What's New on www.pwc.com/ca

Update: October 1, 2009

Publications

Sustainability Practices Make Good Sense for your Business
In episode 19 of Strategy Talks — The PwC Managing in a Downturn Podcast Series, Dean and Helen talk with Wendy Potomski, vice president of PwC’s Sustainable Business Solutions and Climate Change Services practice. She shares key sustainability strategies that are especially important in a down economy. Listen to the podcast: www.pwc.com/ca/strategytalks.

Litigation – 3 Keys to Success
In episode 18 of Strategy Talks — The PwC Managing in a Downturn Podcast Series, Helen and Dean welcome Robert Martin, a partner in PwC’s Advisory Services practice, and Gerry Ranking, the chair of Fasken Martineau’s litigation department in Ontario. They discuss the top three things you should always do when faced with litigation issues. Listen to the podcast: www.pwc.com/ca/strategytalks.

Performance Management – 7 Practices that Drive Superior Results
In episode 17 of Strategy Talks — The PwC Managing in a Downturn Podcast Series, Dean and Helen talk with Stuart Smith, a vice president in PwC's Advisory Service practice, and Greg Richards, the Cognos Professor of Performance Management with the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. They discuss the seven key practices of an effective performance management strategy. Listen to the podcast: www.pwc.com/ca/strategytalks.

Life Sciences Newsbrief — September 2009, Issue #11
This issue of Life Sciences Newsbrief discusses a new IFRS publication for the industry, as well as funding statistics from the United States.

Tax Memo: GST Rebate for Registered Pension Plan Trusts
On September 23, 2009, the Department of Finance announced plans for a GST rebate for pension entities (i.e., plan trusts and corporations that administer pension plans). Read the Tax Memo below to understand the new proposal’s details and how they will affect employers participating in a pension plan.

Tax Memo: GST and the Financial Services Sector – Updated Draft Legislation Released
On September 23, 2009, the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, released updated draft legislation on the proposed changes to the application of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to the financial services sector. The draft legislation updates the proposals that were released on January 26, 2007.

IFRS News -- September 2009
This issue of IFRS News discusses impairments, a new IFRS publication for the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector, and more.

Q&A: Canadian Retail Security Survey 2008
Canadian retailers are experiencing some challenging times. Turbulence in both the domestic and global economies made 2008 a particularly hard year for the retail industry, and those effects are expected to last well into 2010.

Transcript: Tax Tracks – A PwC Tax Services Podcast Series -- Episode 6
This episode of Tax Tracks discusses how  making technology investments  for the tax function can add value to your business.

Back to Basics
Not all private companies have had a tough time accessing financing through this recessionary year. In fact, contrary to popular perception, the majority of private companies in Canada surveyed for PwC's 2009 Business Insights® report said they have not noticed any significant changes over the past year when it comes to accessing capital.

Developments: Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED): Enhancing Global Competiveness
Tax incentives have become one of the main instruments of innovation policy for industrialized nations. In contrast to grants or subsidies, these incentives encourage domestic R&D spending by businesses without industry or technological targeting.

Sales Tax Harmonization (Ontario & BC) and You: What to Consider over the Next 10 Months
Effective July 1, 2010, the Ontario and BC governments will combine their provincial retail sales tax with the federal goods and services tax (GST) to create a harmonized sales tax (HST). But the lead-up to the harmonization date is just as significant as its commencement.

Maestro: Performance Insights Workshop
Maestro is a highly interactive one-day performance management workshop that brings together your executive team and PricewaterhouseCoopers' business advisors and performance management professionals to help fine tune your business.

Considering Your International Tax Structuring in Light of New Economic Circumstances
As a Canadian company that has international operations and tax structuring in place, you should consider the impact of the current economic environment on this tax structuring, as well as review these structures with new priorities including cash flow and gaining access to capital and cost savings.

Electronic Discovery: Cost Effective Compliance with Minimized Disruption
Today, lawyers are facing a rapid increase in the number of cases involving electronic discovery - the process of reliably recovering and handling of electronically stored information (ESI), including email, web pages, word processing files and databases - related to their clients' investigations, and civil and criminal court cases.

