We work on behalf of our members and accountants across the country to bring a number of services and products from a panoply of providers to the industry. Often we have worked out Discounts for our members to take advantage of.

We have listed these by Category with direct links to each section.

• Software & Technology
  • Websites
  • Portals
  • Software
  • Dual / Multiple Monitors - Samsung
  • Fujitsu ScanSnap Scanners
• Consulting & Coaching Services
  • Chris Frederiksen
  • Gale Crosley
  • Bob Simpson, Synchronicity
  • Hilary Lochhead, Transition Matters
• Wealth Management
• Practice Management Services
• Legal Services
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Employment Services
• Outsourcing and Insourcing
• Professional Liabilty Insurance

This section provides details on their offerings to 2020 Members and clients as well as links to their website for further investigation.

Software & Technology

Websites

2020 Canada strongly advises all accounting firms to have a website and maintain a web presence. The lack of a website indicates to potential customers that you may not be as up-to-date technologically as other accounting firms, therefore not providing the level of service, the speed of service or the delivery of service that they are looking for. They get their online info from their banks, their insurance companies, most, if not all of their bills electronically. They find out almost everything they want to know on the web, and  they want to know you will be there with them.

CCH SiteBuilder - Website Creation

CCH SiteBuilder makes the creation of a simple website for your firm incredibly easy. You can optionally create a customised site to better reflect your individual niche or profile as well as having CCH automatically update your site with useful information so you don't have to worry about updating the content.

CCH SiteBuilder Link - please let CCH know you are a 2020 Canada Member.

Custom Website Creation

Portal Services

Portal services will become ever more important in the Canadian Accounting world as security and privacy issues are protected through legisation. Already in the US, several states have banned any transmission of personal information including  SIN's, Credit Card information, Banking information and other financial data through e-mails, attachments or other electronic transfer across the web in an unsecured enviroment. Portals, using highly secure, administered, password protected technology will be the only vehicle to transfer and store information.

We have found a great new Canadian Portal Service based in Oakville, Onatrio. The software is easy to implement as the name implies, with great functionality for staff and your clients. Please check them out at www.qportals.com and let them know you are with 2020 Canada.

Share File is another great provider of portal services oiut of North Carolina. The system is expandable to cover any number of clients and file requirements. If you also use CCH Sitebuilder, CCH has also incorporated ShareFile into their system for a seamless bridge into portals. For more information, please contact ShareFile and let them know you are a 2020 Canada Member.

Consulting Software

Great software can make a consultant's job so much easier and faster in analysing situations and providing key solutions and advice. Some of our favourites come from CCH.

CCH Profit Driver

Profit Driver is one of the most dynamic analytical tools available for firms to expand their business consulting expertise. Very easy to use and to work with your clients in meetings to provide them with specific actions they can take to improve their business situation.

• • • • Easily load historical data from many sources including Caseware, TaxPrep , Execl etc.
      • Integrate the Statistic Canada benchmarking data to compare company performance with industry standards or create your own.

2020 Canada has negotiated a 15% discount on the software purchase price, which more than covers your annual membership. Please contact CCH for more information and let them know you are with 2020 Canada.

Dual / Multiple Monitors

The 2020 Group has long been an advocate of having multiple monitors on everyone's desk, from receptionist, to clerical staff to partners, whether they use notebooks or desktops. The increase in efficiencies has been documented in numerous studies with a 10-15% automatic boost in productivity. Simply ask someone who has used multiple monitors if they would go back to one - no way!

Please download the technical report on Moving to Multiple Monitors or Robert Gold's independent consulting report  here at the right of your screen.

Early in September, 2009, 2020 Canada will become a reseller for Samsung Canada having monitors and other display available at disvcounted prices for our members. We are really excited about one particular series of monitors, the Samsung SyncMaster 940UX USB series which connect to your computer through the USB port and allows you to quickly connect multiple monitors through a "daisy-chain" of SUB connections,  monitor to monitor. No need to deal with additional video cards and the technical headaches they can create.

Should you need any help in moving to multiple monitors, please contact Richard Latimer at 2020 Canada

Fujitsu Scanners - ScanSnap
Fujitsu Scan Snap and Rack 2 Filler Binder Management System

A key part of becoming more efficient in your firm to to become paperless. Low-cost, high-speed scanners from Fujitsu are necessary desktop tools to make scanning an integral part or your work flow process. 2020 is an authorised reseller of Fujitsu Scanners. Pleaes contact us for a quote before you order anywhere else.

A fully integrated, low cost document management system with the look and feel of a real binder system.

Click here to Download Details of the OSLA Speech Laguage Pathologist Deal

Consulting and Coaching Services

Can a Coach or a Consultant help your business? The statistics are pretty convincing that a business coach or consultant can produce a positive ROI.

