Collins Barrow Ottawa's Tax Partner, Rosa Iuliano, discusses the Harmonized Sales Tax with Greg Hebert on CFRA's Business @ Night - Tax Tip Tuesday.  (Tuesday, May 4, 2010)

The accounting profession is undergoing rapid changes with the release of several new rules, guidelines and pronouncements in various areas including the Harmonized Sales Tax, International Auditing Standards and Private Enterprise GAAP.  In response to these developments we have prepared a number of Resource Centres on our website to keep you informed and prepared of these impending changes which may have a significant impact on your accounting and business processes.  Please check the site frequently to make sure you are up to date with the latest information, tools and resources.

Harmonized Sales Tax Centre

As a small business owner you are well aware that proper tax planning and corporate structuring are essential for increasing your wealth and protecting the assets you have built up over many years of hard work. After carefully planning your, financial, legal, and personal affairs and with so much at stake would you put your plans at risk by not taking the necessary steps to ensure success? Unlikely, but many do just that by not appropriately valuing their assets prior to implementing their plans. Cutting corners on your tax plan by not obtaining a…
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On July 1, 2010, businesses in Ontario and BC will be switching over to the new HST sales tax system, however, some will be impacted as early as May 1, 2010. Many users of QuickBooks have been wondering how these changes will impact them and how they should be configuring their accounting software. To assist with this process, Intuit will be releasing a new tool, available during the last week of April, which will be rolled-out with a new R4 maintenance patch/update for QuickBooks. Please make sure that the Automatic Update features of QuickBooks are turned on…
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The Partners of Collins Barrow Ottawa LLP are pleased to announce that David Robert Clarke, BSc., CA●CBV has been admitted to the Partnership effective January 1, 2010.

Prior to public practice, Dave worked in private industry where he gained industry and managerial experience. Dave earned his Chartered Accountant designation through the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia. Dave has been in public practice for over 10 years working with both big four and mid-size firms. His audit experience includes the management of audit teams for both small and large companies, including high-tech, manufacturing…
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The Challenge

Are you a Not-For-Profit (NFP) organization that is tired of the excess paperwork to track donations or membership lists? You are not alone. With shrinking funding, reduced donations, and limited human resources, it is more important than ever that organizations create and manage systems which help achieve their operational objectives while addressing the constraints and limitations of today's operating environment. One of the key enablers is the efficient and effective use of information technology.

Making the Best of Your Current Situation

Many small and medium sized organizations currently use QuickBooks or Simply Accounting for their accounting system.…
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The Need

Over the past few years more and more not-for-profit organizations are realizing the need for a welldrafted, formal investment policy. Without a clear policy, directors and management of the organization may be failing in their fiduciary responsibilities. Any organization that has assets to invest needs to have explicit policies to guide their investment activities. By establishing a formal policy that is built around the organization's specific goals and objectives, directors can be assured of a stable financial future for the organization.

The Process

The process of creating an investment policy begins by defining the overall goals,…
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What is Planned Giving?

Planned giving is an ongoing method of providing a gift of funds to a charity with the emphasis on building a long-term relationship. This may include current and deferred gifts but in all cases benefits both the donor and the charitable organization.

With current outright monetary gifts the charity has the immediate ability to use the funds to carry out important projects. The donor can see the benefit of donated funds at work immediately. Funds are utilized at present value rather than at a reduced value…
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