Strategic accounting services for you and your business, so you can focus on what matters - peace of mind and financial security.

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Our Services

Business Advisory

Having over 20 years experience working with entrepreneurs, Adrian is highly referred by clients who have been touched by his demeanour and expertise in dealing with small & medium-size business issues.

Our Business Advisory services include:

Business Structuring

We assist clients with matters dealing with starting up and expanding their businesses. The practice is focused largely on Family Businesses.

Our services include:

  • Advice to start-ups and ongoing businesses on business structures (sole proprietorship, partnerships, incorporation)
  • Partnership/shareholder agreements
  • Acquisition structuring and related financial due diligence aspects
  • Organize business tax accounts
  • Accounting
  • Business process structures
  • Financial projections

Family business succession planning

Sooner or later everyone wants to retire. Business succession planning should be a priority for every family business. Besides ensuring that you can afford to retire, what happens to the business is paramount to your retirement security. There are some things you need to consider to ensure you have the right
plan in place:

  • Who is going to manage your business in your absence?
  • How will ownership be transferred?
  • Will your business carry on or will you sell it?

We are adept at helping you assess the various options available and develop a roadmap for the successful transition of your business.

Taxation

Let us take the worry out of your tax planning needs. We are available to answer your tax questions and prepare your returns – no matter how straightforward or complicated your needs may be.

We provide the highest level of expertise on tax preparation and offer a personalized level of service. You will want to refer your
friends and family to us.

We provide services dealing with

  • Personal Tax Returns
  • Corporation Tax Returns
  • Trust Tax Returns
  • Tax Planning

We aim to provide proactive tax planning to minimize your tax liability. Planning covers:

  • Recommending strategies to help reduce a family’s tax burden
  • Discussing strategies to minimize tax through structures such a family trusts, holding companies and insurance
  • Providing specific corporate and personal tax planning strategies for business owners.

Estate & Trust Planning

Estate planning involves planning for how an individual’s assets will be preserved, managed, and distributed after death. It also takes into account, the management of an individual’s properties and financial obligations in the event that s/he becomes incapacitated. Assets that could make up an individual’s estate include houses, cars, shares, paintings, life insurance, pensions, and debt. Individuals have various reasons for planning an estate, such as preserving family wealth, providing for surviving spouse and children, funding children and/or grandchildren’s education, or leaving their legacy behind to a charitable cause.

We will listen to your wishes and needs to develop a plan that will last for years. Our aim, whilst preserving family wealth, is also to preserve family unity among beneficiaries.

As a professional advisor who is a tax specialist in the field of estate planning we will work with your advisors or work with our recommended legal & insurance professionals in getting your estate plan complete.

A typical Estate Plan involves

  • Writing a will.
  • Setting up any needed trusts
  • Identifying potential guardians for living dependents
  • Naming an executor of the estate to oversee the terms of the will
  • Identifying any life insurance needs
  • Tax planning
  • Creating/updating beneficiaries on plans such as life insurance, RRSPs, TFSAs
  • Setting up funeral arrangements
  • Establishing charitable bequests
  • Setting up enduring power of attorney (POA) to direct other assets and investments

Trusts could be established to take effect during your lifetime or upon your death. Whether it is best to establish a trust during your lifetime or upon your death will depend on its intended use and your personal situation.

Our services also include:

  • Periodic review of your Estate Plan
  • Assistance with tax aspects of Estates & Trusts in the Post-Mortem context

Accounting Services

We offer a full range of custom services to suit the needs of small & medium size businesses including:

  • Performing accounting compilations (Notice to Reader Statements)
  • Preparation of financial statements
  • Training of accounting staff
  • QuickBooks accounting help / assistance to your book-keepers
  • Provision of book-keeping

About

Experience & Expertise

Adrian has over 23 years of work experience. He started his working career in the management consulting unit of a Big Four accounting firm. Then he moved into the beer industry before transitioning full-time into private practice. As part of his beer industry experience, he played a pivotal role in the growth of Steam Whistle Brewing, having overseen its finance function for many years.

His ability to work with entrepreneurs has made him a much sought-after person among other entrepreneurs who are keen to secure his services to also assist their businesses and personal financial needs. Adrian offers a personalized service level that has made his clients continually refer him to family and friends.

Before moving to Canada, Adrian had completed the accounting exams of two UK Professional Accountancy bodies – the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), both of which he holds Fellow Member status. During the Stage 2 CIMA Exams of Nov 1996, Adrian achieved the second highest aggregate globally amongst the 5,798 students who sat for that particular stage. Upon moving to Canada, Adrian also completed the needed certification requirements to be a Certified General Accountant in Ontario.

Early on in his career, Adrian realized the benefits of also having a marketing designation. He went on to complete the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK Exams and is an Associate Member of the Institute. The marketing designation has gone a long way in moulding Adrian to be a person who is able to see the entrepreneurial work and work with them to realize their dreams passionately on an ongoing basis.

Adrian is also a TEP (Trust and Estate Practitioner). He is a full member of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, a global body dealing with estate and wealth planning across generations, having completed the diploma program of the Canadian body and met their experience requirements. He continues to invest in professional development at staying abreast of the all new tax developments so he could continue to develop and improve his offerings to meet the current and future needs of his clients.

Besides his busy professional life, Adrian is married and has three children. He starts off his day around 4am by either hitting the gym, watching cricket or reading professional materials. Adrian spends most of August vacationing with his family; often on long road trips, living his dreams.

Adrian Joseph

CPA, CGA
TEP – Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)Canadian Tax Foundation – Member
Chartered Institute of Marketing UK – Associate Member (ACIM)
Fellow Member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK)
Fellow Member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK)

Blog

Latest Advice & News

Passive Investment Income and the Small Business Deduction Grind:

The federal government put forward a consultation paper in July 2017, that it was looking to prevent companies deferring excess income in the corporation to use it to earn passive investment income after paying small business tax rates.

Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) pay corporate income taxes on small business income at 9% federally (2019 onwards). The small business limit (the amount of income annually eligible for the small business rate) is $500,000 federally and in most provinces. Above $500,000 the general Federal tax rate is 15%. For Ontario, the small business limit is $500,000. Up to $500,000 the Ontario tax rate is 3.5% and above $500,000 it is 11.5%.

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Carbon Tax & Climate Action Incentive Payments in Ontario

What is Carbon Tax?

The Carbon Tax is one that greenhouse gas emitters must pay per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted from burning carbon-based fuels. To motivate emitters to change their practices to decrease emissions, the price goes up over time, so households and industries have time to adjust and adopt less carbon-heavy practices. This is set to be implemented from April 1,2019.

This has come about from Canada’s commitment under the Paris Agreement to work towards reducing global warming. In response, the federal government established Pan-American Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, which set carbon tax at a minimum of $20 per tonne in 2019, increasing by $10 per year until it hits $50 per tonne in 2022.

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Income Sprinkling Rules / Tax on Split Income (TOSI) – enacted Jun 2018

Legislation that contained the legalization of Cannabis obtained Royal Assent on Jun 21, 2018 (Bill C-74). Included in this Bill, were also the complicated rules covering Income Sprinkling, widely referred to as TOSI (Tax on Split Income) that were announced in December 2017.

The government’s objective is to eliminate the benefits of income splitting where the recipient of the income (a related family member) has not made a sufficient contribution to the family business. To accomplish this, they are subjecting income received under these rules to the highest marginal tax rates, thus eliminating any advantage achieved through income splitting. Since Jan 2000, there were such rules in place for those under the age of 18 (known as “Kiddie Tax”) – this has now been expanded to cover a broader age category.

Keep Reading →