-
Financial reporting and accounting advisory services
You trust your external auditor to deliver not only a high-quality, independent audit of your financial statements but to provide a range of support, including assessing material risks, evaluating internal controls and raising awareness around new and amended accounting standards.
-
Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises
Get the clear financial picture you need with the accounting standards team at Grant Thornton LLP. Our experts have extensive experience with private enterprises of all sizes in all industries, an in-depth knowledge of today’s accounting standards, and are directly involved in the standard-setting process.
-
International Financial Reporting Standards
Whether you are already using IFRS or considering a transition to this global framework, Grant Thornton LLP’s accounting standards team is here to help.
-
Accounting Standards for Not-for-Profit Organizations
From small, community organizations to large, national charities, you can count on Grant Thornton LLP’s accounting standards team for in-depth knowledge and trusted advice.
-
Public Sector Accounting Standards
Working for a public-sector organization comes with a unique set of requirements for accounting and financial reporting. Grant Thornton LLP’s accounting standards team has the practical, public-sector experience and in-depth knowledge you need.
-
Tax planning and compliance
Whether you are a private or public organization, your goal is to manage the critical aspects of tax compliance, and achieve the most effective results. At Grant Thornton, we focus on delivering relevant advice, and providing an integrated planning approach to help you fulfill compliance obligations.
-
Research & development, government incentives
Are you developing innovative processes or products, undertaking experimentation or solving technological problems? If so, you may qualify to claim SR&ED tax credits. This Canadian federal government initiative is designed to encourage and support innovation in Canada. Our R&D professionals are a highly-trained, diverse team of practitioners that are engineers, scientists and specialized accountants.
-
Indirect tax
Keeping track of changes and developments in GST/HST, Quebec sales tax and other provincial sales taxes across Canada, can be a full-time job. The consequences for failing to adequately manage your organization’s sales tax obligations can be significant - from assessments, to forgone recoveries and cash flow implications, to customer or reputational risk.
-
US corporate tax
The United States has a very complex and regulated tax environment, that may undergo significant changes. Cross-border tax issues could become even more challenging for Canadian businesses looking for growth and prosperity in the biggest economy in the world.
-
Cross-border personal tax
In an increasingly flexible world, moving across the border may be more viable for Canadians and Americans; however, relocating may also have complex tax implications.
-
International
While there is great opportunity for businesses looking to expand globally, organizations are under increasing tax scrutiny. Regardless of your company’s size and level of international involvement—whether you’re working abroad, investing, buying and selling, borrowing or manufacturing—doing business beyond Canada’s borders comes with its fair share of tax risks.
-
Transfer pricing
Transfer pricing is a complex area of corporate taxation that is concerned with the intra-group pricing of goods, services, intangibles, and financial instruments. Transfer pricing has become a critical governance issue for companies, tax authorities and policy makers, and represents a principal risk area for multinationals.
-
Succession & estate planning
Like many private business owners today, you’ve spent your career building and running your business successfully. Now you’re faced with deciding on a successor—a successor who may or may not want your direct involvement and share your vision.
-
Tax Reporting & Advisory
The financial and tax reporting obligations of public markets and global tax authorities take significant resources and investment to manage. This requires calculating global tax provision estimates under US GAAP, IFRS, and other frameworks, and reconciling this reporting with tax compliance obligations.
-
Transactions
Our transactions group takes a client-centric, integrated approach, focused on helping you make and implement the best financial strategies. We offer meaningful, actionable and holistic advice to allow you to create value, manage risks and seize opportunities. It’s what we do best: help great organizations like yours grow and thrive.
-
Restructuring
We bring a wide range of services to both individuals and businesses – including shareholders, executives, directors, lenders, creditors and other advisors who are dealing with a corporation experiencing financial challenges.
-
Forensics
Market-driven expertise in investigation, dispute resolution and digital forensics
-
Cybersecurity
Viruses. Phishing. Malware infections. Malpractice by employees. Espionage. Data ransom and theft. Fraud. Cybercrime is now a leading risk to all businesses.
-
Consulting
Running a business is challenging and you need advice you can rely on at anytime you need it. Our team dives deep into your issues, looking holistically at your organization to understand your people, processes, and systems needs at the root of your pain points. The intersection of these three things is critical to develop the solutions you need today.
-
Creditor updates
Updates for creditors, limited partners, investors and shareholders.
-
ASPE Sec. 3041 Agriculture Understanding and applying the new ASPE Section 3041 AgricultureThe Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has released new guidance on recognizing, measuring and disclosing biological assets and the harvested products of bio assets.
