FEI Canada Accounting & Finance Review April 2007 Edition


Canada News

News From FEIC's Issues and Policy Advisory Committee (IPAC)

A BULLET-PROOF PRE-ELECTION BUDGET?

Last month we reported that IPAC participated in the Federal Pre-Budget consultation process. The following article by Dr. Barry Gorman compares the Federal Goverment's Budget to FEIC's recomendations.

OVERVIEW

In a carefully crafted speech which has moved the Conservatives closer to the centre of the political spectrum, Finance Minister James Flaherty's 2007 budget emphasized widespread spending commitments and politically focused tax relief measures.

Increased spending has been directed towards the environment, the military, post-secondary education, health care, public security, day care, culture, heritage sports, aboriginals, foreign aid, and veterans. These spending plans increase program spending by approximately $10.6b. in 2007-08 and $7.2b. in 2008-09.

Due to more robust revenue than originally projected, the projected surplus for 2006-07 is expected to be $9.2b., all of which will be allocated to debt reduction. Modest surpluses are conservatively projected for 2007-08 and 2008-09, after further debt reductions of $3b. per year. However, given that the projected 2006-07 surplus was $600m., it can be expected that actual future surpluses will exceed the budget projections.

Although there has been negative reaction from some provinces, the government indicates that the so-called fiscal imbalance has been resolved by directing $39b. over 7 years to the provinces. Major changes to the equalization formula will base the program on a 10 province standard rather than the historical 5 province standard, and include 50% of provincial natural resource revenues in the equalization formula.

Whether these initiatives secure a majority in the election expected within months depends upon the government’s ability to (a) convince taxpayers (i.e. voters) that the tax proposals will result in positive tax savings or, for example, enhanced planning potential for post-secondary education or disabled persons, (b) deflect criticism of these measures, and/or (c) isolate disaffected taxpayers who may perceive harmful implications of certain budget measures.

COMPARISON OF THE FEIC PRE-BUDGET SUBMISSION WITH THE BUDGET MEASURES

As can be expected, not all proposals contained in FEIC’s pre-budget submission were included in the budget. The following summarizes our budget proposals and the extent to which the budget conforms to our proposals.

  1. Decreased Corporate Tax Rates

    Because recent budgets reduced future corporate tax rates, and further reductions would not appear politically palatable at this time, it is not surprising that Finance did not act upon our proposal to reduce the corporate rate to 15% by 2011.

  2. Exclusion of Oil and Gas Income Trusts From the Proposed Income Trust Distributions Tax

    Given that the objectives of introducing the income trust measures last October rather than in the budget were (a) to sever the expected negative reaction from the budget measures per se, and (b) to remove the issue from the media well before the pre-election budget just delivered, it is also not surprising that there was no mention of income trusts in the budget speech or accompanying documents. Private consultations, however, continue between representatives of the oil and gas sector and Finance officials.

  3. Deduction for the Cost of Re-Converting Income Trusts

    Our proposal that the costs of re-conversion from an income trust to the corporate form was not included in the budget. FEIC will, however, continue to press Finance for immediate deductibility of re-conversion costs in future pre-budget submissions.

  4. Elimination of the Half-Year Rule on Environmentally Friendly Capital Acquisitions

    This proposal was not included in the budget.

  5. Identification of Investments Assigned a Higher CCA Rate

    The budget contained significant enhancements to the CCA structure for manufacturing buildings and equipment, other buildings, computers, and a host of environmentally friendly capital acquisitions.

  6. Greater Sales Tax Harmonization

    A commitment to continue discussions with the provinces towards greater sales tax harmonization, a FEIC recommendation for many years, was contained in the budget.

  7. Withholding on Interest and Dividends

    Although our submission recommended elimination of withholding on interest and dividends, the budget commits the government to elimination of withholding on interest payments to U.S. resident taxpayers once the necessary treaty revisions are negotiated. The budget also indicates that the elimination of withholding on interest payments will eventually be extended to all non-resident tax payers.

