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Financial reporting and accounting advisory services
You trust your external auditor to deliver not only a high-quality, independent audit of your financial statements but to provide a range of support, including assessing material risks, evaluating internal controls and raising awareness around new and amended accounting standards.
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Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises
Get the clear financial picture you need with the accounting standards team at Grant Thornton LLP. Our experts have extensive experience with private enterprises of all sizes in all industries, an in-depth knowledge of today’s accounting standards, and are directly involved in the standard-setting process.
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International Financial Reporting Standards
Whether you are already using IFRS or considering a transition to this global framework, Grant Thornton LLP’s accounting standards team is here to help.
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Accounting Standards for Not-for-Profit Organizations
From small, community organizations to large, national charities, you can count on Grant Thornton LLP’s accounting standards team for in-depth knowledge and trusted advice.
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Public Sector Accounting Standards
Working for a public-sector organization comes with a unique set of requirements for accounting and financial reporting. Grant Thornton LLP’s accounting standards team has the practical, public-sector experience and in-depth knowledge you need.
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Tax planning and compliance
Whether you are a private or public organization, your goal is to manage the critical aspects of tax compliance, and achieve the most effective results. At Grant Thornton, we focus on delivering relevant advice, and providing an integrated planning approach to help you fulfill compliance obligations.
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Research and development and government incentives
Are you developing innovative processes or products, undertaking experimentation or solving technological problems? If so, you may qualify to claim SR&ED tax credits. This Canadian federal government initiative is designed to encourage and support innovation in Canada. Our R&D professionals are a highly-trained, diverse team of practitioners that are engineers, scientists and specialized accountants.
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Indirect tax
Keeping track of changes and developments in GST/HST, Quebec sales tax and other provincial sales taxes across Canada, can be a full-time job. The consequences for failing to adequately manage your organization’s sales tax obligations can be significant - from assessments, to forgone recoveries and cash flow implications, to customer or reputational risk.
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US corporate tax
The United States has a very complex and regulated tax environment, that may undergo significant changes. Cross-border tax issues could become even more challenging for Canadian businesses looking for growth and prosperity in the biggest economy in the world.
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Cross-border personal tax
In an increasingly flexible world, moving across the border may be more viable for Canadians and Americans; however, relocating may also have complex tax implications.
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International tax
While there is great opportunity for businesses looking to expand globally, organizations are under increasing tax scrutiny. Regardless of your company’s size and level of international involvement—whether you’re working abroad, investing, buying and selling, borrowing or manufacturing—doing business beyond Canada’s borders comes with its fair share of tax risks.
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Transfer pricing
Transfer pricing is a complex area of corporate taxation that is concerned with the intra-group pricing of goods, services, intangibles, and financial instruments. Transfer pricing has become a critical governance issue for companies, tax authorities and policy makers, and represents a principal risk area for multinationals.
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Succession & estate planning
Like many private business owners today, you’ve spent your career building and running your business successfully. Now you’re faced with deciding on a successor—a successor who may or may not want your direct involvement and share your vision.
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Tax Reporting & Advisory
The financial and tax reporting obligations of public markets and global tax authorities take significant resources and investment to manage. This requires calculating global tax provision estimates under US GAAP, IFRS, and other frameworks, and reconciling this reporting with tax compliance obligations.
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Transactions
Our transactions group takes a client-centric, integrated approach, focused on helping you make and implement the best financial strategies. We offer meaningful, actionable and holistic advice to allow you to create value, manage risks and seize opportunities. It’s what we do best: help great organizations like yours grow and thrive.
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Restructuring
We bring a wide range of services to both individuals and businesses – including shareholders, executives, directors, lenders, creditors and other advisors who are dealing with a corporation experiencing financial challenges.
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Forensics
Market-driven expertise in investigation, dispute resolution and digital forensics
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Consulting
Running a business is challenging and you need advice you can rely on at anytime you need it. Our team dives deep into your issues, looking holistically at your organization to understand your people, processes, and systems needs at the root of your pain points. The intersection of these three things is critical to develop the solutions you need today.
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Creditor updates
Updates for creditors, limited partners, investors and shareholders.
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Governance, risk and compliance
Effective, risk management—including governance and regulatory compliance—can lead to tangible, long-term business improvements. And be a source of significant competitive advantage.
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Internal audit
Organizations thrive when they are constantly innovating, improving or creating new services and products and envisioning new markets and growth opportunities.
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Certification – SOX
The corporate governance landscape is challenging at the best of times for public companies and their subsidiaries in Canada, the United States and around the world.
