Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
Is your company making the transition to Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises (CICA Handbook, Part II)? Do you have employees in a defined benefit pension plan? You should know that the Accounting Standards Board has approved amendments to CICA 1500, “First-time adoption” and Section 3461, “Employee future benefits”…
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, January 26th, 2012
What board of directors couldn’t benefit from “A minute on minutes”—that’s board meeting minutes, get it? Here’s an outline of pros, cons and warnings, from basic to advanced.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
With the passing of the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (and all that entails), law firm Drache Aptowitzer has introduced a website dedicated to the Act.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
Under the recently enacted Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, directors and board members can pass resolutions without holding actual meetings. Many organizations will likely find this measure convenient, particularly where members are often unavailable for meetings due to time and distance.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, November 21st, 2011
Recently, I wrote about the concept of shared value, a business strategy under which organizations consider the needs of their communities alongside those of their shareholders, in order to improve conditions for business (and communities where they operate) and maximize profit. What a crazy idea, right? Healthier communities mean more profitable businesses? So crazy it just might work.
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
Jeffrey D. Sherman is the lead author of all four volumes of First Reference’s Internal Controls Library: Finance and Accounting PolicyPro (including Operations and Marketing PolicyPro), Information Technology PolicyPro and Not-for-Profit PolicyPro. While we knew our internal control publications were in good hands before, we don’t mind saying we’re especially proud to have Jeffrey’s name on them now.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
You not-for-profit organizations and charities out there probably remember that, in the not-too-distant past, the federal and Ontario governments enacted new laws governing the activities of NFPs. Well, some expect these laws to come into force within the next six months. That’s sooner than you probably think.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
Charities know they’ve got strict rules to follow, and they know there are stiff penalties for non-compliance. They should also know that the Charities Directorate and the Canada Revenue Agency will work with organizations to help them maintain their charitable status, if necessary through a compliance agreement which both the CRA and the charity accept.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, August 29th, 2011
Over eight months in 2010, the Ontario government consulted with not-for-profit organizations and their representatives on ways that the government could better support the NFP sector. “Participants advised on legislation, policies, structural issues and funding mechanisms. They also contributed ideas on how to better coordinate policy, research and communication with and for the sector.”
Read the rest of this post »Monday, August 15th, 2011
Shared value is a different way of looking at CSR that offers a view to the possibility of inherent social responsibility, and the great potential that it offers to people and their economies. That potential lies in serving un- or underserved communities, of which there are many. For example, services directed at specific ethnic groups and immigrants, or hyper-local businesses that understand and meet their communities’ needs better than faceless franchises.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, July 25th, 2011
Charity and non-profit lawyer Mark Blumberg offers a compliance checklist for Canadian charities via the GlobalPhilanthropy.ca charity assistance project.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, July 18th, 2011
Last month I read about the death of corporate social responsibility. Now, I’ve come across the concept of “shared value”, which seems like a more thorough expression of the promise of CSR.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
After I joined the board of directors at a not-for-profit arts organization, it didn’t take long for me to wonder how I’d balance my new obligations with the rest of my day-to-day life. I’d volunteered before, but only informally. Now I have regular responsibilities, mainly meetings and fundraising. I’ll probably invest 70 to 80 hours volunteering with the organization this year. It’s a worthy cause, but it’s also worthwhile to question the time commitment.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, June 20th, 2011
Chances are you’re no stranger to electronic funds transfers. Broadly speaking, an EFT can mean any type of standard non-paper payment, including debit and credit card payments, email or wire money transfers (both domestic and international) and direct payroll deposits. Most organizations handle at least some of these transactions every day. The key question for businesses is: How do you keep track of these electronic transfers and, if necessary, register them with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada?
Read the rest of this post »Monday, June 6th, 2011
So approximately 6.1 out of every 10 Canadians went to the polls or mailed in a ballot to vote in the 41st general election, and the Conservative Party won its long-coveted majority, despite the charges of contempt that felled the previous Parliament. Will we have a nice and stable four years to build on our economic recovery, as the Conservatives campaigned? Or will we find the country irrevocably transformed in the Conservative image, as the Liberals and NDP charged?
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Leslie D Foreman:Andrew Taillon:
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