Farewell and Best of Luck with Your Financial Affairs

It is with mixed feelings that I write this post. It will be my last one. I have written this blog for fourteen years starting with my first post on September 20, 2010, appropriately titled “Let’s See Where This Goes”. After 638 posts, I am saying goodbye.

This blog went beyond my wildest expectations. As of today, I have over 6,000,000 page reads. I have been interviewed on TV & video, quoted multiple times in various publications, written articles for newspapers and had multiple media opportunities I had never envisioned. I even used the best of my blogs to form a book, “Let’s Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs’. When people search Google for tax and financial topics, my posts often show up as one of the top five references. I have met people at parties or business gatherings who tell me they are readers and enjoy my blog.

My readers have been loyal and long standing. Over the years I received multiple unsolicited emails from readers that said they enjoyed reading the blog and encouraging me to keep up the good work. Many took the time to comment on particular topics or to suggest topics I may want to write about. I thank you all for patronage and support of the blog. I will truly miss you.

From the mainstream media I would like to thank Rob Carrick and Roma Luciw of The Globe and Mail and Ellen Roseman and Adam Mayers of the Toronto Star for their support since the blog’s inception. Other supporters include fellow bloggers, many who became friends, in no particular order: The Big Cajun Man, Jim Yih, Robb Engen, Michael James, Mark Seed, Frugal Trader, Canadian Capitalist, Tom Drake & Preet Banerjee to name just a few. I was amazed at how supportive these bloggers and others were to me when I started out. It was always more of a camaraderie than a competition amongst financial bloggers.

I would be remiss if I did not thank Lynda Kremer, my executive assistant for most of the blog’s life, for all her help in editing my weekly posts and for her immense help in putting my book together.

Finally, the most important person has been my wife, Lori. She not only helped edit blog posts but taught me and “cajoled” me into writing in “plain English", which is a topic she teaches often as a professional presenter. It is amazing how many people have told me I have simplified as best as possible, complex topics. That is all Lori’s doing. Finally, she was very tolerant and supportive as I wrote my posts at night and on the weekend, taking away family time.

I may write occasional posts if something catches my attention and post them on LinkedIn, but my blogging career is over.

So, thanks for reading and best of luck with your financial affairs in the future.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation. Please note the blog post is time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Scratching the Eight-Year Itch — The Blunt Bean Counter Gets a Facelift

It’s been eight years for The Blunt Bean Counter. Sometimes I can’t believe it myself, but there you have it: we’re nearing a decade of blog posts (535 to be exact). It’s an opportunity to sit back, reflect and consider how the popularity of this blog exceeded my wildest expectations.

I’ve been fortunate to have an audience that keeps tuning in and has grown over the years. You are what makes the blog a success. Based on your comments and feedback, I try to include your interests and needs when deciding on topics and writing the posts. Your positive reinforcement has been an essential source of inspiration.

When I first took baby steps into the blogosphere, my career focused on tax, so the vast majority of my posts drilled down on tax topics. I loved — and still love — clarifying complicated topics, eschewing the technical jargon that we accountants hold dear. Or, as my wife keeps telling me, “write in plain English.”

Over the last few years, my interests have changed. My focus has shifted to wealth advisory, and helping Canadians get their financial affairs in order. Sure, tax will always inform the wealth advisory journey — and you’ve heard me go on about the perils of ignoring the tax piece. No financial plan is complete without tax considerations baked in at all stages of the process, from beginning to end, as long as the tax tail does not wag the dog. But it’s a matter of emphasis, and now my emphasis is certainly on the wealth and financial side of the equation.

My professional situation has also changed since I first began blogging. When I started the blog on essentially a dare from a social media consultant, I was the managing partner of Cunningham LLP, a seven-partner firm. Now I count myself as part of a great national firm, BDO Canada LLP. To reflect my status as a partner at the firm, I’ve decided to include the BDO logo in the top left-hand corner of the blog along with a bit of a re-design and freshening up of the blog.

Along similar lines, I’ve decided to open up The Blunt Bean Counter tent to more of my BDO colleagues. I will still be writing and editing, but I will now be including more posts from the professionals I work with, who also have important viewpoints and knowledge to contribute. I think the blog — and you — will benefit from their take on various topics. I joined a large firm in part because of the top-quality people I work with every day. Now you can gain the same benefits that I have been enjoying.