    FEIC will continue to lobby Finance for elimination of withholding on dividend payments.

  8. Retirement Planning

    RRSP contributors and members of registered pension plans will now be allowed to continue contributing to their plans until the year in which they become 71, a 2-year improvement over the current conversion age of 69. It should be noted that 71 is the conversion age which was contained in the legislation some years ago. Our submission recommended a conversion age of 73.

    A potentially welcome budget initiative for many of our members is the new provision to phase in receipt of defined benefit plan pension benefits while continuing to work full or part-time. This proposal, scheduled to commence in 2008, will allow individuals to receive up to 60% of their defined pension benefits while remaining employed.

    Finance did not act upon our proposal to increase the annual contribution limit from 18% of earned income to 25%.

  9. Workplace Training and Education

    Our submission contained proposals to allow a specific deduction for work related training and development costs incurred personally, and creation of a Centre for Workplace Training and Education. Neither recommendation was specifically mentioned in the budget. However, the government has committed $500m. for labour market training. It remains to be seen whether our recommendations will be included in the as yet unspecified spending commitment.

  10. Other FEIC Recommendations Not Included in the Budget

    The following FEIC recommendations were not included in the budget documents.

    1. An increase in the minimum tax threshold.
    2. A provision to allow some form of direct corporate group reporting.
    3. An increase in the personal tax rate thresholds.

SUMMARY

FEIC congratulates the government for the overall direction and focus provided in Budget 2007, for working to resolve the fiscal imbalance between the federal government and the provinces, implementing its selected personal tax provision agenda, and for recognizing the critical need to examine the relationship between revenues, expenditures and the national debt. We note, in particular, the adoption of several of the recommendations included in our pre-budget submission. FEIC will continue to pursue the adoption of the remaining measures contained in our submission when the next round of pre-budget deliberations commences in the fall.


From the News Desk of
IBM

IDC WHITE PAPER
Case Studies in Business Value Pricing: Using IT Innovation to Power Business Results

What issues should buyers should consider in sourcing IT and business solutions? How is business value pricing applicable to existing business and IT issues? This IDC study provides three practical examples of companies that have applied business value pricing solutions to their IT issues. The first case study examines The Co-operators Group, one of the largest consumer and commercial insurance companies in Canada. Bank of Montreal Financial Group, a highly diversified North American financial services organization with assets in excess of $300 billion and more than 33,000 employees, is the subject of the second case study. The bank was able to source an application on-demand solution for its contact centre intelligent voice response (IVR) solution. The final case study is Hydro Ottawa. Hydro Ottawa is a midsize electricity distribution company with approximately 275,000 accounts under management. Find out how Hydro Ottawa's customer information and billing systems is being managed, along with augmenting its customer contact centre.

To download the full IDC report click here.


From the News Desk of
BRENDAN MOORE
Brendan Moore

The Federal Budget
The Ontario Budget
The Saskatchewan Budget

The Federal Budget

March 19, 2007

Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty presented the 2007-2008 Federal Budget on March 19, 2007 against the backdrop of a potential federal election. Certainly, of the many changes aimed at all possible stakeholders, several appeared to be aimed at courting popular opinion while others represent major shifts in tax policy.

Further personal tax reductions were announced by way of additional or increased credits, and the lifetime capital gains exemption was increased to $750,000. On the corporate front, the government announced enhanced capital cost allowance rates, and the elimination of the withholding tax on interest payments to non-residents. New restrictions on interest deduction related to investments in foreign affiliates were announced, however, as was an increased interest in exchange of information programs with other jurisdictions. The commodity tax changes, stripped of the surrounding hype, are discussed below.

GST AND OTHER COMMODITY TAX CHANGES

The Budget proposes several changes to the GST, each of which will be welcome in the sectors to which they are addressed, and the government re-affirmed its commitment to work with the provinces to adopt a harmonized federal-provincial sales tax system in place of provincial retail sales taxes. Specific measures announced are discussed below.

