Federal Budget: Summary of Tax Measures – April 16, 2024

The Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland delivered the 2024 Budget (the “Budget”) this afternoon. Highlights of the tax measures announced in the Budget are summarized below.   Capital Gains Inclusion Rates The Budget proposes to increase the current capital gains inclusion rate from 50% to 66.67% for corporations and trusts.  The Budget further proposes similar increases … Continue reading “Federal Budget: Summary of Tax Measures – April 16, 2024”


Enhancing Your Practice: Comprehensive Consulting Services for Accounting Firms

The past three years have been a whirlwind in public practice, with rapidly evolving tax legislation and no signs of a slowdown. At Clearline Consulting, we understand these challenges.  We offer a range of consulting services to alleviate your administrative burdens and ensure compliance with professional standards. As partners in public practice, we stand ready … Continue reading “Enhancing Your Practice: Comprehensive Consulting Services for Accounting Firms”


Leveraging the CDAP Grant: Transforming Your Accounting Firm for the Future with Clearline Consulting

In the fast-paced world of public practice, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks of advising clients, managing deadlines, and ensuring compliance. Amidst this busy environment, it’s vital for accounting firms to stay ahead of the curve and embrace technology to remain competitive. One often-overlooked opportunity for firms is the Canadian Digital … Continue reading “Leveraging the CDAP Grant: Transforming Your Accounting Firm for the Future with Clearline Consulting”


Navigating the Amendments to the Revenue Recognition Standard (ASPE): Clearline Consulting Resources

Are you grappling with the complexities of the amendments under HB 3400 – revenue recognition standards? Perhaps you are only struggling with ensuring sufficient documentation to support compliance with the requirements. You’re not alone. The landscape of revenue recognition has undergone fundamental changes in recent years, with both US GAAP and IFRS moving away from … Continue readingNavigating the Amendments to the Revenue Recognition Standard (ASPE): Clearline Consulting Resources


Clearline Consulting’s Annual CPD Sessions

We have published Clearline Consulting’s 2023 Annual CPD Sessions. We continue to expand the number of offerings each year. There are sessions for all of your team members in this year’s offerings. Our intention for our Annual CPD Sessions is to take all the guess work out of your firms PD planning for the year. … Continue reading “Clearline Consulting’s Annual CPD Sessions”


2023 Federal Budget – Free Download

Download Clearline Consulting’s summary of the tax measures announced in the Budget on March 28, 2023 now. You are welcome to tailor the content provided for your Firm’s newsletter or email to clients. We hope you find the summary useful as we all navigate these busy times. How Clearline Consulting Can Help? The amendments to … Continue reading “2023 Federal Budget – Free Download”


5 Benefits of Engaging with Clearline Consulting for Quality Management Documentation for CPA Firms in Canada

Are you a CPA firm in Canada looking for help with quality management documentation? Look no further than Clearline Consulting! Our team specializes in creating and maintaining CSQM1 quality management system documentation for CPA firms in Canada. Here are the top 5 benefits of engaging with our team: Expertise: Our team is knowledgeable in Canadian … Continue reading “5 Benefits of Engaging with Clearline Consulting for Quality Management Documentation for CPA Firms in Canada”


Implementation of the new Quality Management Standards for your Firm

The new quality management standards, in short, are good. They encourage all firms to consider the specifics of their firm, their clients, and the types of engagements they perform when designing the firm’s specific quality control procedures. This allows smaller firms to scale back the processes and procedures to address only those areas which are … Continue reading “Implementation of the new Quality Management Standards for your Firm”


New Quality Management Guide (QMG) Released

CPA Canada has released is new Quality Management Guide subscription. This product is a replacement for the previous Quality Assurance Manual (QAM) and discounts are available if you purchase this subscription prior to October 31, 2022. At a discounted cost for CPA Members of $319 the resource is well worth the trade off of your … Continue reading “New Quality Management Guide (QMG) Released”


CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Logo or no Logo?

