Corporate Directors: Get Up to Speed on IFRS

Board members need to become familiar with how IFRS will change the companies and the transactions they oversee when the switch from Canadian GAAP takes place next January. Here is a guide to some of the critical information directors need to cope with the changeover and a few reasons why private companies may want to switch to the new standards.

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Sales

Lay the Groundwork for Long-Distance Teamwork

Geographically distant employees can be kept on the same track and working toward the same goals by creating “virtual” teams. Click on “Full Article” to see how this strengthens bonds among your staff, improves customer service and keeps your company on target. 

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Marketing

Learn Your Business From Your Customers

Unlock the mysteries of what your clientele wants and you’ll find that your repeat business will grow. Here’s how to teach your staff to read your customers and a questionnaire that will let your customers give you a “report card” that can help you better meet their needs and bring you a more robust bottom line.

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Figure a Company’s Fundamentals into Its Long-Term Value

BP’s stock price plunged more than 50 per cent in the first couple of months following the company’s oil rig disaster. But the shares have started to recover from their lows in late June, even after the oil concern posted a US$17 billion loss for the second quarter. These fluctuations underscore the importance of knowing your investments well and taking steps to mitigate losses in your investment portfolio. Read on for insights.

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Business Tax – Canada

GST Registrants: Which Type of Revenue Do You Collect?

For GST purposes, the difference between paying and not paying is directly related to three categories of goods and services: zero-rated, exempt and taxable. It can be a complicated issue, so here’s an explanation of how those classifications apply to your business.

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Personal Tax – Canada

You May Be a ‘U.S. Person’ When It Comes to Offshore Accounts

You may have no tax obligations in the U.S., but you still may be required to disclose certain non-U.S. financial accounts to the American tax agency. Here is how the reporting regulations may affect you.

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Brainstorming: Study Raises Questions

Is there a better way to find ideas? Recent research identifies a weakness in traditional group brainstorming. The study implies that the technique may not be the best way to generate creative, new concepts. Here is what the study showed and tips on how your company can hold effective sessions.

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Management

Be a Hands-On Manager to Maximize Profits

Nobody leads better than you. Delegation, of course, is smart managing, but there are times when it’s definitely better to take charge than leave the details to someone else. Here’s a look at how getting down there with your employees can boost productivity and provide that motivational push to your staff.

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Operations

Outsourcing: Eight Steps to Help Mitigate Risks

In today’s business world, most companies outsource some tasks. Many of them send work overseas. Outsourcing can save money, and in some cases, even save some companies from going out of business. But whether you outsource abroad or up the street, there can be risks involved. Here are some of the potential problems, as well as eight ways to help mitigate the risks.

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Tantalize Customers with Mobile Promotions

Put a GPS fence around the area where your enterprise is located and offer nearby customers an exclusive special. That is just one way new technology lets your company pull in consumers as they are out and about. Other location marketing methods include check-in applications and electronic coupons sent to cell phones that can be scanned right off the screen. Here are the basics and some tips on how to use this technology effectively.

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Human Resources

Motivate Your Staff With Creative Perks

Beef up your benefits package with nontraditional perks that improve your employees’ quality of life. Here are some unique ideas that can help your company retain and motivate employees and add some pep to its bottom line.

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Business Finance

For Better Cash Flow, Change Your Billing System

Speed up your billing cycle and you can improve cash flow without giving your customers a de facto short-term interest-bearing loan. Try giving your company a “cash flow exam” to uncover blocks to a smooth flow of cash. Click “Full Article” for guidance on how to go about it. Your bottom line will be healthier.

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HST: Adjust to Higher Fund Management Fees

Ontario and British Columbia have joined the movement toward HST, and that will affect how much you as an investor will pay in fees as well as how much sales tax investment funds will pay. Here’s a look at how management expense ratios, already high in Canada, will increase and cut into your investment returns, as well as how fund managers are rushing to even out the differences in provincial sales taxes by devising blended rates.

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Sales

Coach Your Sales Team to Maximum Performance

Shift sales into overdrive by coaching your associates in every aspect of their jobs throughout the year. By setting interim goals, tracking results and providing extra guidance, you can motivate your sales team and watch your profits climb.

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Marketing

Customers Rule

Customer satisfaction is key to improving your company’s financial picture. Assess the needs and expectations of your clientele with tools that are unique to your industry, make changes that seem necessary and watch your business grow.

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Time to Rethink Your Investment Strategy?