Intangible Personal Property Supplied to Non-Residents

It was the case that the zero-rating for intellectual property supplied to non-residents did not completely offset the place of supply rule which imposed GST on a supply of any intangible personal property (IPP) that could be used in whole or in part in Canada. Supplies of IPP made to unregistered non-residents after March 19, 2007 are now zero-rated unless:

  1. the supply is made to an individual physically in Canada at the time;
  2. the supply relates to real property situated, or tangible personal property ordinarily situated, in Canada;
  3. the supply relates to a service supplied in Canada that is not a zero-rated export; or
  4. the supply is of IPP that may only be used in Canada.

Provision is made for further zero-rating by regulation, and suppliers that have failed to charge and collect tax in the past on supplies that would now be zero-rated are granted immunity. Consequential amendments to the imported taxable supply rules of Division IV of the Excise Tax Act will correct for the acquisition of IPP on a zero-rated basis where use is made in Canada in non-commercial activities.

School Transportation

In a stunning reversal of policy, a remission of GST is promised to certain of the school boards that sought a full recovery of the GST paid to school busing operators on the grounds that the busing was re-supplied. The remission will provide relief to school boards that received favourable decisions at the Tax Court level, but were still re-assessed because the decisions were issued after the announcement of changes to the legislation that reversed the potential for any such claim.

Foreign Conventions and Tour Packages

The Budget re-introduced a foreign convention and tour incentive program, essentially to put back in place the program scheduled to expire this spring, that will provide relief, for GST and the 6% component of the HST only, in respect of property and services used in the course of conventions held in Canada, and the accommodation portion of tour packages for non-residents.

A sponsor or non-registered organizer of a foreign convention in Canada that begins after March 31, 2007 will be eligible for a rebate of GST in respect of the convention facility or convention supplies. Sponsors will not be required to charge GST to non-resident attendees of Canadian conventions that begin after March 31, 2007 on the portion of the admission attributable to the provision of the facility, convention supplies or 50% of the food and beverage component. Sponsors of foreign conventions will no longer charge GST on any admission. Non-resident exhibitors at any convention that begins after March 31, 2007 will either not pay GST or will be eligible for a rebate of GST in respect of the use of the convention site or any related convention supplies. Claims may be filed directly with the CRA, or registered organizers, operators of a convention facility or suppliers of accommodation may rebate the tax directly to sponsors or non-registered organizers. If the supplier rebates the tax, supporting information must be filed with any claim for deduction on its return for the rebated amount, or the deduction will be denied and interest will be charged.

A non-resident individual, or a unregistered non-resident supplier to such a person, who acquires a tour package where the first night of accommodation in Canada is after March 31, 2007 may obtain a rebate of the GST in respect of the accommodation portion of the package. Claims for rebate may be made directly to the CRA. Registered suppliers of accommodation will not be able to rebate the GST on accommodation that is not part of a tour package, but registered suppliers of tour packages will be able to rebate the amount of the accommodation GST directly to non-resident individuals or to a non-resident supplier of a tour package, and recover the tax rebated on their return. Again, if the supplier rebates the tax, supporting information must be filed with any claim for deduction on its return for the rebated amount, or the deduction will be denied and interest will be charged.

Increase in GST/HST Annual Filing and Annual Remittance Thresholds

The Budget proposes to increase the taxable supply threshold below which businesses may file annual returns to $1.5 million from $500,000, and to double the net tax threshold below which annual filers may make one annual remittance to $3,000, effective for fiscal years that begin after 2007.

48-Hour Travellers’ Exemption

The Budget proposes to allow returning Canadian residents that were out of the country for 48 hours or more an increase in the duty-free exemption from $200 to $400. The new exemption applies to travellers returning to Canada on or after March 20, 2007.