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Third party assurance
Naturally, clients and stakeholders want reassurance that there are appropriate controls and safeguards over the data and processes being used to service their business. It’s critical.
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ASPE Sec. 3041 Agriculture Understanding and applying the new ASPE Section 3041 AgricultureThe Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has released new guidance on recognizing, measuring and disclosing biological assets and the harvested products of bio assets.
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Tax alert Agricultural Clean Technology ProgramThe Agricultural Clean Technology Program will provide financial assistance to farmers and agri-businesses to help them reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
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Tax alert ACT Program – Research and Innovation Stream explainedThe ACT Research and Innovation Stream provides financial support to organizations engaged in pre-market innovation.
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Tax alert ACT Program – Adoption Stream explainedThe ACT Adoption Stream provides non-repayable funding to help farmers and agri-business with the purchase and installation of clean technologies.
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Builders And Developers
Every real estate project starts with a vision. We help builders and developers solidify that vision, transform it into reality, and create value.
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Rental Property Owners And Occupiers
In today’s economic climate, it’s more important than ever to have a strong advisory partner on your side.
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Real Estate Service Providers
Your company plays a key role in the success of landlords, investors and owners, but who is doing the same for you?
![2024 Real estate market summary: seeking optimism in uncertainty](/globalassets/1.-member-firms/canada/insights/tile_2024-real-estate-market-summary-seeking-optimism-in-uncertainty.jpg)
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Mining
There’s no business quite like mining. It’s volatile, risky and complex – but the potential pay-off is huge. You’re not afraid of a challenge: the key is finding the right balance between risk and reward. Whether you’re a junior prospector, a senior producer, or somewhere in between, we’ll work with you to explore, discover and extract value at every stage of the mining process.
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Oil & gas
The oil and gas industry is facing many complex challenges, beyond the price of oil. These include environmental issues, access to markets, growing competition from alternative energy sources and international markets, and a rapidly changing regulatory landscape, to name but a few.
The federal government has announced several economic measures to assist employers and their employees as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Wage subsidy: the government will cover up to 10 percent of an employer’s remuneration costs for three months
- Work-sharing program: the timeline for this existing program has been extended for up to 76 weeks
- Additional credit is now available through Export Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada
- Emergency Care Benefit: this benefit will provide up to $900 bi-weekly for up to 15 weeks for those who don’t qualify for EI sickness benefits and who don’t have paid sick leave
- Emergency Support Benefit: this benefit will provide up to 14 weeks of support for those who don’t qualify for EI and who face unemployment
On March 18, the federal government announced significant economic measures to support the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of $82 billion in financial aid, equal to three percent of Canada’s gross domestic product, was announced, including
- $27 billion in direct payments to Canadians who will require support, and
- $55 billion in tax deferrals available to all taxpayers.
The package announced on March 18, 2020, together with the economic aid announced last week, provide economic stimulus totaling $93 billion. This tax alert outlines the economic measures for businesses and their employees announced as part of that stimulus package. The tax measures that were announced as part of that package are not detailed here but can be found in this previous alert.
Economic measures targeted towards employers
Wage subsidy
The stimulus package included a wage subsidy to cover 10 percent of an employer’s remuneration costs for a period of three months. This measure will be available for “small employers,” which includes corporations eligible for the small business deduction, non-profit organizations and charities.
The following limits apply:
- Maximum $1,375 per employee
- Maximum $25,000 per employer
The government’s news release stated that this measure is “effective immediately” and that it would be accessed through a reduction of the required remittances for employee income tax withholdings. Therefore, an employer could calculate 10 percent of an employee’s remuneration paid over a period of three months and reduce the amount of the remitted income tax withholdings by that amount, up to $1,375 per employee, and up to $25,000 in total.
Work-sharing program
The Work Sharing Program is a federal government program administered through its employment insurance program that allows employers to coordinate with their employees to share work hours in an effort to avoid layoffs.
Employers who participate in the program due to COVID-19 can do so for up to 76 weeks, which is an extension of the usual maximum period of 38 weeks.
To be eligible for this program, an employer must be experiencing a downturn in business activity related to the global outbreak of COVID-19 and have:
- Work-sharing (WS) agreements signed between March 15, 2020 and March 14, 2021,
- WS agreements that began or ended between March 15, 2020 and March 14, 2021, and
- WS agreements that ended between June 23, 2019 and March 14, 2020 and are in their mandatory cooling-off period.
Additional requirements apply to both employers and employees and can be found at the Work Sharing Program website.