Here’s what won’t change: my commitment to bringing you clear, unvarnished financial insight on topics that make a difference to your bottom line, in your business or personal life. And I'll continue whether as writer or editor, to bring you this insight in the plain-spoken tone that gives The Blunt Bean Counter its name and part of its appeal.

Watch out for my next post, which will unveil something I call the “My Financial Story and Estate Organizer.” It’s a tracking form that can help you store important personal information — to help you organize your financial story and estate. Many of my clients and colleagues have found it extremely useful and tell me it has given them peace of mind. I hope it can help you summarize your financial affairs in one spot.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms. 

Gone Golfing for the Summer of 2018

This summer, I will again be posting a “Best of The Blunt Bean Counter” blog each week; so, I can spend some time golfing and enjoying the good weather with my family.

Cabot Trail - Nova Scotia (pray it is not windy when hitting your shot!)

As this is now the fifth year in a row that I have posted my "Best of" during the summer, as I stated last year, maybe at this juncture, a more appropriate title should be; "The Sort of the Best of The Blunt Bean Counter".

Anyways, you can read them again if you so desire and if not, I won't take it personally. I wish everyone a great summer and thank you for reading the blog. Some of you now have been reading almost 8 years as of September. I appreciate your readership and the many nice emails I receive from you.

Note: On August 1st at noon I will be participating in a live webinar on Planning for Retirement for Small Business Owners based on this report. I will provide an update in the next week or two.

Gone Golfing for the Summer of 2017

This summer, I will again be posting a “Best of The Blunt Bean Counter” blog each week; so I can spend some time golfing and enjoying the good weather with my family. I am really looking forward to a golf trip to Cabot Cliffs in Nova Scotia later this summer, as it was ranked as the best new course in the world in 2015 and is now constantly ranked as one of the best courses period in the world. I am sure this trip will result in a blog post with pictures.

European Club Golf Course Ireland

As this is now the fourth year in a row that I have posted my "Best of" during the summer, as I stated  last year, maybe at this juncture, a more appropriate title should be; "The Sort of the Best of The Blunt Bean Counter".

Anyways, you can read them again if you wish and if not, I won't take it personally.

Next September, will mark the blogs 7th anniversary. As I noted in my blogger got the blues post last fall, it is getting difficult to keep this blog fresh and for me to keep writing each week or so. I thus will use the summer to consider a couple suggestions people have made to me to re-energize the blog and myself (including one from my son and daughter to do a sort of Blunt Bean "let me tell you" editorial type post), so we shall see where that goes. While I am navel gazing, enjoy your summer.

The T1135 Form – Yet Again! & Hiring The Blunt Bean Counter

This will be the fifth time I am writing about the T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement since September, 2013. Today I am discussing the implementation of the April, 2015 Federal budget proposal in which the Conservatives promised to simplify the reporting requirements where your cost of foreign property is less than $250,000.

This proposal has now been implemented and a new T1135 has been released. Here is a link to the new form.

Qualifying for the Simplified Method

The basic requirement to file a T1135 form is still in place. That being, if you own specified foreign property with a cost of more than $100,000 at any time in the year, you must file the form. However, now where you own specified foreign property with an adjusted cost base of more than $100,000 and less than $250,000 throughout the year, you can file using the simplified method (or you can still use the detailed reporting method if you wish, but why you would is beyond me). Note, if your cost exceeds $250k at any time during the year, you cannot use the simplified method.

The simplified method is reported on Part A of the form. While this method is less onerous than the detailed reporting requirement, you will now be required to report the top three countries based on cost during the year under the simplified method. This determination will require some work if your broker does not provide such, or you are a do-it-yourself investor. 

Filing Online and Reassessments

It should be noted you can now file the T1135 online for 2014 and subsequent years. The CRA has also re-iterated that the period for reassessing your return is extended by three years if you have failed to report income from a specified foreign property on your return and Form T1135 was not filed, was not filed on time, or was filed inaccurately.

While the simplified reporting method is better than nothing, I would suggest that most accountants and taxpayers still don’t understand why the T1135 form is required at all, where all you are only reporting is foreign holdings held with your Canadian institution(s).

