Managing an accounting firm can become overwhelming when you are juggling personal life, office management, and business matters on top of your accounting practice. Some accountants may have trouble letting go of control when they have been trained to do everything for themselves both in school and in the early years of their practice. Learning to ask for help can help you mitigate stress, and it can be key to your financial success because delegating work to the least expensive competent worker will increase production and profits.
Learn how to ask for help and what projects to delegate by following these tips:
- Don’t wait until you are angry and frustrated with too much work before you consider bringing in reinforcements. Waiting will just create stress, and can even lead
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Stewart Hall of HSBC Securities Canada issued his comments on today’s Bank of Canada interest rate announcement.
He concludes from the Bank of Canada announcement that, “A policy change is coming, but it is looking like evolutionary change rather than revolutionary… We continue to forecast a rate hike in September of 2010.”
Given the record levels of Canadian consumer and mortgage debt, as interest rates increase many debtors will find their own “tipping point”, where monthly minimum payments exceed monthly maximum earnings.
“Now” is always a good time to sell over-leveraged assets. Including houses…. Ancient wisdom: Greed blinds.
It is now easier and less costly to file suits in Ontario. If you or your clients want to recover a debt, sue for wrongful dismissal or for any other cause, Ontario’s courts have changed their claim limits and eased some procedural requirements. I am pleased to reprint here an excellent summary of recent changes to Ontario’s Court procedures, focussed on employee claims against former employers, but applicable to a wide range of cases you or your clients may encounter.
The most frequent question asked on this site is, “How much is my surplus income requirement?” (Surplus income is the amount of monthly income that a bankrupt must share with his creditors during the period of bankruptcy.) I have now provided a sample calculation of surplus income, with a downloadable spreadsheet that can be modified for specific cases. See Surplus Income under the Bankruptcy Rules menu item above for more information.
LinkedIn and other social and business networking websites have found their place in our society. The past few years have seen an explosive and exponential growth of many such online networks. In the beginning most people were skeptical about them, but now they are not only here to stay, but they offer opportunities we never had before.
Why network? Here are 26 or so reasons…
I got tired of reading the short excerpts published in the media, so I am pleased to provide here an archive of the original economics notes issued by Stewart Hall of HSBC Securities Canada. These are available, as far as I can tell, nowhere else on the web. See the new menu item above.
Stewart Hall is HSBC’s Canadian Economist based in Toronto. He joined HSBC in 1998 and held the previous role of Market Strategist for HSBC Canada. Stewart has been analysing, writing and speaking about foreign exchange and fixed income markets for over 15 years and is frequently called upon by newspapers, newswires, radio and TV to provide market and macro-economic commentary. He holds degrees in Economics and International Relations from the University of Waterloo (BA 1990), and Queen’s University (MA 1992).
StatsCan recently released the results of its 2008 accounting services industry survey. One of the data sets released shows the breakdown of accounting clients for all of Canada, summarized as follows:
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I am honoured that following authors have recently allowed me to present their guest articles:
Brett Harrison – A broker’s word is its bond: Verbal contract held binding in UBS v. Sands
Expert Witnesses
Statistics Canada recently released the 2007 Accounting Services Prices Indexes, only 2½ months after the 2006 Indexes. Inflation in tax preparation fees slowed significantly in 2007, with corporate tax preparation
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I have posted today’s note from Stewart here.
He writes, “Despite historically low interest rates, consumers are being priced out of the market for
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Stewart Hall, economist for HSBC Securities Canada, provides excellent periodic notes on the Canadian economy. Here is the latest one, for your consideration:
Stewart Hall January 29, 2010 Note
My two cents: “V” is the first half of “W”.
Here is a great video and article from my friend David Cohen of Gowlings on what’s happening today in Canadian businesses:
David leaves open the question whether we will see a quick or slow recovery from here, but
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“Based on projected figures, more than a million [American] women will find their way to the bankruptcy courts this year – more women than will graduate from college, receive a diagnosis of cancer, or file for divorce.” As if our sexist world didn’t make it difficult enough for women, read how American women (and this is just as true for Canadians) are especially vulnerable in yet another way: http://bit.ly/6iSqan
Written on
December 18, 2009 in
Oddities
As a bankruptcy trustee, you never know what you will find when you go into a failed business: http://bit.ly/Cremation
In a recent report from CNNWorld, Columbian-born pop singer Shakira declares that her family’s bankruptcy when she was a child motivated her to become the successful, world-famous pop star she is today.
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