E–Discovery Readiness
Electronically stored information (ESI) is everywhere. Is your company prepared in the event of an investigation?

Restructuring Equity-based Compensation to Reduce Cash Outlays for Companies and Retain Executives
With share prices at unprecedented lows, traditional equity-based compensation plans have lost their appeal. In fact, restructuring an arrangement that improves retention and increases the incentive value for your employees while reducing cash outlays for your business is a fine balance.

Press releases

PricewaterhouseCoopers and Goldfarb, Shulman, Patel & Co. join practices
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) Canada and Goldfarb, Shulman, Patel & Co. LLP of Toronto are joining their practices effective October 1, 2009.

PwC online magazine explores market drivers, confidence of Alberta businesses and practical advice on making sustainable change in organizations
Natural gas has long been the quiet driver of Alberta’s economy. And with the price of natural gas dropping to a seven-year low and inventories reaching a record high, many organizations – both public and private – are re-evaluating their long-term business strategies, according to the latest edition of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) Doing Business in Alberta online magazine.

Financing not an issue for most Canadian private companies: PwC survey
Not all private companies have had a tough time accessing financing through this recessionary year.

Mean deal value in aerospace and defence sector declines 91% year-over-year
Economic instability has caused deal values in the aerospace and defence industry to plummet, according to the inaugural edition of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) LLP report, Mission control: Second-quarter 2009 global aerospace and defence industry mergers and acquisitions analysis.

Deal activity in the Transportation and Logistics sector slowed dramatically in the first half of 2009, according to PwC
The economic downturn continues to negatively impact deal activity and deal value, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP report.

Canadian retailers lose over $3 billion annually to crime: Retail Council of Canada, PricewaterhouseCoopers Survey 
Despite challenging economic times and turbulence in both the domestic and global economies, results of a PricewaterhouseCoopers and Retail Council of Canada survey of medium and large retailers for 2008 show that Canadian retailers are continuing their vigilance against the influences of criminal activity.

Cash bonuses for CEOs at Canadian mining companies decline sharply
Despite a slowdown in the mining industry, the CEOs of these companies have seen year-over-year increases in salaries according to the 2009 Mining Industry Salary Survey, researched and produced by Coopers Consulting Ltd. (Coopers Consulting) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).

Update: June 3, 2009

Publications

Are You at Risk for Fraud?
In episode 13 of Strategy Talks — The PwC Managing in a Downturn Podcast Series, Helen and Dean welcome guests Steven Henderson, a PwC Advisory Services partner and Sarah MacGregor, a director in PwC’s Advisory Services practice. They talk about ways in which a company’s fraud risk may increase during a recession. Listen to the podcast: www.pwc.com/ca/strategytalks.

What Does the OSC Ruling on Fairness Opinions Mean for You?
In episode 12 of Strategy Talks — The PwC Managing in a Downturn Podcast Series, Dean and Helen welcome Bill Orr, a partner in the Montreal office of Fasken Martineau. He talks about the future usefulness of fairness opinions in light of recent decisions made by the Ontario Securities Commission. Listen to the podcast: www.pwc.com/ca/strategytalks.

Should You Freeze Your Estate to Save on Taxes?
In episode 11 of Strategy Talks — The PwC Managing in a Downturn Podcast Series, Dean and Helen welcome Kathy Munro, a Tax Services partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers, who works in the High Net Worth Tax Services practice, and Wesley Mark, a partner in the Advisory Services practice of PwC and a member of the Valuation & Strategy Advisory group. They give listeners two different viewpoints on how an estate freeze could help your business manage through this troubled economy. Listen to the podcast: www.pwc.com/ca/strategytalks.

Performance Management Matters: Sustaining Superior Results in a Global Economy
PricewaterhouseCoopers has teamed up with international partners to create this survey to discover how leading organizations use performance management to best align their business goals with their business metrics.

Not Managing your Risk is Risky Business
If there’s any lesson that has been learned from the global financial meltdown, it is the importance of risk management.

