In general, most small to medium sized companies are aware of the change, and have chosen the appropriate accounting framework for their enterprise. In transitioning to either IFRS or ASPE, there are specific provisions to be followed including the principle that any information used to prepare the opening balance sheet and comparative periods be limited to information that was available at the time these periods were originally prepared, and not updated for information received subsequently.

Best practice suggests that the framework chosen was adopted in the comparative year, and run parallel with the Canadian generally accepted accounting standards used in the prior fiscal period.

In cases where management has not yet completed the exercise of transitioning the comparative period within their chosen framework, it would be advisable to increase the priority of this exercise, as it may be a long process depending on the complexity of the enterprise, and their available resources. Furthermore, some of the retroactive adjustments and accounting standards may significantly affect certain financial ratios, and may require management to discuss the impacts with their lenders and equity holders.

Quebec’s long-term economic prospects are dampened by an older population and a shrinking working-age population. The aging of the population will be felt much sooner in Quebec than elsewhere.

A recent Harris/Decima poll found that 69% of Canadians plan to continue working after retirement age; most by choice, but some due to financial necessity. Boomers aren't the only ones who want to see themselves working past 65. Employers also want to hold on to their most seasoned, well-connected employees, knowing that it takes three new workers to replace one knowledgeable and skilled mature worker if a company wants to maintain its current productivity. And with a looming labour shortage, many employers are catering to older workers today to avoid being short-staffed tomorrow.

With an ever increasing supply and low interest rates, many tenants in rental buildings have opted instead to buy condos. This has put pressure on owners of apartment buildings to improve their buildings or to find incentives in order to retain tenants. There is a need by owners to maintain vacancy rates below a certain level. Often initiatives such as lower rents, free months, or renovations to common areas, give a rental tenant the “feel” of living in a condominium building.. This trend has certainly resulted in an improvement of the housing stock and opportunities for a diversity of quality residential options.

Deflationary pressures are still the preoccupation of the governments of most major economies, so they have been printing money on an unprecedented scale. This will inevitably lead to inflation, and the only question is how rapidly and to what extent this will occur. We have started to see inflationary pressures building in the rapidly expanding Asian and Latin American economies.

The traditional way of battling inflation is to tighten monetary supply by increasing interest rates. Since interest rates are at nominal levels in the US, the Euro zone and in Canada, central bankers have lots of room in raising interest rates when inflation exceeds their targets. In Canada, our slightly higher interest rates than those in the US have contributed to the Canadian dollar being valued close to or over par. Our strong dollar, in return tends to depress economic growth, which provides breathing room from further increases in interest rates.

When interest rates will rise south of our border, the effect will be to lower the value of our dollar. However, higher interest rates in the US will also dampen the fragile American economic recovery, so we don’t see much evidence that interest rates will be substantially higher than their current level for at least the next six to twelve months.

Our best guess is, therefore, for the current low interest rate environment to continue for at least the next twelve months, which is good news for borrowers but bad news for retirees and investors. Watch out for asset price inflation (real estate, stocks, and commodities) that low interest rates usually encourage.