There is a mandatory “cooling-off” period, where an employer cannot re-enter a WS agreement with the same employees; however, the cooling-off period is being temporarily waived. Furthermore, any employers that participated in the program and whose participation period ended prior to March 13, 2020 may be able to waive the mandatory cooling-off period to participate in the program again.
Credit availability
Cash flow and liquidity are going to be of primary concern to many businesses. To address this concern, a coordinated response between the federal government, government agencies and the Bank of Canada was announced to help facilitate the availability of credit for businesses. The following measures have been implemented:
- $10 billion of additional financing, mainly for small and medium-sized enterprises, provided through Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
- BDC and EDC will work with private lenders (e.g. banks) to provide financing to sectors hard-hit by the economic slowdown, including oil & gas, air transportation and tourism
- Increased credit availability for businesses in farming and the agri-food sector through Farm Credit Canada
- Assistance for exporters through increased limits to the Canada Account, which is a program funded by the federal government and administered through EDC, to assist with export transactions in the national interest
- The Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate to 0.75 percent (decrease of 100 basis points since beginning of March)
- The purchase by the federal government of up to $50 billion of insured mortgages through the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program, which will provide banks and lenders with additional liquidity and stability to facilitate private lending to Canadian businesses and individuals
Other significant measures affecting businesses
Canada-US border
The Canadian and US governments agreed to close the border for tourists, shoppers and all non-essential travel. However, the border remains open for commerce (e.g. trucks with delivery of goods) to ensure minimal disruption to supply chains and the flow of goods.
Mortgages
Although not a government measure, Canada’s banks have confirmed that they will provide Canadian businesses and individuals with up to a six-month deferral of mortgage payments and other credit relief, which can be extremely helpful for businesses dealing with cash flow issues in the near future.
Economic measures targeted towards employees
New measures have been introduced, and changes have been made to existing measures, by the federal government in an effort to assist individuals who may be faced with losing their job or reduced wages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employment insurance change
For workers eligible for employment insurance (EI), the one-week mandatory waiting period has been waived for those accessing EI due to impacts from COVID-19. Furthermore, the requirement for a doctor’s note has also been waived.
EI provides an employee with 55 percent of their earnings, to a maximum of $573/week.
Both employed and self-employed individuals can qualify for EI. The individual must participate and pay into the EI program, have lost at least 40 percent of their usual pay and worked a minimum of 600 hours in the year prior to the claim or since their last claim. Self-employed individuals must wait at least 12 months after registering to participate in the program.
The application for EI can be found on the benefits page of the government of Canada’s website. Depending on the type of assistance being applied for, and the type of worker, workers can click on the appropriate link and provide the information required, including personal and banking details (to receive payment) and potentially a copy of the Record of Employment (ROE), if a paper-copy is provided. If electronic copies of the ROE are submitted to Service Canada, this step is not required.
Emergency Care Benefit
The Emergency Care Benefit (ECB) is a new measure that provides up to $900 bi-weekly for up to 15 weeks to workers who do not qualify for EI sickness benefits and who are quarantined, sick with COVID-19 or taking care of a family member who is sick with COVID-19. It will also be available for parents who can’t work as they take care of their children, regardless of whether they qualify for EI.
The government has stated that the application will be made available by April, although no specific date has been provided yet. Furthermore, they stated the process will be simple: supporting documentation will not be required, but the applicant will be asked to attest that they meet the requirements (and they will have to re-attest every two weeks).
The application will be available:
- Online via Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) My Account
- Online via My Service Canada Account
- Through a toll-free number (not yet available at date of this alert’s publication)
Emergency Support Benefit
Similar to the ECB, the Emergency Support Benefit is available to workers not eligible for EI. This benefit is for workers who face unemployment or reduced hours due to the economic impact of COVID-19. It will provide up to 14 weeks of support and will be comparable to EI.
It is expected that this benefit will also be administered through the CRA’s website and that the application will open in April. The government will provide additional details about this benefit in the coming days.
Additional support for individuals
Other support that the government is providing to individuals includes:
- GST credit top-up: a one-time payment to be made in early May
- $400 for single individuals
- $600 for couples
- Canada Child Benefit top-up: a one-time payment also in early May
- $300/child
- Student loans: six-month moratorium on student loan payments, interest-free
- Seniors
- RRIF: minimum withdrawals reduced by 25 percent
- Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments will continue on a regular basis
We're here to helpWe understand that you want to be agile and responsive as the situation unfolds. Having access to experts, insights and accurate information as quickly as possible is critical—but your resources may be stretched at this time. We’re here to support you as you navigate through the impacts of coronavirus on your business and your investments. |