Q&A On Performance Management Matters: Sustaining Superior Results in a Global Economy
PwC’s Philip Townsend and Stuart Smith discuss the recently released report “Performance management matters: Sustaining superior results in a global economy” by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in collaboration with the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa and the Canadian Advance Technology Alliance (CATA).

PwCCF Capital Markets Flash — May 29, 2009
This week, PwCCF takes a closer look at Canadian consumers, previously considered to be governed by more sound financial principles than their American counterparts. Is this indeed the case?

Commodity Clips, 2009 Issue 3
This Commodity Clips issue covers: GST/HST on hospital admin; SST on school supplies, car dealers; PST on aircrafts; RST for computer services; Temporary Admission Permit requirements; Memorandum D11-4-3 and InsuranceWide.com.

Reducing Costs and Managing Risks in Your Supply Chain
This PwC presentation provides information for private equity companies about how to drive cost savings and manage risk through supply chain performance.

Canadian Fuel Cell Commercialization Roadmap Update: Progress of Canada's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Industry — December 2008
PwC partnered with Industry Canada and Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Canada to survey Canada’s hydrogen and fuel cell sector, chart its progress and analyze links with longer-term mass markets.

The Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Sector Profile 2008
The Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Sector Profile 2008 measures key performance indicators and helps provide an assessment of Canada’s position within the increasingly competitive global industry.

Global Forest and Paper Industry Net Earnings Summary — Three months ended March 31, 2009
This March 31, 2009 net earnings summary reveals the recession and weak demand for forest products continued to ravage the Canadian forest and paper industry, particularly in B.C.

Similarities and Differences: A comparison of IFRS and local GAAP for investment funds
This PwC publication provides a detailed comparison of IFRS and local GAAP for investment funds and summarizes major areas in IFRS that could impact a fund’s financial reporting.

2009-05-25 Issues Related To Changeover to International Financial Reporting Standards
This newsletter announces guidance from Canadian Securities Administrators on issues related to the changeover to IFRS.

PwCCF Capital Markets Flash — May 22, 2009
This week, PwCCF provides a précis of some of the key bull and bear views to assess the potential depth and breadth of the market recovery.

Press releases

Effective performance management practices drive superior performance
Do effective performance management (PM) practices drive superior performance? Absolutely yes, shows the results of a new survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in collaboration with the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa and the Canadian Advance Technology Alliance (CATA), titled, Performance management matters: Sustaining superior results in a global economy.

A spectacular and rapid decline for the global mining industry
While the 2008 revenues of the top 40 mining companies in the world is 3.7 times that of 2002, their reported robust net profit for 2008 of $57 billion is the first decrease since the start of the annual PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey Mine: Review of global trends in the mining industry.

Transportation and logistics M&A activity drastically slows in first quarter 2009, finds PwC
Deal activity dropped significantly during first quarter 2009 in the global transportation and logistics industry, according to a report released today by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP: Intersections: First-quarter 2009 mergers and acquisitions analysis.

PricewaterhouseCoopers launches Doing Business in Alberta
To help Alberta companies yield savings and realize lasting value in a challenging economic environment, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) today announced the launch of Doing Business in Alberta, an online magazine that offers resources and practical steps for success.

Responding to climate change and other regulatory challenges is top concern faced by Canadian utilities sector: PwC survey
With climate change regulation in Canada in a state of flux, a new global survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows that 88% of Canadian utility companies believe that greenhouse gas (GHGs) regulations is the greatest issue facing the industry in the next five years.

M&A activity in global metals sector experiences significant deterioration during first quarter 2009, marking its second consecutive quarter of decline, says PwC
The pace of global deal activity in the metals industry significantly declined in first quarter 2009 as falling end-market demand and weak commodity prices created a difficult operating environment, according to a report released today by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC): Forging ahead: First-quarter 2009 mergers and acquisitions analysis.

PwC goes green for third annual Green Week
The arrival of warm weather also brings a spring tradition at PricewaterhouseCoopers: Green Week.