• 689 percent return (or $3.3 million) was the gain on an investment of $414,310 to coach 45 managers (Source: Joyce, A. (August 8, 2004)
• 529 percent increase to significant financial and intangible benefits for a Fortune 500 company as a result of executive coaching; a return of more than $5 for every $1 spent. (Source: A 2001 MetrixGlobal study.)
• 516 percent increase in measurable gains in productivity to a financial services company’s’ sales personnel as a result of business coaching. (Source: Fisher, A. (May 13, 2002).
• 5.7 times the initial investment was the outcome of a study of 100 executives from Fortune 1000 companies who received coaching from six months to one-year. (Source: Wasylyshyn, K.M. (2003). Executive coaching: An outcome study. Consulting Psychology Journal, 55, 2, 94-106.)

Coaching can make a significant difference to your business and we have several options for you.

Chris Frederiksen, Chairman on the 2020 Group Worldwide, has been Practicing CPA and a consultant to the accounting industry for more than 30 years. He provides consulting services in the areas of Practice Management, Strategic Development, partner retreats and coaching. Please contact us to arrange we work with two great firms that provide Strategic Services and Coaching to Accountants. If you'd like to speak with Chris, please contact him at the 2020 Group USA website

We had the pleasure of meeting Gale Crosley at the Management Summit in Las Vegas last year where she was one of the main speakers. Gale is recognized as one of the top consultants, authors and speakers in North America to Acccounting Firms of all sizes. Gale agredd to do a series of 6 webinars for 2020 Canada which will be made available to firms across North America. To find out more about Gale, her firm, and her consulting services, please go to her website, www.crosleycompany.com.

 We have two terrific Canadian firms that  work with several of our 2020 Canada members.

When Bob Simpson started Synchronicity in 1998, he had recently experienced a major change in his professional life. Bob was Senior Vice President National Sales of Midland Walwyn Capital Inc., Canada′s largest independent financial services firm. His firm had recently been sold to Merrill Lynch and Bob, tired of working in a high pressure, political environment was ready for a change. He created Synchronicity Business Coaching Inc. The Growth Programs for Accountants helps practices to achieve their objectives by encouraging them to stick with a planning process. Planning for what you want is not a ‘one-off' experience.

Bob also provides all 2020 Canada Members with a free Business Energizer Meeting - please contact Bob by e-mail to arrange this and let him know you're a 2020 Canada Member or call him at  905-502-0100.

Hilary Lochead is an Executive Coach, Consultant and a Public Speaker. She is the founder of Transition Matters, a business responding to the needs of organizations and people within those organizations facing change. The focus is  change management and incorporates internal consulting, in addition to the development and delivery of change-related workshops. Her 20 years of practical international leadership experience enable Hilary to combine the strategic with the tactical. As a senior leader in financial services, she led multiple teams in various functions in North America and Europe. As a transitional leader, she was instrumental in the success of multiple change activities, including mergers, acquisitions, process re-engineering, strategic re-direction technology conversions and divestitures.

Hilary is passionate about development and combines coaching and consulting in a way that inspires business leaders to greater personal and professional success and fulfillment. In times of change, business leaders benfit from having a trusted advisor, a listening partner. Hilary understands the pressures of organization life. Her depth of experience has helped executives reach their own and their organization's full potential.

She is a creative and strategic thinker who is passionate about change. Her approach is focused on integrity and affiliation. She is an excellent implementer, mentor and motivator. Please contact her by e-mail at hilary@transitionmatters.ca or by phone at 905-271-8760

Marketing Consulting

If you are looking for Marketing Consulting, developing communications plans, advertising, niche work, target list development, Peggy Tyers and Richard Latimer both have extensive experience in Marketing and Advertising. Contact us at the 2020 Canada office at 905-891-8546.

 Wealth Management Services

Paul Tyers, Managing Director of Wealth Stewards has worked with the ICAO diligently for the past 7 years to develop and clarify the regulations regarding Wealth Management integration into Accounting firms in Canada, a service that has long been available in the UK, Australia and in the United States. Wealth Stewards has an approved model (with an opinion letter from the Institute) that allows you to offer this much-desired service to your clients. Please visit their website.

To contact Paul, click here for e-mail or call  905-402-9926

Legal Services

Founded in 1990, Wilson Vukelich is a Markham Law Firm and is York Region's leading Business and Tax Law Firm. The lawyers represent clients in Markham, Richmond Hill, across the Greater Toronto Area and internationally. The mission of our lawyers is to provide highly responsive and practical Bay Street quality tax and estates, corporate, technology, financial services, litigation and labour and employment law advice to a range of users including early stage entrepreneurs seeking like minded entrepreneurial counsel as well as large organizations seeking more efficient management of their overall legal budgets. Brian Wilson, a CA and Lawyer,  and Rob Martini a Tax Law Specialist, have supported 2020 Canada since its inception with presentations on various Tax Issues.

Hull and Hull represent clients in all aspects of estate litigation, including:Will challenges and will interpretation litigation / Dependant's support and Family Law Act claims / Trust interpretation litigation, trust variation applications and trustee disputes, including proceedings to remove or replace trustees /Passings of accounts in estate and trust matters /Power of attorney proceedings, including capacity hearings / Guardianship hearings /Solicitors’ negligence claims. Hull and Hull also provide advice in complex estate administration matters. please visit their website and check out thewir informative webcasts.