Green Levy on Fuel Inefficient Vehicles

A new levy will be introduced under the Excise Tax Act that will apply to new passenger vehicles, other than pickup trucks, with a weighted average fuel consumption of 13 or more litres per 100 km that are delivered or imported after March 19, 2007. At 13 litres, the levy will be $1,000, increasing by $1,000 for each additional litre to a maximum of $4,000 at 16 litres or more. The levy will also apply to imported used vehicles put into service after March 19, 2007.

The levy will be payable by the manufacturer or importer at time of delivery to a dealer, but current inventories of vehicles and vehicles that are exported are exempt, as are vehicles ordered by a consumer by agreement dated before March 20, 2007, provided the vehicle is delivered to the consumer before July 2007.

Existing administrative provisions that currently apply to the heavy vehicle tax (itself repealed for vehicles imported or delivered after March 19, 2007) will apply to the new levy.

Rebate for Fuel-Efficient Vehicles

Eligible vehicles with a fuel efficiency rating of no more than 6.5 litres per 100 kilometres for automobiles, and 8.3 litres per 100 kilometres for minivans and sport utility vehicles, will be eligible for a new incentive rebate of $1,000. An additional $500 rebate will be added for each incremental half litre of improvement in fuel efficiency below these limits, to a maximum of $2,000. Efficient E-85 fuel vehicles will be eligible for a $1,000 rebate. Vehicles acquired or leased for more than 12 month period after March 19, 2007 will qualify, and lists of eligible vehicles are to be published on the Transport Canada web site. Purchasers or qualifying lessees should keep proof of registration for the eventual processing of the rebate claims, which is anticipated to occur in the fall of 2007.

Removal of Excise Tax Exemption for Renewable Fuels

Renewable fuels are currently exempt from the 10 cents per litre tax on gasoline and the 4 cents per litre tax on diesel fuel. Recent announcements of new measures to enhance the use and development of renewable fuels are regarded as providing more significant incentives than the excise tax exemption, and the exemption will therefore be repealed effective for fuel delivered on or after April 1, 2008.

Excise Tax on Diesel Fuel – End-User Refunds

Relief is currently provided from the 4 cents per litre excise tax on diesel fuel where the fuel is used as heating oil, or to generate electricity or used as ships’ stores. Since the relief is based on the end-use of the fuel, the fuel must generally be sold tax paid, with administrative provision for refund to the end user. The Excise Tax Act is to be amended to permit the processing of end-user refunds, and will limit the right to apply for refunds in respect of fuel used for heating or to generate electricity to end-users, or vendors of heating fuel, only.

The 2010 Winter Games

The Budget proposes to remit all customs duties, excise taxes and GST/HST on personal effects, gifts, awards, display goods and equipment imported into Canada in connection with the 2010 Winter Games.

Income Tax Change with a GST/HST Effect

The 2007 Budget proposes to increase the deductibility of meal expenses incurred by long-haul truck drivers, and the deductibility of allowances or reimbursements for such expenses paid to long-haul truck drivers by employers. Drivers and employers will now be able to deduct 60% of such expenses incurred after March 19, 2007, 65% in 2008, 70% in 2009, 75% in 2010 and 80% of such expenses incurred in 2011 and subsequent years.

Parallelling the change under the Income Tax Act, the proportion of recaptured input tax credits related to these expenses will also decrease from 50% to 20% between 2007 and 2011.

Reciprocal Taxation Agreements

Where a Reciprocal Taxation Agreement is currently in place between a province and the federal government, the government proposes to amend such agreements so that, where federal Crown corporations are subject to the requirement to pay provincial taxes and fees, their wholly-owned subsidiaries are similarly subject to the same requirements.

For additional information, the Budget documents can be found on the Finance Canada web site: www.budget.gc.ca/2007/index_e.html

The Ontario Budget

March 22, 2007

The Honourable Greg Sorbara, Minister of Finance, delivered the 2007-2008 Ontario Budget on March 22, 2007, making much of the fact that this was the first of an era of balanced budgets. With another strong financial year, Ontario was able to splash some cash, and increased program spending was announced for health, education, the workplace and infrastructure.