Hiring The Blunt Bean Counter

I am often asked by readers if they can engage me for various income tax, accounting and wealth management services. Although I rarely if ever, self-promote on the blog, today, I am going to make an exception. Below I’ve listed the various services my national accounting firm and I can provide to you.

Corporate Income Tax Planning

To help you minimize your corporate income taxes, we provide tax planning services including but not limited to: corporate reorganizations, estate freezes, purifications for the capital gains exemption, assistance with indirect taxes such as HST, in-bound and out-bound foreign tax planning, R&D claims, transfer pricing and valuations.

Corporate Financial Statements

To ensure all your corporate compliance needs are met, we typically provide the following services to owner-managed businesses: financial statement preparation, corporate tax return preparation, corporate and personal income tax and estate planning and personal tax return preparation for the business owner.

Estate Planning and T3 Estate Tax Returns

Many people are concerned about ensuring they minimize their taxes upon death and/or leave a legacy to their family. To assist you, we provide estate planning, which typically involves determining your estate tax liability and then trying to minimize and/or manage this liability through tax planning and will planning (with your lawyer). In addition, where you have had a family member pass away or are named executor to an estate, we can assist you in filing the required estate tax filings (which are often very complicated in the year of death, especially if the assets do not pass to a surviving spouse, due to the deemed disposition rules).

Wealth Management and Financial Planning

Most people are concerned with ensuring they have enough money for retirement. I am involved with quarterbacking my client’s wealth and retirement planning, typically starting with a financial check-up and financial plan. As financial quarterback, I try to ensure your investment advisor, lawyer, insurance agent, banker, business consultant integrate their advice into one efficient, optimum, coordinated plan, taking into account your investment, retirement, income tax and successions needs.
 
If you do not have an investment advisor or are looking for a new advisor, we recommend you meet several to find a fit from both an investment perspective and also from a personal relationship perspective.

Accountants cannot provide investment advice. We do however; work closely with several highly respected investment advisors whom we can introduce you to. The advisors typically require a minimum of $1,000,000 of investable assets (yes, I am aware, this is a large issue for people who are looking for a good investment advisor, but do not meet the minimum asset requirements). 

Personal Tax Planning

To help you reduce or minimize your personal taxes, my firm has several excellent tax people who can assist you with personal tax planning and tax return preparation. Unfortunately, because income tax season has essentially become condensed into one month (since the T3, T5013 slips do not arrive until early April at best) I now only prepare personal tax returns for my corporate or wealth clients.

If you would like to engage me or my firm for any of the above noted services, or want to discuss your specific situation and obtain a quote for services, feel free to email me at bluntbeancounter@gmail.com or click the hire The Blunt Bean Counter at the top right of the page.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation.

Let's Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs - Book Giveaway

Wow, I cannot believe how many entries I had for my book giveaway. I am assuming it is because you are excited about reading my book and not that everyone likes a freebie :).

So without further ado, the winners are:

1. Bryan O
2. Nancy L
3. Valerie N
4. Cash Instinct
5. Richard H

You will be contacted by email for your mailing details.

Thanks for all the entries and if you wish to purchase the book or kindle version, here is the link to Amazon U.S. which provides a preview of the book (if you click the book image) and the kindle version.

Amazon Canada has no books in stock, but here is the link to the kindle version from Amazon Canada. I must say I am very confused on how Amazon deals with books. The Canadian site appears just to be re-sellers of the book and the U.S. site seems to be where the actual inventory is sold. I can't really get a clear story from Amazon. I guess this is my first lesson of being a new author.

We still have a couple spots open if you wish to attend my book launch in the Richmond Hill/Markham area on September 24th, if interested, please register here.

I am back to my regular posting tomorrow, with He Shoots, He Blogs, He Scores.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation.

Let's Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs - Book Giveaway & Book Launch

By playing golf at Pebble Beach in 2011 and by going on safari to Botswana and Africa this year, I have been lucky enough to check off two items on my bucket list. One of the remaining items on my list was to write a book.

