Part 1
Steve: This morning, I am very happy to be talking with Bill Perrault, who has been an advisor, and the auditor and accountant, for my own company ever since we started, which is-Bill, how many years is that? Seventeen, eighteen years?
Bill: I was going to say twenty, but seventeen for sure.
Steve: Bill is a partner in the firm of Evancic Perrault Robinson, which is-again, let me ask you, Bill, to describe the range of activities, and what sort of category, because to me it's all very confusing. There are management accountants, and CAs and CGAs. Where do you fit in, and what is the range of work and service that you do?
Bill: Unfortunately, it's a complicated subject. CGAs are one branch of the accounting profession; CAs are the other branch, actually the major one at this point in time; and then there's CMA, which is the management accountants, and we share the work around Canada. Evancic Perrault Robinson is a firm of partners, of CGAs. We have offices in every province, from Newfoundland to British Columbia, some thirty-four offices. We started back in 1979, and five people got together and built the practice into what it is now.
Steve: I believe you're even noted in northern Alberta, in Grand Prairie if I'm not mistaken, which is an area where we are involved in the sawmilling industry. But you are located here in North Vancouver. Is your personal practice limited to the north shore of here in Vancouver, or does it go broader than that?
Bill: The basic practice is here in the north shore, north of West Vancouver. We have clients outside of that area, there's no restriction on it. We just have gentleman's understanding with the other offices of the partnership not to intentionally recruit in their areas. Steve: And what would be the typical size of your clients?
Bill: Any size you want. Quite frankly, we go from simple, self-employed people just doing a tax return for some simple business that they're running, right through to audits for major retail, or in particular, the wholesale and distribution area. Steve: And do you have people of many different origins or ethnic backgrounds? I know in North Vancouver, particularly in the last ten or fifteen years, we've had people coming here from many different parts of the world, and I assume many of them set up small businesses here, or large businesses for that matter. Do you have clients within that group?
Bill: Yes, we're very pleased to serve quite a number of different racial origin people who are making Canada their home and business location. It's quite gratifying, really, to be able to work with these people and bring them up to speed to our Canadian way of doing business. Steve: What are some of the-I guess a good part of your work is fairly routine, and companies have their annual year-end, where they have to prepare their annual statements, but there must be also some extraordinary events that happen. Can you think of some of the kinds of challenges or types of problems that arise, where you have to provide special service based on your knowledge, I guess many years of knowledge, of Canadian law and so forth?
Bill: Yes, for a small office, we get a surprising range of problem clients-pardon me, the clients aren't a problem, but the work that they require is frequently a problem. Steve: Okay. What would be-could you give me an example of the kinds of-I presume a lot has to do with taxes or perhaps other issues? What are some of the problems where you can really help your clients?
Bill: Our primary area is, of course, financial statements and tax returns, whether it's personal or corporate. We do run into unusual situations now and then. My partner here, Andreas, picked up an assignment from Italy, where he did the Canadian recordkeeping and financial presentation for the SEC and the Toronto Stock Exchange. This is not common, but we do get into that kind of thing.
Steve: The SEC would be in the United States?
Bill: That's correct. Steve: The year-end, of course, is a busy time for you. Are there particular months that are busier than others?
Bill: From an accounting point of view, the client bulk seems to be December year-ends and June year-ends. Gradually, we're trying to move a lot of clients into the other year-ends to spread the work if we can. Steve: Do you find that you are able to advise your clients on ways that they can quite legitimately save taxes, and is that a major preoccupation of your clients?
Bill: I'm afraid it is a major preoccupation. There isn't always things we can do, but it's always surprising, when you start analyzing a company carefully, that you can find circumstances that may not have been dealt with properly in the past.
