Highlights of the 2021 Fall Seminar

This past month, our members met - as we have done over the years - to talk about tax, accounting, and practice management. While pandemic restrictions forced us to meet virtually once again, it was great to touch base with friends – new and old – to discuss the important topics that our community is currently facing.
 
Each day started with an informal get-together in our ATAP lounge, which is always a great way to get feedback from other members about problems we might face in our practices. Unfortunately, online-only seminars can make it tough to connect with our peers, so we’re working hard on ways for our members to connect and have the informal networking that we all love at the live events.

On the first day of the event, James Rhodes of Taxation Lawyers talked about what we can expect from the CRA coming out of the pandemic and outlined practical steps that our members can take to ease the process of audits and reviews for themselves and their clients.

Walter Williams of Vine & Partners shared with us the hot topics that he sees the CRA focusing on right now and walked us through the new provisions contained in Bill C-208, which received Royal Assent earlier this year.  While the new legislation will make it easier to transfer corporations between generations and facilitate the re-organization of corporations between siblings, Walter identified a few areas of concern and shared some valuable suggestions on how our members can make sure they keep their clients onside with the rules.

We then moved into a discussion of the new rules surrounding Compilation Engagements.  For many in our community, this is the biggest change we have faced in almost forty years.  The amount of work required on files now that the Notice To Reader report is being retired should not be underestimated. Members of the ATAP Board explained the new requirements and answered questions from the audience on what they should do to be prepared for the new standard.

We finished the day with an update from Ryan Mallough of CFIB, who talked with us about the issues facing small businesses as we come out of pandemic and shared with us what his organization is doing to advocate for our members and the broader small business community.

After a day of networking and education, it was time to unwind and take in a comedy show courtesy of The Unknown Comedy Club out of Montreal.  

The second day of the conference kicked off with a talk from motivational speaker Michael Lewis. He discussed “Embracing Our Spirit and Moving Forward” as we continue on the road to recovery.  For many in our community, the past 20 months have forced us to rethink the way we run our practices, and Michael challenged us to make the most of the opportunities this time has presented.

David Merritt of Client Track then spoke on the importance of practice management tools to help streamline our workflow and communications with clients.  David also discussed the importance of privacy legislation and offered suggestions for how our members can ensure compliance.

Mark Oresti of Vine & Partners followed up on the previous day’s discussion of Compilation Engagements.  Mark restated the requirements of the new standard and talked about how practitioners can go about implementing the necessary changes within their working papers.

We followed up Mark’s presentation with an open session with our members on the new Compilation Engagement requirements where people could ask any questions they might have and get feedback from other members.

Finally, we heard from Howard Levitt, one of the country’s best-known employment lawyers.  Howard outlined the challenges that our members face as business owners now that life and working conditions return to normal with provincial lockdowns and restrictions winding down. In addition, Howard provided some great advice on how our members can minimize the legal challenges they might face as their employees and clients begin returning to their offices.

All in all, it was a great two days of education on tax, accounting, and practice management.  The 2021 Fall Seminar also gave our members a way to connect with each other, share some laughs and get some answers to questions they might not have even known they had before the event.