A year or so ago, I realized I had the material for a book, if I could compile the posts I’ve previously written on my blog. As I flipped through my posts, it became clear to me that the chapters had already essentially written themselves. All I needed to do was to categorize and organize my various blog posts, which was done with the significant assistance of Lynda Kremer, the marketing manager at my old firm, Cunningham LLP.

As I started putting the chapters together, I was pleasantly surprised that the book had a natural flow I had not foreseen. I must say, I am very happy with the end result and finally months after starting this process, I have a book titled not surprisingly, Let's Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs. The book has just gone up on Amazon and the kindle version is in process. If you are really keen to buy the book, here is the link to Amazon U.S. which provides a "flip version" of the book to preview and a link to the typical bare bones (no flip version to preview etc.) Amazon Canadian version. As an aside, you set the book price in $U.S. and I tried to end up with a $15cdn price; yet somehow the price is now $15.83cdn - sigh ):

The book chapters are as follows:

1. The Lighter Side of Accounting
2. Executors - A Thankless Job (except for the fees)
3. Inheritances, Wills and Estates - Love, Money and Greed
4. The Psychology of Money - Is it Everything?
5. Audits and Being Audited - Minimizing the Damage
6. Tax Topics - All You Ever Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask
7. RRIFs and RRSPs - The Retirement Acronyms
8. Family Assets - Dividing, Sharing and Taxing
9. Retirement - How to Avoid Eating Alpo
10. Estate Freezes - A Cool Way to Tax Plan
11. The Family Cottage - How to Deal with It
12. Proprietorships, Corporations, Holding Companies and Family Trusts - The Technical Stuff

I am under no illusions this book will sell 100,000 copies; although I do think it is better than much of the crap that passes for financial books these days. It’s a practical guide that’s easy to follow. At worst, the book will become a marketing tool for me professionally.

Today I am going to raffle off 5 copies. If you are interested in a copy, please email me at bluntbeancounter@gmail.com and I will announce the 5 winners next Sunday.

In addition, my current National firm is sponsoring a book launch on September 24th in the Richmond Hill/Markham
area. If you would like to join me for the launch and meet me in person (unfortunately I am far more interesting on my blog than in real life) I am keeping a few spots open for my loyal readers. To attend the book launch and hear the gospel according to the BBC, register here.

I would like to thank Rob Carrick, Ellen Roseman and Preet Banerjee for providing testimonials on the back cover and for being very supportive of my blog since its inception. In addition, Roma Luciw & Dianne Nice of the Globe and Mail and Adam Mayers of the Toronto Star have been very kind to me and my blog.

I would also like to thank the numerous financial bloggers, many who have become personal friends, who have supported the blog by noting it in Friday round-ups or by direct mention over the years. This list includes; Jim Yih, Robb Engen, Michael James, The Big Cajun Man, Mark Seed,  Frugal Trader, Rona Birenbaum, Canadian Capitalist, Tom Drake, Canadian Investor and Larry Macdonald, to name just a few.

To my "legion" of readers, many who have been with me since my inception (5 years as of September 20th) I’d like to thank you for reading my blog and your comments and feedback over the years.

In addition, I would like to thank Lynda for all her help in not in only editing, but navigating the self-publishing process, as well as Leah Vlemmiks for her illustrations, Rob Campbell for his technical assistance and Deniz Ayman for her various editing and citing assistance.

Finally I’d like to thank my wife Lori, for her editing assistance, teaching me to write in "sort of plain English" and putting up with the project and me.

So if you are interested in a free book and/or attending the book launch, please email me at bluntbeancounter@gmail.com for the book and register here for the book launch.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation.

Gone Golfing for the Summer

Bigwin Island Golf Club - 6th hole

This summer for the second year in a row, I will be posting a “Best of The Blunt Bean Counter” blog each week, so I can spend some time golfing and enjoying the good weather (crossing my fingers).

Now you may be asking yourself if I am being a little presumptuous thinking I have enough quality blog posts to run another series of my "best of". But that is the benefit of being a blogger in cyberspace; you can be delusional thinking all your blogs are great reads :).

Anyways, I hope you have a great summer and I will see you with some new blog posts (many based on your suggested topics) in September.

