in 

the world. 

What’s the last good 

movie you saw? Good 

book you read? 

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 

a very pleasant film with 

a distinct feel-good factor 

helped by the vibrancy of 

the Indian setting. 

Persuasion by Arlene 

Dickinson. At work, at 

home and everywhere 

in between, we need to 

persuade others every day: 

to give us a job, to award 

us the account, to give us 

the first available appointment. 

This book is a great 

resource in learning the art 

of persuading others. 

What’s the secret to 

achieving good work/life 

balance? 

Put first things first. Prioritize. 

Make time to avoid 

interruptions by turning off 

email and the phone. Learn 

to say no to simplify your 

life. Take a step back and 

gain perspective on what 

is really important, what 

we should be concerned 

about and what we can let 

go. Find an understanding 

employer with whom you 

can negotiate the flexibility 

to work from home. 

outlook 41

morethanNumbers 

BACK TO WORK 

New jobs created in all of 

Canada in August: 

34,000 

Number of those that 

were created in B.C. 

alone: 

15,000 

B.C.’s unemployment rate 

at the end of August: 

6.7 per cent 

APPLES AND ORANGES 

Market capitalization (in 

U.S. dollars) of Apple at 

the end of August: 

$632 billion 

Combined market capitalization 

of Microsoft, 

Google, Facebook and 

Amazon: 

$631 billion 

Apple’s market capitalization 

in 1999: 

$9 billion 

IMAGE IS EVERYTHING 

Price paid by Coca-Cola 

for its logo, created by its 

founder’s bookkeeper in 

1886: 

$0 

Price paid by Google 

for its multicolour logo, 

created in 1998 by cofounder 

Sergey Brin: 

$0 

Price paid by Nike cofounder 

Phil Knight for 

its famous swoosh logo 

in 1971: 

$35 

Price paid to redesign 

Pepsi’s logo in 2008: 

$1 million 

Price paid by British 

Petroleum in 2008 to 

change its logo and reinvent 

itself as an energy 

company people can 

have faith in: 

$211 million 

would you like 

FRIES WITH THAT? 

Price for New York-based 

restaurant Serendipity 3’s 

Le Burger Extravagant, 

which is made with 

white truffle butterinfused 

Japanese Wagyu 

beef, topped with a fried 

quail egg and served on 

a gold-dusted roll: 

$295 

Price for Las Vegasbased 

restaurant Fleur’s 

FleurBurger 5000, which 

features a Wagyu beef 

and foie gras patty with 

shaved black truffles and 

includes a $2,500 bottle 

of Château Pétrus: 

$5,000 

Price for Kitsilano-based 

Vera’s Burger Shack’s 

Vera Burger, which 

includes ketchup, 

mustard, relish, lettuce, 

tomato and Vera’s sauce: 

$5.99 

Sources: Values compiled by thenextweb.com; BC Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training; stocklogos.com; mentalfloss.com. 

42

Certified General Accountants 

We’ve made Private Health Services 

Plans cookie-cutter simple! 

Recent Revenue Canada (CRA) Federal legislation now allows business owners 

to fully tax deduct 100% of their healthcare costs as a business expense using 

a Private Health Services Plan. 

Who qualifies? 

Anyone who owns a business of any size, employees and dependents. 

No health questions or age limits. This is not insurance.. 

What’s covered? 

100% of virtually all dental and medical expenses. Visit our website 

www.trustedadvisor.ca for a complete list 

What’s the cost? 

There is a one-time set-up fee plus applicable taxes. The additional cost is 10% 

administration fee plus applicable taxes, depending on which province you live in. 

Who uses a Private Health Services Plan? 

Business owners who: 

> do not qualify for group insurance or find it too expensive 

> find group insurance coverage too restrictive; i.e.; orthodontics 

> have sick child or spouse 

> want front of line treatment 

> want to write-off child support relating to healthcare expenses 

> large groups who have been struggling with significant cost 

increases each year. 

A partial list of qualified expenses: 

Acupuncture 

Alcoholism Treatment 

Ambulance 

Anesthetist 

Attendant Care 

Birth Control Pills 

Blood tests 

Catscan 

Chinese medicine 

Chiropractor 

Crowns 

Dental Treatment 

Dental Implants 

Dental X-rays 

Dentures 

Dermatologist 

Detoxification Clinic 

Diagnostic Fees 

Dietitian 

Drug Addiction 

Therapy 

Eyeglasses 

Fertility Treatments 

Guide Dog 

Hair Transplant 

Hearing Aid and 

Batteries 

Hospital Bills 

Insulin Treatments 

Lab Tests 

Laser Eye Surgery 

Lodging (away from 

home for outpatient 

care) 

MRI 

Naturopath 

Nursing Home (incl. 

board & meals) 

Optician 

Oral Surgery 

Orthodontist 

Orthopedist 

Osteopath 

Out-of-Country 

Medical Expenses 

Physician 

Physiotherapist 

Prescription Medicine 

Psychiatrist 

Psychologist 

Psychotherapy 

Registered Massage 

Therapy 

Renovations & 

Alterations to 

Dwelling 

(for severe & 

prolonged 

impairments) 

Special School Costs 

for the Handicapped 

Surgeon 

Transportation 

Expenses (relative to 

health care) 

Viagra 

Vitamins (if prescribed) 

Wheelchair 

X rays 

Note: This is a partial list. All allowable 

expenses must qualify as outlined in the 

Income Tax Act 

Why are your clients doing this 

with their healthcare expenses? 

When they could 

be doing this! 

Healthcare Costs $1600 Healthcare Costs $1600 

(3% of net income) Deduct $1500 Admin Fee (10%) $ 160 

Available for credit $100 Tax-deductible total $1760 

Tax Credit* $25 Tax Deduction $1760 

EXAMPLE: 

Net income of $50,000 per year with family medical expenses of $1600 

*Based on a combined Federal and Provincial rate of 25%. 

Be the one to advise your 

clients...or someone else will. 

The Robinson Group Inc. 

June Borlé: 604.874.4429 Fax: 604.873.5600 

Toll Free: 1.888.880.2266 Email: june@trustedadvisor.ca 

www.trustedadvisor.ca

But it’s who 

you know that 

really counts 

She came to us. 

Shouldn’t you? 

VANCOUVER | CALGARY 

604-682-8367 

1800 - 777 Hornby St., Vancouver 

www.angusone.com

Ultra CGA

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