James Lane has been a partner at BJCTB since the firm was founded in 2005.  He practices commercial litigation with particular focus on advising and representing professionals, and defending claims under appointment by liability insurers.  He acts for firms of chartered accountants ranging from the largest through to sole practitioners. He acts for accountants, lawyers and financial advisors in disciplinary and licensing matters.  His experience also includes litigation involving directors’ and officers’ liability, shareholder remedies, employment law, surety claims, financial institution liability, commercial fraud and general commercial litigation.

 Professional Management Services

Focus ROI is a specialized consulting firm that offers creative and cost effective solutions in financial management, auditing and accounting. Monitoring and Internal/External Communications are two key areas that they work in for smaller firms.

 Monitoring
Public accounting firms are required to appoint a monitor to inspect compliance with their quality control manuals and standards. Where this cannot be done effectively “in house” we can provide an independent review. We also provide a limited number of internal audit services to corporate entities who want to monitor their control environment.

Internal/external communications
Many accounting practices and smaller entities have limited resources for writing materials such as policies and procedures, press releases, presentations, important messages for staff, speeches (internal and external) and preparing the annual report or MD&A. We have professional writers who can ease this burden by producing high quality materials.

Stuart Hartley ,FCA, CA-IT is the President of Focus ROI Inc. and author of the CICA’s Professional Engagement Manual, the CICA’s Quality Assurance Manual and “Risk Management Toolkit for not for profit executives.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Through our network of member firms, we often find out first when a firm is thinking of selling or cutting back on their time in their practice. We have resources within 2020 Canada to help you organize, market and negotiate the terms of the sale of your practice and we have a list of firms that are always on the lookout for expansion.

In addition to our internal resources, we also work with the top Mergers & Acquisition firm in the USA, Accounting Transition Advisors. With close to 1000 tarnsactions, they are the leaders in negotiating deals between firms of any size. For Sole Practitioners and small partnerships that have a rpinciple who is looking to reduce their involvement in the practice, they an interesting process for transitioning practices called a Two-Stage Deal that maximises client retention, firm value and payout. Please visit the Accounting Transition Advisors website for more information. Call 2020 Canada to initiate any inquiries.

 Employment Services

Again through our network of member firms as well as resume that come across our desks, we are aware of openings and staffing requiremnts for lots of firms and can help in putting together appropriate personnel with prospective employers.

Marc Belaiche, President of Toronto Jobs, has been a long-time supporter of 2020 Canada and frequently presents webinars on hiring, retention and firing issues relevant to accounting firms. A former CA himself, Marc knows the industry and also speaks at ICAO courses. Please  visit the Toronto Jobs website.

Outsourcing and Insourcing

Strategically, outsourcing (or insourcing) is an option firms should consider for routine functions that will free up time for staff and principals to do more interesting, more lucrative work. The only difference between Outsourcing and Insourcing is location; Outsourcing is where work is sent out of the country and Insourcing is wher works is sent to Cnadian firms who either specialize in this area or firms that have excess capacity and can take on work form other regions. Technology has made this process fully secure and depending where you outsource to, India for example, you can take advantage of time differences and have the work done overnight.

Two US firms we work with are Xpitax and Astutant. Both have operations in India with teams of accountants available for Tax Preparation and Bookkeeping.

Xpitax is the creation of a U.S accounting firm seeking better ways to adapt technology to client service. The affiliated accounting firm, KAF Financial Group in Braintree, Massachusetts has many years of experience in public accounting and tax preparation, and is viewed as a leader in the field of digital workflow and automated business processes.KAF was awarded the prestigious Practical Accountant Magazine "Innovation Award" in 2002 for its development of the outsourcing model used by Xpitax today.

Their outsourcing partner in India is Aithent, Inc.; a U.S. based global information services company focusing on infrastructure and security. With offices in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and India, Aithen truly has a global footprint. Some of Aithen's clients include American Express, Citigroup, Credit Suisse First Boston, JP Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Lipper Analytical, and Morgan Stanley. Click here for their website and let them know you are a 2020 Canada Member.

Based out of Fort Myers, Florida, The Astutant Group is managed by Arun Parameswaran a young entrepreneurial accountant who was nominated as one of the top 25 Young Entrepreneurs Under 25 in the US by Business Week in 2007. His business model utilises outsourcing as a strategic advantage and he has set up his own firm in India with CA's trained in US and Canadian Tax, as well as bookkeeping staff using all popular software. Please check out their website.

Bookkeeping Express are Canadian bookkeeping specialists. They provide accurate, complete, consistent and reliable bookkeeping – all at the best possible price.  They can help you meet all of your Canada Revenue Agency and Provincial tax filing and reporting requirements and they make sure you never have to pay interest or penalties for late or incomplete filings. Based out of Vancouver, BC they use portal systems to provide bookkeeping services across the country to Accounting firms and small business firms alike.

Professional Liability Insurance

Canadian Firms now have another option for their professional liability insurance coverage!

NAPLIA can provide Canadian firms with cost-effective option to their current insurance coverage. Simply send a copy of your firm's renewal application to your current carrier as well as a copy of the current liability declarations page and policy.  Please see the full documentation on NAPLIA at the top right of this page or go to NAPLIA.com