As we continue to work through implementation of CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements (CSRS 4200), we are sharing our frequently asked questions (FAQs). In our fifth post, we will address the inclusion of the firm’s logo on each individual statement. If you missed our first four posts addressing terminology being used including financial information, unaudited, and … Continue reading “CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Logo or no Logo?”


CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Should the financial statements be labeled “Unaudited – See Compilation Engagement Report”?

As we continue to work through implementation of CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements (CSRS 4200), we are sharing our frequently asked questions (FAQs).  In our fourth post, we will address the inclusion of “Unaudited – See Compilation Engagement Report” as a reference on the cover page and the individual statements. If you missed our first three … Continue reading “CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Should the financial statements be labeled “Unaudited – See Compilation Engagement Report”?”


Agreed-upon engagements for Law Society of BC Accountants Reports

With the new Agreed-Upon Procedures standards now in effect we are continuing to provide resources for practitioners for the execution of these engagements.  In response to requests from practitioners, we are pleased to announce that we have released our AUP engagement template file for Law Society of BC (LSBC) Accountants Report engagements. We also have available … Continue reading “Agreed-upon engagements for Law Society of BC Accountants Reports”


Compliance Review – Adoption of CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements

The implementation of CSRS 4200 is the most significant change accounting firms have faced in over 30 years. Now is the time to receive feedback on your firm’s compliance with the new compilation engagement standards before templates and files are finalized. Clearline Consulting can help. We provide cyclical monitoring for compilation engagements completed under the … Continue reading “Compliance Review – Adoption of CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements”


CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Should there be a reference to the note(s) on the financial statements?

As we continue to work through implementation of CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements (CSRS 4200), we are sharing our frequently asked questions (FAQs).  In our third post, we will address the inclusion of a reference to the notes on the statements. If you missed our first two posts addressing terminology being used including financial information and … Continue reading “CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Should there be a reference to the note(s) on the financial statements?”


CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Management Representation Letter vs. Management Acknowledgement Letter

As we continue to work through implementation of CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements, we are sharing our frequently asked questions (FAQs).  If you missed my first post, we addressed CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Financial Statements vs. Financial Information. Here we are with FAQ#2. “If we choose to document management acknowledgements formally in a letter should it … Continue reading “CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Management Representation Letter vs. Management Acknowledgement Letter”


Redeemable Shares issued in Tax Planning Arrangement: Current or Long-Term?

Working through the adoption of the new requirements under HB 3856 Financial Instruments for the measurement, presentation and disclosure of redeemable shares issued in a tax planning arrangement is well underway for December 31, 2021, year-ends. If your experience is similar to ours, you have likely found that a significant proportion of the outstanding redeemable … Continue reading “Redeemable Shares issued in Tax Planning Arrangement: Current or Long-Term?”


CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Financial Statements vs. Financial Information

As it goes with any new standard, here we are just over a month into the effective date and now we get down into the details of application.  My most asked questions this week is “Can we refer to the statements as financial statements or is it a standards requirement to use the terminology financial … Continue reading “CSRS 4200 Compilation Engagements: Financial Statements vs. Financial Information”


Quality Management Suite of Standards

The new quality management standards are effective for assurance engagements as at December 14, 2022. As at this date the firm’s system of quality management (‘SOQM’) needs to have been developed and implemented.  All non-assurance engagements have an additional year, until December 14, 2023, to be incorporated into the firm’s SOQM.  As the quality management … Continue reading “Quality Management Suite of Standards”


Revised Risk Assessment Standards for Audits – CAS 315

CAS 315 – Revised, is a difficult standard change to outline concisely. The impact of this standard change, which includes over 200 pages of application guidance, may be very pervasive depending on your current audit approach.  In order to assess the potential impact of this change you will need first assess how compliant your audit … Continue reading “Revised Risk Assessment Standards for Audits – CAS 315”


