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Posts Tagged ‘Finance and Accounting PolicyPro’

Managing fraud risk

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

Reducing the risk of fraud from both external and internal sources is something that all businesses have to consider at some time, or continually, depending on the owner’s approach and taste for living on the edge. But seriously, fraud is a serious problem that can damage or even destroy a business, particularly small and medium ones, which can’t afford the potential losses.

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Tags: anti-fraud controls, banking and treasury, embezzlement, employee fraud, employee theft, external fraud, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, fraud prevention, fraud risk, indemnification, internal fraud, Jeffrey Sherman, purchasing, record keeping, revenue, risk, risk management
Posted in Employee Relations, Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Internal Controls, Payroll | Make a Comment »

First Reference author and collaborator Jeffrey Sherman named Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants

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.

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Tags: FAPP, FCA, Fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, ICAO, Information Technology PolicyPro, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, ITPP, Jeffrey Sherman, not-for-profit policypro, NPPP, OMPP, Operations and Marketing PolicyPro
Posted in Announcements, Finance and Accounting, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Not-for-Profit | 1 Comment »

Do you offer ‘paperless receipts’?

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

If you do, you should make sure you understand the privacy and personal information implications. CTV reports that some Canadian retailers are now offering their customers an “e-receipt”, which they can receive by email or access at dedicated websites. Sure, it’s a “green” option, and maybe more convenient for customers who want to track their purchases, but it requires the customer to provide an email address, which might allow retailers to “learn a lot about a customer’s preferences and buying habits”.

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Tags: anti-spam law, e-receipt, electronic marketing, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, marketing, paperless receipt, personal information, Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, PIPEDA, privacy, privacy law, spam
Posted in Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security | 2 Comments »

A new age of records retention: good policy more than worth the effort

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

There are a number of potentially troublesome issues associated with retaining records. For example: there are storage and privacy concerns; organizations must ensure they keep records secure in accordance with relevant privacy laws. At the same time, organizations might not have considered the self-incriminating information that records might hold, and they will want to ensure they don’t keep potentially incriminating records any longer than the law requires.

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Tags: audit, document destruction, document management, document retention, evidence, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, Information Technology PolicyPro, ITPP, Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, PIPEDA, records management, self-incrimination
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy and Security | Make a Comment »

Online security – not just for big business

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Surely you’ve heard about the major security and data breaches that Sony has experienced this year. It’s bad. It’s a liability. Despite the popularity of their online services, they’ll have to work hard to regain customers’ loyalty. Other big names have experienced similar attacks.

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Tags: attack, classified information, credit card data, cyber-thieves, Data breach, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, hackers, hacking, Information Technology PolicyPro, ITPP, loyalty, Network Security, online security, privacy, proprietary information, risk management, SMBs, Sony, Symantec
Posted in Finance and Accounting, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security | Make a Comment »

Canadian charity law checklist features compliance issues

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.

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Tags: charity, compliance, disbursement quota, donation receipts, ensuring correct information, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, fundraising, GlobalPhilanthropy.ca, Information Technology PolicyPro, ITPP, maintaining legal status, Mark Blumberg, non-charitable activities, non-qualified donees, not-for-profit governance, not-for-profit policypro, NPPP, registered charity, religious school tuition, risk management, T3010, tax shelters
Posted in Employment Standards, Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Internal Controls, Not-for-Profit | Make a Comment »

Do you report your EFTs to FINTRAC?

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?

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Tags: compliance, credit card, debit card, direct deposit, EFT, electronic funds transfers, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, FINTRAC, money laundering, money transfers, Reporting, security threats, terrorist activity financing
Posted in Finance and Accounting, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Not-for-Profit | Make a Comment »

Sure you know EFTs, but do you know EFTs?

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

No doubt you’ve heard that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In the world of electronic funds transfers, this maxim holds doubly true. It applies to security systems and the networks they run on (including the Internet) as well as the users of those systems and networks. A security system can only defend a network if it offers sufficient coverage and controls. Absent such controls, users can, intentionally or accidentally, access, change or steal data that they are not authorized to see.

