Time’s Up: CRA’s 100 Day Mandate for Improvement

After years of frustration on the part of tax professionals and taxpayers alike, the Finance Minister ordered the Canada Revenue Agency to clean up its act in 100 days. Specifically, the improvement plan was to run from September 2 through December 11. Finance Minister and Minister of National Revenue, Francoise-Phillippe Champagne instructed CRA to fix “unacceptable wait times and service delays.” Time’s up this week and CRA has released an update on progress. What gets measured, gets done. Let’s see what CRA’s metrics show. 

The Honourable Jim Flaherty has been awarded the Finance Minister of the Year award for 2009 by Euromoney magazine. Mr. Flaherty spoke about the reasons Canada stood out as a role model upon acceptance of the award, including strong regulation in Canada's financial systems and sound Canadian banks. He also noted that the recently proposed international standards changes regarding capital and leverage by the G20's were modelled after Canada's current practices in these areas. The Finance Minister also noted that Canadians had persevered through the recent economic crisis and that as a result of the country's sound economy, the job loss has been lower than that experienced by the U.S. Canada will be one of the G7 countries least affected by the downturn in 2009 according to an International Monetary Fund forecast. For complete background information on this story, please link to the News Release here.

ìToday's top advisor has an explosive opportunity to boost revenue, referral frequency and case size,î said Anthony Morris, an international speaker and practice development specialist. At the 6th annual Distinguished Advisor Conference to be held November 8-11 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona, Mr. Morris will present the three key strategies for conference delegates that will help them lead in turbulent times and turbo-charge their productivity.     He will discuss prospecting and acquiring new clients, signing clients for additional services and keeping touch with clients. Mr. Morris will showcase clever uses of simple technology, creative deployment of client conversation, conceptual selling and personal branding that will allow you to re-align your business model, increase income and take more time off.         EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE: Information on the latest information related to financial crisis will be presented at DAC (Distinguished Advisor Conference) hosted by The Knowledge Bureau in Tucson, Arizona November 8-11. Speakers such as Robert Ironside (see his commentary above), and Richard Croft will address leading tax and financial professionals on the technical and soft skills required to embrace Leadership and Opportunity in Turbulent Times.  Registration for the conference will be accepted until Friday, October 30th.  

ìEmpathy is one of the cornerstones of effective, people-centered leadership. It is a skill demanded by today's increasingly savvy clients who expect personalized, perceptive service and judicious, insightful advice,î says psychologist Ron Thiessen, a member of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec.   Ron will discuss the hallmarks of an empathic leader at the Distinguished Advisor Conference, November 8 -11 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona. He will explore ideas to cement your relationship as an indispensable advocate for your client, discuss how you can seize the opportunity to consolidate your position as a most trusted advisor through the exercise of your formidable people skills, and investigate how an advisor's role as a thoughtful empathic leader can augment your influence with clients in turbulent times.

ìUnderstanding how your practice will need to adapt to meet changing client expectations is critical to your success in capitalizing on new opportunities,î says Mick Kelly, Vice President, Sales, Retail Markets at Standard Life, who will explain how to implement proper Change Management within your advisor team at the Distinguished Advisor Conference on November 9. Mr. Kelly will show advisors at the event how to use Market-based decision-making to survive and thrive beyond current turbulent times.

One of the biggest challenges facing Canadians today involves helping aging and infirm parents with their finances, their health and their day-to-day activities. ìAdvisors need to be ready to lead their clients through the financial aspects of this dynamic situation,î said Dave Christianson, Financial Planner and Faculty Member with the Knowledge Bureau. ìThose advisors who exercise leadership at this challenging time will develop a special bond and fortify a lasting relationship with their clients.î   Mr. Christianson will conduct a case study session at the 6th annual Distinguished Advisor Conference to be held November 8-11 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona. His interactive session will explore ways to lead clients through this difficult time, with special emphasis on working with people who have been named power of attorney or committee for these clients.

ìCompliance is taking a front seat -- both in firms and with clients. And clients have complained about unauthorized trading in their accounts, and in some cases, fees being in excessof what their commissions ever would have been,î said Lisa Langley, President, International Product & Service Group (IPSG). ìAnd, though client complaints need to be gauged carefully, there certainly are documented cases of bad advice, poor client management, and client portfolios which did not reflect material changes in their profile and investment objectives,î she added.   The number of complaints from unhappy investors is rising every day while regulators are increasing scrutiny and developing policies to address the gaps. This, together with the constant buzz of fraud and ponzi schemes in the press, is causing clients to ask questions they have never asked before. One of the goals of the recently enacted Registration Reform is to make the representations of advisors and their capacity to advise clearer to the investing public.   Ms. Langley offers insights about what your clients are thinking and how you should respond to their growing concerns. At the 6th annual Distinguished Advisor Conference, November 8 -11 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona, Ms. Langley will explain the current environment, upcoming regulatory changes, registration reform and what they mean to you.