Best Tax Blog! It's Bean Four Years in the Making

On September 20th, I was honoured to win the 5th Annual Plutus Award for the Best Tax Blog (after being a nominee the last two years). This is a prestigious American-based award ceremony celebrating the best in the personal finance blogosphere; winning the Plutus essentially means I won for the best tax blog in Canada and the United States.

Awards are subjective and there are several excellent tax blogs out there. Nevertheless, it was satisfying to win, for three reasons:

1) The award is selected by my blogging peers.

2) As a former jock, I am competitive and like to win anything.

3) The awards were held on the fourth anniversary of my blog which started on September 20, 2010. How, coincidental is that?

Today’s post is number 350! That is a lot of posts when you consider the technical nature of many of my topics, and the fact that I tend to write long blogs, despite advice to the contrary. I cannot believe I have been blogging for four years and have approximately 1,200,000 page reads.

I have no idea how many more blogs I have in me. I would have expected to have exhausted my material by now, but somehow, I seem to keep coming up with topics (although I do now occasionally have variations on topics previously covered).

I am often asked where I find the time to write, and how do I keep coming up with new ideas for my blogs? To be honest, I am lucky. Writing The Blunt Bean Counter does take several hours a week, but I am fortunate that I can hear something in a conversation, discuss an issue with a client, and a blog jumps out at me, and I can write it in quick order. I know for many, writing is a tortuous process.

So why am I still doing this? There are probably four reasons:

1. I enjoy educating people on tax and financial matters, while being provided the forum to voice my opinion.

2. I have met many interesting people through my blog both directly and indirectly.

3. Several readers have engaged me to be their corporate or estate accountant (unfortunately, due to my workload, I cannot take on personal tax clients anymore and have respectively turned down numerous requests).

4. The blog has given me and my firm, Cunningham LLP, visibility and credibility. I would never have imagined when I wrote my first post and two people read it (my mom and someone by accident), how much attention it would garner.

There is a fifth reason. The tax blog groupies, but shush, I don’t want my wife to know that one.

I am fortunate to have several long-time readers who offer encouragement via comments on the blog or by email, and once in a while, constructive criticism. I have had many people approach me at various functions to introduce themselves to me as readers, which I still find mildly amusing. I am often told they like my blog because I break down complex topics into somewhat understandable blog posts (you can thank my wife, who constantly tells me to write in “plain English”) and that I have a bit of a personality in my posts. But that comment is always prefaced with “for an accountant”.

The only downside to this blog is that some people think because I write a blog they can call or email me with the most complex situations, and I will provide them free tax advice. I do try and answer almost all questions posted to the comments section on my blog; although, I often provide the caveat that I “do not provide specific personal or corporate tax planning advice on this blog”. I do however, try and point the questioner in the right direction, without providing a direct answer to their fact specific question.

So where am I today? I started working on a book a couple of years ago (it is not really a tax book, but more a financial and money matter book), but I just do not have the time to get it done and am not sure I ever will. Thus, I changed gears a few months back and started putting together a Best of The Blunt Bean Counter book. In my humble opinion, it is actually not a bad read with a nice flow when my blogs are grouped together by topic area. The book is strictly being done for business promotion purposes, and I do not expect to make enough money to even buy a new suit from it.

I have a few other interesting things happening and some ideas for the future of the blog, but I will discuss those at a later date.

To circle back to my Plutus Award, I would like to thank my readers who encourage me to keep writing and the numerous financial bloggers, guest bloggers, writers, and journalists, who have helped me to achieve this level of recognition.

The blogs posted on The Blunt Bean Counter provide information of a general nature. These posts should not be considered specific advice; as each reader's personal financial situation is unique and fact specific. Please contact a professional advisor prior to implementing or acting upon any of the information contained in one of the blogs.

The Blunt Bean Counter's New Look

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s The Blunt Bean Counter, draped in calculator tape and ready to help you conquer your challenges and fears regarding income tax and money.

I’m pleased to introduce The Blunt Bean Counter’s new brand which is a bit more whimsical than the staid blogger banner and better fits my desire to provide serious financial insight with a touch of humour and sarcasm.

I would like to thank Leah Vlemmiks for her graphics, Robert Campbell for implementing the changes and Debbie Andrews, my firm’s (Cunningham LLP) marketing consultant for coordinating everyone.