-
Tax alert Agricultural Clean Technology ProgramThe Agricultural Clean Technology Program will provide financial assistance to farmers and agri-businesses to help them reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
-
Tax alert ACT Program – Research and Innovation Stream explainedThe ACT Research and Innovation Stream provides financial support to organizations engaged in pre-market innovation.
-
Tax alert ACT Program – Adoption Stream explainedThe ACT Adoption Stream provides non-repayable funding to help farmers and agri-business with the purchase and installation of clean technologies.
-
Builders And Developers
Every real estate project starts with a vision. We help builders and developers solidify that vision, transform it into reality, and create value.
-
Rental Property Owners And Occupiers
In today’s economic climate, it’s more important than ever to have a strong advisory partner on your side.
-
Real Estate Service Providers
Your company plays a key role in the success of landlords, investors and owners, but who is doing the same for you?
-
Mining
There’s no business quite like mining. It’s volatile, risky and complex – but the potential pay-off is huge. You’re not afraid of a challenge: the key is finding the right balance between risk and reward. Whether you’re a junior prospector, a senior producer, or somewhere in between, we’ll work with you to explore, discover and extract value at every stage of the mining process.
-
Oil & gas
The oil and gas industry is facing many complex challenges, beyond the price of oil. These include environmental issues, access to markets, growing competition from alternative energy sources and international markets, and a rapidly changing regulatory landscape, to name but a few.

What you should know before starting that conversation
There are countless thriving family-run businesses in Canada today, with family enterprises accounting for 63.1 percent of private sector firms [1]. While running a business with family can be hugely rewarding, it’s definitely not easy. Like all businesses, you need to carefully weigh every new opportunity and work through every business challenge—and you must do this while also balancing delicate family dynamics.
There’s a lot to be said for earning an income with your loved ones by your side, but diplomatically communicating business matters with family members—people you’ve likely known since birth—can be difficult. At times, it may seem like silence is the best policy to minimize family fights, but often failure to communicate issues can actually lead to greater problems down the road. To optimize your business’s growth potential, it’s important to understand the impact of poor communication and take steps to nip it in the bud.
Adopting a formal communication process
An important first step towards better communication involves implementing formal methods for how, when and with whom business matters are communicated. This move is not only good for business, but family relationships as well.
Without formal communications processes in place, it becomes easier for certain parties to be left out—either intentionally or unintentionally—leading to “factions”. Before you know it, owners are operating as individual adversaries rather than one cohesive whole.
Poor communication also makes it difficult to address critical business matters. For instance, if owners can’t see eye-to-eye, it may be impossible to agree on the future direction of the business. Similarly, if one generation of owners is risk-averse and another is willing to invest the family nest egg to pursue the business’s untapped growth potential, a failure to communicate these differences can hamper growth and put strain on personal relationships.

Getting started with strong solutions
So what are some examples of helpful formalized communications structures? Well, a communication forum is a good place to start. Even if you only have two family members working together, an effectively-structured communication forum can set the stage for future success.
Regardless of the stage of your business, putting a communication forum in place can give people an opportunity to air issues as they arise. For some businesses, this could be relatively simple—like holding regular family meetings. Depending on the size of your business, you may choose to bring the entire family together or limit meetings to family members over a certain age—or even blood relatives without in-laws. As your business grows, you may want to introduce a board of directors or an advisory board. Additionally, appointing an impartial individual to facilitate family meetings to ensure everyone’s voice is heard would be considered best practice.
In deciding which path is right for you, it can also be helpful to recruit the assistance of a professional family enterprise advisor. These specialists can help you implement appropriate communication structures and develop rules to enforce them. They can also play a role in the meeting room to make sure processes are followed and that concerns are aired in a professional way.
Communication can be simple but it’s not always easyTaking a proactive approach to family business communication can help you do more than address challenges in a diplomatic and open way. It can also give you a chance to regularly clear the air of any issues among family members that can affect the smooth running of day-to-day business as well as your ability to make bigger decisions. To learn more about how you can improve your family’s business communication processes, contact a Grant Thornton Family Enterprise Advisor. |
Learn how we can help you find the way forward
[1] Family Enterprise Xchange, September 10, 2019. “Family Businesses Generate Almost Half of Canada’s Private Sector GDP and 7 Million Jobs According to New Conference Board of Canada and Family Enterprise Xchange Report.” https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/family-businesses-generate-almost-half-of-canada-s-private-sector-gdp-and-7-million-jobs-according-to-new-conference-board-of-canada-and-family-enterprise-xchange-report-858070827.html
[2] John A. Davis. “The Three-Circle Model celebrated 40 years in 2018.” https://johndavis.com/three-circle-model-family-business-system/ (accessed March 10, 2020).