Specific proposals include an increase in the minimum wage of 75 cents per year from 2008 until it reaches $10.25 at March 31, 2010, and an expansion of the Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit Program. The government also established a new Ontario Child Benefit for children of low-income families. Other tax changes included pension income splitting for seniors from the 2007 taxation year, and the establishment of a new retirement income vehicle, the Life Income Fund, that would allow greater flexibility in investment of, and access to, previously locked-in retirement funds. The abolition of capital tax has been accelerated to July 1, 2010, and major reform of the province’s property tax structure is planned. The province will reduce the wide variation in business education tax rates, and will both cut rates and phase out GTA-pooling over a seven-year period. In addition, residential property assessment values will, after 2009, be reviewed on a four-year cycle, and any increases will be phased in over the four years to the next valuation date. In addition, much-needed enhancements will be made to the property tax appeal process.

Commodity tax changes were minimal. The temporary retail sales tax rebate for residential purchases of solar, wind, micro hydro-electric and geothermal energy systems is to be extended to purchases made before January 1, 2010. In addition, the government proposes to extend the exemption of destination marketing fees from the 5% accommodations tax for a further year until June 30, 2008. The pilot project that started April 1, 2006 to permit small software business to collect retail sales tax on an invoice for a bundle of taxable and non-taxable services at a rate of 6% will be continued until March 31, 2009, to allow more time to evaluate the effectiveness of the project. A technical amendment is to be made to the tax credit for fuel conservation to allow vendors to deduct the credit from their remittances in certain lease-financing situations.

n the administrative front, Ontario will make annual investments of $500,000 to modernize regulatory systems and streamline approval processes. These systems are intended to assist businesses in registering for all taxes, accessing tax-related information, filing returns and making payments electronically.

Changes were announced to enhance Ontario’s enforcement of tobacco tax compliance, including changes to permit the suspension of the ability to sell tobacco products and the suspension of other types of license in the case of repeated tobacco tax violations, and to permit the Canada Border Services Agency to collect the tobacco tax on tobacco brought into Canada through courier and mail streams.

Finally, railways operating in Ontario are currently allowed to carry coloured fuel, instead of clear fuel, by administrative practice. Changes will be made to the Fuel Tax Act to permit this practice to continue, subject to adequate registration and reporting requirements.

Full details of the budget can be found at www.ontariobudget.ca/english/index.html

The Saskatchewan Budget

March 22, 2007

The Honourable Andrew Thomson, Saskatchewan’s Minister of Finance, presented the province’s 2007-2008 Budget on March 22, 2007.

The province chose to spend its surplus by raining money on municipalities and on a broad spectrum of social programs, including a $15 drug plan for seniors and a 5-year exemption for new graduates of post-secondary programs protecting $20,000 per annum from income tax. Tax reduction programs announced in 2006 as the result of the Report on Business Tax Reform continue as scheduled, including a reduction in the corporate income tax rate to 13%, effective July 1 of this year.

After last year’s reduction in the rate of provincial sales tax to 5%, it was not expected that many sales tax changes would be announced. However, the budget documents indicate that the PST exemption on Energy Star® qualified residential furnaces, boilers and heat pumps, which was scheduled to expire at the end of March this year, is being extended, and complements the point of sale exemption available for energy efficient fridges, freezers, dishwashers and clothes washers.

The Government announced last year that it had decided to defer further consideration of sales tax harmonization or other PST reforms until it was assured that the province has the fiscal resources to support a major sales tax reform. Part of that assurance was to be derived from the federal government’s treatment of resource revenues, and the government, in this budget address, described the equalization formula changes announced in the recent federal budget as a broken promise. It is therefore unlikely that any fundamental sales tax reform will be seen in the foreseeable future.

The budget documents describing the announcements in more detail can be found at: www.gov.sk.ca/budget0708


From the News Desk of
KPMG

KPMG

How can enlightened companies turn their tax management strategies and policies into competitive advantages?