The recent stock market “flash crash” was unlike anything investors ever witnessed. In a matter of mere minutes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 990 points. Stop-loss orders — a market strategy designed to stem the bleeding — only contributed to the bloodshed on this particular afternoon. As investors lick their wounds, one question remains: Is it time to rethink your investment strategy? For insights, read on.

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Business Tax – Canada

To Be or Not To Be a GST Registrant

Mandatory registration for GST depends on several factors, primarily the total of your global revenue. And the rules apply whether you do business as a corporation, a partnership or a sole proprietor. Here’s a look at when you must register, why it may be a good idea to sign up voluntarily and guidelines on how to report GST to remit what you owe or get a refund or credit on what you have paid.

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Personal Tax – Canada

Master the Nuts and Bolts of ‘Refundable’ Taxes

Investment income is a key goal of financial planning, as is minimizing taxes. When it comes to dividends and other passive earnings, the Income Tax Act includes provisions aimed at ensuring you pay the same tax on that money as you would if you had earned it directly. Here’s how the system works.

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Ontario Broadens Employee Protections

If your business has operations in Ontario, be sure you have a firm understanding of the breadth of the province’s amended health and safety law. Your company will be held accountable for any violations and the penalties can be heavy. Here is a guide to the major provisions of the law and an explanation of how the large province has expanded the definition of violence and harassment.

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Management

Promote Your Company’s Uniqueness

What makes your company stand apart from its competitors? Once you answer that question and turn it into a unique selling proposition, you are well on your way to capitalizing on your business’s strengths. Here’s a guide on how to create a USP that can draw customers, improve employee morale and even breathe new life into your bottom line and corporate image. 

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Operations

Fed Up Customers Can Hurt Profits

Customers hate waiting, and when they think they have waited long enough, they will likely leave without buying anything. Wait time is a key indicator of customer satisfaction, which is paramount to healthy and sustained profitability. Click “Full Article” for the results of the poll as well as a management checklist on how to maintain outstanding service to your enterprise’s customers or clients.

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Improve the Effectiveness of Your Audit Committee

Audit committees face many challenges this year. As the economy moves from recession to recovery, there are new dimensions to the oversight roles and responsibilities of audit panels at public corporations, private companies and not-for-profit organizations. Here are some steps to consider and questions to ask to improve effectiveness.

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Sales

Know Your Prospects!

Investigation is the key to knowing more about a prospective buyer and becoming better equipped to link your company’s products or services to that customer’s bottom line. Click “Full Article” for the three steps that can cut wasted effort and increase the percentage of sales leads that turn into done deals.

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Marketing

Make Your Message Contagious

Watch your business explode when you apply a centuries-old technique to your marketing efforts. Viral marketing can give new life to your sales with little effort or cost. Click “Full Article” for a look at the major symptoms of a good viral campaign and let others do the work for you.

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Don’t Overlook Tax Deductions and Credits You Can Claim

Avoid unnecessary taxes by providing your accountant with all the information necessary to get the federal breaks you are entitled to and use them to your best advantage. Here’s is a breakdown of the most commonly forgotten ways to lower your taxes. Your accountant will know if there are comparable provincial breaks and whether it makes financial sense to transfer or combine certain tax credits with a spouse or common-law partner.

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Management

Make Sure Your Employees Make the Connection

Employees should be aware of how their duties translate into profits for the company. In other words, how they fit into the big picture. Click “Full Article” for some ways to help them make the connection.

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Operations

Pull the Plug on Employee Theft

Sticky fingers erode profits, create losses — and in some cases, even cause bankruptcy. Be vigilant and you can stop thieves in their tracks. Here are 18 ways to go about it.

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Do You Have to Pay U.S. Taxes?

You may owe U.S. taxes or at least have to file a tax return with the Internal Revenue Service under certain circumstances. As the filing deadline approaches, take a look at this outline of the U.S. tax rules governing Canadian resident and nonresident aliens.

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Human Resources

Help New Employees Reach Their Potential

Ease employees into your company. Think about assigning veteran staffers as coaches to new hires. You’ll save time and money in training and turnover costs. And make sure the orientation is spread over time to allow more information at a slower pace. Here are some tips.

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Business Finance

Unplug the Money Valves

Cash flow is a major concern for businesses. The key to maintaining a healthy balance of money flowing in and flowing out of your enterprise is to understand the cash cycle and take steps to improve it. Click “Full Article” for eight tips on increasing your organization’s cash flow.

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