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Tags: authorization, chip card, credit card, debit card, EFT, electronic funds transfers, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, forging, identification, Information Technology PolicyPro, ITPP, paper transactions, PIN, signature, theft, transaction controls
Posted in Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy and Security | Make a Comment »

A few words about tax risk

Monday, February 28th, 2011

I have the privilege of offering our readers information on a diverse range of important topics that few people really want to talk about, like tax risk.

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Tags: aggressive tax planning, compliance, compliance risk, documentation, documentation risk, FAPP, finance, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, income tax, international subsidiaries, legal requirements, managing risk, operational risk, reporting obligations, reporting risk, reputation, reputational risk, risk, tax controls, tax evasion, tax risk
Posted in Finance and Accounting, Internal Controls | Make a Comment »

First damage award in PIPEDA case

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

Here’s something readers might want to know about: the Federal Court has awarded damages in a case based on the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. Why is that special? Well, it’s the first damages award in the 10-year history of the Act.

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Tags: damage award, document recording and retention obligations, document retention policies, employment law, FAPP, Federal Court, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, Human Resources PolicyPro, information management, Information Technology PolicyPro, ITPP, maintaining accurate information, personal information, Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, PIPEDA, The Human Resources Advisor
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy and Security | 2 Comments »

Destruction of information – do you know your obligations?

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

Here’s something you might want to know about: the Federal Government has introduced a law to impose stricter obligations with respect to information and security breaches.

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Tags: Bill C-29, collecting data, data storage, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, personal information, Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, PIPEDA, privacy and risk management, Privacy Commissioner, privacy legislation, recycling, Safeguarding Canadians' Personal Information Act, security breaches, security gaps
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy and Security | Make a Comment »

The dream of a national securities regulator lives on

Monday, February 7th, 2011

No doubt you’ve heard about the debate over a national securities regulator. Maybe you’ve even paid attention a bit. (I believe there was a scuffle recently over a logo or something—and the location of the head office of the proposed regulator?) Anyway, the Federal Government has prepared a Securities Act and handed it over to the Supreme Court to decide whether the feds even have the legal authority to establish a harmonized national regime to govern capital markets.

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Tags: Canadian Securities Administrators, Canadian Securities Transition Office, competition, corporate governance, disclosure, enforcement, FAPP, federal Securities Act, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, governance, governance disclosure, securities act, securities regulator
Posted in Finance and Accounting, Internal Controls | 3 Comments »

Mercer benefits governance survey

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Every area of business operations involves some type of risk, which if unchecked can threaten not just that specific area but the entire business. For example, according to Mercer’s…

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Tags: benefit plans, benefits governance, Colin Braithwaite, defined benefit plan, defined benefit plan funding, economic crisis, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, Jeffrey Sherman, Mercer governance survey, mitigating risk, recession, risk, Risk assessment tools for effective internal controls, risk management
Posted in Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Internal Controls | Make a Comment »

Will poor management decisions mean the end for American Apparel?

Monday, October 25th, 2010

You’ve probably heard of American Apparel, the Los Angeles-based clothing manufacturer and retailer that’s so popular with the kids these days, they of the semi-controversial billboard advertisements and almost-certainly-controversial CEO Dov Charney…

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Tags: American Apparel, bankruptcy, business ethics, canadian employment law, clothing manufacturer and retailer, controversy, discrimination, employment law, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, governance, Jezebel, Made in USA, management, sweatshop
Posted in Employment Standards, Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Internal Controls, Recruiting and Hiring | 2 Comments »

Are spreadsheets part of your IFRS conversion plan?

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

I bet more than a few of our readers use spreadsheets in their accounting, payroll and HR processes. You might even be thinking of (or currently) using them in your efforts to convert from GAAP to IFRS. And why wouldn’t you? The CICA says, “Spreadsheets are dynamic tools that can provide a wide variety of functionality at minimal cost. Consequently, in an environment of stringent deadlines and temporary data processing needs, they are used to fill the gaps in functionality within the computing environment”. But there are risks…

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Tags: accounting, CICA, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, GAAP, IFRS, IFRS conversion plan, Reporting, spreadsheet error, spreadsheets
Posted in Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Internal Controls | 1 Comment »