Increased scrutiny of tax matters by regulators, investors and pressure groups may be leading to a new "creeping conservatism" in tax policies around the world, according to a new KPMG International report, The Governance of Tax. But boards that are too cautious in their approach to tax can risk losing out to competitors who see good tax management and transparency as a way to generate value.

The report argues that the inclusion of tax management as an important component of corporate governance gives companies an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage by spelling out their tax policies and their attitudes to tax risk clearly and consistent to external stakeholders. It suggests leading organizations in the tax field:

The report is a sequel to KPMG International's seminal Tax in the Boardroom paper published in 2004. It's intended to provoke a debate among business people, regulators, academics and commentators on how good tax management can be a source of reputational advantage, and therefore a generator of value.

To read a pdf version of the discussion paper, click here.


From the News Desk of
Russell Investments Canada

Russell Investments Canada Investment Manager Outlook

Tap into the opinions of a broad range of Canadian investment managers through the quarterly Investment Manager Outlook. This publication provides a concise synopsis of our quarterly survey of top investment managers, and brings you their opinions on the direction of the markets, sectors to watch and trends that are having an impact.

Please click here for the full text.


Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA)
Proposed Changes to Internal Control Reporting Requirements - NI 52-109

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published today the Notice and Request for Comments for the proposed repeal and replacement of Multilateral Instrument 52-109 Certification of Disclosure in Issuers' Annual and Interim Filings. Click here for a pdf document which contains the following:


Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA)
What's New?

March 30, 2007
Standards
Employee Future Benefits
The AcSB has issued an Exposure Draft proposing amendments to Section 3461, Employee Future Benefits, that recognizes the funded status of a defined benefit plan in an entity's balance sheet. Comments are requested by June 30, 2007.

March 30, 2007
Standards
Survey of Reported Canadian/US GAAP Differences
AcSB staff have prepared a summary of its survey of Canadian/US GAAP differences reported by Canadian companies in years ending in 2005.

March 28, 2007
Standards
Rate-Regulated Operations
The AcSB has issued an Exposure Draft, together with a Background Information and Basis for Conclusions document, proposing amendments to a number of Handbook Sections, as they relate to rate-regulated operations. Comments are requested by June 30, 2007.

March 28, 2007
Standards
AASB March 26, 2007 Decision Summary
An executive summary of discussions and decisions with respect to projects addressed in this meeting.

March 21, 2007
Standards
Exposure Draft to adopt ISAs
The AASB has issued an Exposure Draft of proposed Canadian Auditing Standard CAS 550, Related Parties. The comment period ends June 8, 2007.

March 21, 2007
Research & Guidance
ICFR Certification and Disclosure - Smaller Issuers
Commissioned by the RMG Board, this document helps smaller public companies fulfill their responsibilities regarding certification and disclosure about internal control over financial reporting (ICFR)

March 19, 2007
Standards
Exposure Draft to adopt ISAs
The AASB has issued an Exposure Draft of proposed Canadian Auditing Standard CAS 570, Going Concern. The comment period ends May 15, 2007.

March 15, 2007
Standards
Income Taxes Arising from Partnership Income (RD59)
Accounting Policy Choice for Transaction Costs (D64)

Abstracts issued for comment by the Emerging Issues Committee have been posted. Comments are requested by April 16, 2007.

March 15, 2007
Standards
AcSB March 7, 2007 Decision Summary
An executive summary of discussions and decisions with respect to the topic addressed at this meeting: International Activities; Publicly Accountable Enterprises — Strategy; Non-Publicly Accountable Enterprises — Strategy; Inventories; Materiality; Canada/US GAAP Differences.

March 15, 2007
News
Canada’s Chartered Accountants call for reductions in spending, federal debt, and taxes
Implementing measures that reduce government spending, lower taxes, and increase federal debt payments would benefit Canadians today and ensure Canada has a strong and sustainable economy for future generations, Canada’s Chartered Accountants said today.