Agreed-upon Procedures Engagements

The new Agreed-Upon Procedures standards are coming into effect. The effective date is based on the date of the terms of agreement (engagement letter) which provides practitioners with a little wiggle room as to when these new standards are adopted.  For any terms of agreement reached after January 1, 2022 the new standards are effective. … Continue reading “Agreed-upon Procedures Engagements”


2021 Annual Improvements to ASPE

In an October 2020 exposure draft, the Accounting Standards Board (“AcSB” or the “Board”) proposed several improvements to Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises (“ASPE”) and Accounting Standards for Not-for-Profit Organizations (“ASNPO”). The following is a summary of the proposals. First-time adoption: The Board proposes to permit that an enterprise / organization re-adopting ASPE or ASNPO … Continue reading “2021 Annual Improvements to ASPE”


New Quality Management Standards to Impact all CPA Firms

At its meeting on January 21, 2021 the Auditing & Assurance Standards Board (“AASB”) approved the new Canadian Standard on Quality Management (“CSQM”) requirements. The new standards will replace the existing Canadian Standard on Quality Control (“CSQC”) 1, Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance Engagements that … Continue reading “New Quality Management Standards to Impact all CPA Firms”


The AASB Contemplates the Future of Assurance

The Audit and Assurance Standards Board (AASB) published a consultation paper on January 15, 2021 in relation to its draft strategic plan for 2022-2025. Key factors that they have considered in their strategic plan are the longer term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic such as the negative impacts on the economy and changes in business … Continue reading “The AASB Contemplates the Future of Assurance”


CSRS 4200 Transitioning to the New Compilation Engagements Standard

It is not the complexity of the new standard that will cause significant disruption to firms, it is the sheer volume of files that need to be transitioned. With resources currently available through your professional engagement guide subscription and related training sessions we recommend you get started before tax season is upon us once again. … Continue reading “CSRS 4200 Transitioning to the New Compilation Engagements Standard”


AcSB Proposes Relief for Lease Accounting during COVID-19 Pandemic

The Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has proposed amendments to Section 3065, Leases in an exposure draft published in September. The proposed amendments provide relief for both lessees and lessors on accounting for lease modifications received or granted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These amendments would also apply to not-for-profitorganizations. Many private enterprises and … Continue reading “AcSB Proposes Relief for Lease Accounting during COVID-19 Pandemic”


COVID-19: Accounting for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)

With continued tax filing deferrals and finalizing all those December and March year-ends, the summer was busy.  We were looking forward to a bit of a slower pace this fall when the first June year-ends started to come in.  The full realization of the significance of the accounting impact related to COVID subsidies and programs … Continue reading “COVID-19: Accounting for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)”


Consultation paper explores potential changes to Canadian Accounting Standards for Not-For-Profit Organizations

In May 2020 the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) released a consultation paper that explores the possibility of significant changes to the way that Not-For-Profit Organizations (NFPOs) account for contributions. The talk of change comes from the AcSB’s point of view that the current accounting options add unnecessary complexity to NFPO accounting and sometimes reduce the … Continue reading “Consultation paper explores potential changes to Canadian Accounting Standards for Not-For-Profit Organizations”


WorkSafeBC COVID-19 Employer Requirements

By Jay Sprio,  Yeager & Company Law Corp., Barristers & Solicitors When the COVID-19 pandemic hit home in BC in March, many firms closed their offices and moved to remote work, while others remained open with new temporary measures to protect staff and clients. As many firms now begin re-opening their physical offices to safe … Continue reading “WorkSafeBC COVID-19 Employer Requirements”


Are Quality Control and Monitoring Standards Coming to Compilations?

Back in its Compilation Engagements exposure draft the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB) indicated that it had not yet formed a view as to whether the proposed new standard Canadian Standard on Related Services (CSRS) 4200 should be subject to quality control requirements at the firm level and at the engagement level. The current … Continue reading “Are Quality Control and Monitoring Standards Coming to Compilations?”