Occupational fraud continues to siphon staggering amounts of money from businesses worldwide, with smaller organizations being hit particularly hard.

That’s one of the trends identified in the 2018 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, released by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Review the announcement and the full report on the ACFE's website.

Some of the key features of the budget plan were:

• Following the proposals announced last year, the budget has introduced legislation to address the earning of passive income inside a private corporation.
• From a gender equality perspective, the budget announces the introduction of a new “use it or lose it” Employment Insurance parental sharing benefit which will enable two-parent families that share parental leave to receive an additional five weeks of leave.
• The government is introducing significant new investments to better support Canadian innovators.
• The government continues to introduce measures to close loopholes that result in unfair tax advantages for some at the expense of others.
• Of note, the budget does not include further measures to address recommendations from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s base erosion and profit shifting project, particularly with respect to interest deductibility and anti-hybrid measures.

A summary of the economic and tax highlights contained in the budget is outlined in our Canadian tax alert.

The budget focused on three key priorities:

• Investments in seniors;
• Youth employment; and
• Economic competitiveness.

The announced changes to taxation in New Brunswick are outlined in our Canadian tax alert.

The guide is designed to help organisations considering how best to implement the TCFD recommendations which focus on communicating the financial impact of climate change on reporting organizations.

Review the guide on the ICAEW's website.

The Paper discusses the role of the governing body, the meaning of balanced reporting, challenges and weaknesses, and lists some key considerations in achieving a balanced integrated report.

Review the report on the IRC's website.

In an article on CFO.com, featuring some graphics does make sense because research has shown that people process visual information faster than verbal information.

Graphics can have an impact on the information perceived, such that where a report includes both text and graphics, the audience is likely to lend greater weight to the graphical information. On the other hand, sometimes graphics may not convey information clearly or efficiently.

Review the full article on Cooley Pubco's website.

Also, refer to our Annual Review Guide for guidance on financial reporting disclosures.

The Bulletin makes clear that plan fiduciaries in managing and investing plan assets cannot assume greater investment risks, or sacrifice investment returns, to fulfill social policy goals.

Also, fiduciaries can participate in proxy voting and other shareholder engagement activities if there is a reasonable expectation that such activities are likely to enhance the economic value of the investment after taking into account the costs involved.

Review the full briefing on Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP's website.

According to Hanna Halaburda, a senior economist at the Bank of Canada and visiting professor at New York University: “It’s not proven either way. It may never work. Right now, we don’t have the technology that cuts out the middleman. Getting rid of trusted third parties is actually very difficult.” The big hope is that this technology will eventually allow for the removal of all gatekeepers.

But even after several years, developers haven’t yet managed to work out some vexing problems that are putting the breaks on mass adoption of blockchain. Apart from scalability, the limits on possible transactions, another systemic challenge is the massive energy drain of the most popular consensus and verification system. The fact that no one entity is supposed to be in charge makes problems much trickier to solve, particularly when taking into account the various cultures of participants.

Review the full article on National Magazine's website.

There is compelling evidence that innovation has been an important reason behind rising income inequality in advanced economies in recent decades.2 Research also finds that rising inequality can result in weaker and less-stable macroeconomic outcomes. This places us, as policy-makers, at a crossroads. Do we choose to stay on the same road and repeat the past? Or do we apply fresh thinking to policy and choose a new road where innovation delivers even stronger and more-inclusive growth?

This is the challenge that the G7 countries have set for themselves for 2018. Canada is proud to lead the G7’s work this year to better understand the issues so that we can set priorities for policy.

Review the remarks on the Bank of Canada's website.

For mergers and monopolistic practices, the Bureau will continue to apply its traditional framework to market definition, market power and competitive effects. Where issues concerning big data are involved, the Bureau will consider both the efficiencies and consumer benefits from a network, but also whether big data could impose barriers to new competition or soften competition between firms.

Review the report on the Bureau's website.