March 08, 2007
News
Landmark government accounting and reporting standards issued will provide taxpayers a more complete picture of local government finances
Local governments will provide a more comprehensive picture of their financial position and results as new standards requiring full accrual accounting are approved by the PSAB of the CICA.

March 08, 2007
Standards
AASB March 6, 2007 Decision Summary
An executive summary of discussions and decisions with respect to projects addressed in this meeting.

March 08, 2007
Standards
Public Performance Reporting Assessment Guide
This Guide is a useful tool for assessing a public sector entity's public performance report. It uses PSAB's Statement of Recommended Practice SORP-2, Public Performance Reporting, as a foundation.

March 05, 2007
Standards
US SEC Staff Roundtable on IFRS “Roadmap”
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be holding a webcast on March 6, 2007, on the implications of removing the requirement for reconciliations to US GAAP for financial statements prepared using IFRS. More information can be found on the SEC website.

March 05, 2007
Standards
Convertible and Other Debt Instruments with Embedded Derivatives (EIC-164)
An Abstract issued by the Emerging Issues Committee has been posted.

March 02, 2007
Standards
Investment Companies
A Typescript of the final amendments to AcG-15, Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities and AcG-18, Investment Companies has been issued.


International News

International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
What’s New?

IASB issues amendments to the requirements for borrowing costs 29 March 2007
The ASBJ and the IASB hold fifth meeting 29 March 2007
IFRIC and IASB Update March 2007 - Now Available 27 March 2007
IASB announces membership of Employee Benefits Working Group 16 March 2007
IASC Foundation publishes complete IASB standards for 2007 13 March 2007
2007 IFRS Bound Volume - NOW available 13 March 2007
History of the IASC 1973-2000 08 March 2007

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
What's New?

PRIVATE COMPANY FINANCIAL REPORTING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES MEMBERSHIP

Norwalk, CT, March 6, 2007—The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee (PCFRC) today announced its founding membership.

The PCFRC is part of a broad initiative by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB or "the Board") and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to further improve the FASB's current standard-setting process to better meet the financial reporting needs of private companies and the users of their financial statements. The primary objective of the PCFRC will be to provide recommendations to the FASB that will help the Board determine whether and where there should be specific differences in prospective and existing accounting standards for private companies.

Today's announcement follows the December 2006 appointment of Judith O'Dell as Chair of the PCFRC. A financial reporting expert with broad experience dealing with accounting issues central to private companies, Ms. O'Dell is President of O'Dell Valuation Consulting, LLC, CPAs and Principal and Chief Financial Officer of a family-owned enterprise engaged in real-estate development, construction, and a hotel and restaurant business.

For more information please go to:

http://www.fasb.org/news/nr030607.shtml


IFRS Update

FEI Canada Launches IFRS Resource Centre

In an effort to help our members stay up-to-date on IFRS developments, and to provide them with a central reference point for information on the conversion process, FEI Canada has begun an IFRS Resource Centre.

A work in progress, this section of the FEI Canada website will include recent announcements from the IASB and the AcSB, industry-specific overviews of the impact of IFRS, tools and other resources to use in the conversion process, and analysis of the conversion process from our strategic partners and other thought leaders in the area of IFRS.

The IFRS Resource Centre will be updated as new information becomes available. We also encourage you to pass along any information you may have come across that would be of use to your colleagues.

Your feedback on the site is greatly encouraged. As it grows, we anticipate that it will change and become more dynamic.

Please click here for the IFRS Resource Centre.

Please send any comments, suggestions and/or resources to hbell@feicanada.org.

In This Issue

FEIC Response to Federal Budget
IDC White Paper
The Federal Budget
The Ontario Budget
The Saskatchewan Budget
Tax Management Strategies
Investment Manager Outlook
Proposed changes to Internal Control Reporting Requirements: NI 52-109
What's New CICA
What's New IASB
What's New FASB
IFRS Update