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FROM: JAN-FEB 2003 ISSUE
GIFI Reporting
When reporting your corporation's financial statement information, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) needs the same level of detail with the General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) as it formerly required with traditional financial statements. If a balance sheet consists of 15 items (for example, cash, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses, accounts payable, common shares, to name a few), then you should use 15 GIFI codes when submitting the balance sheet information. Similarly, for an income statement that consists of 20 items, you should use 20 GIFI codes.
Most corporations will report between 30 and 50 items. However, the CCRA has provided approximately 700 GIFI codes to give as much choice as possible in order to accurately code a corporation's financial statement information. A few specific GIFI codes are needed to get the GIFI component of your T2 return into the front door of the CCRA processing system; however, there is no minimum number of GIFI codes required for a T2 return. Accountants should report as many GIFI codes as it takes to represent the corporation's balance sheet and income statement in their entirety.
For more information about the GIFI, refer to the Guide to the General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) for Corporations (RC4088), available on the CCRA corporate income tax Web page at www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/tax/business/
t2return/, or at CCRA tax services offices.
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High Marks for Accountants
Despite the recent corporate scandals involving questionable accounting practices, accountants still rank highly in trustworthiness and perceived value among Canadian business leaders.
Accountants ranked first in a recent COMPAS Web-survey in which CEOs and other business leaders were asked to rate the trustworthiness of the billing of a variety of service providers. Using a 100-point, school report card-type scale, respondents gave accountants the highest score for trustworthiness with 78 per cent. Lawyers and stockbrokers tied for second with 65 per cent, while management consultants scored 63 per cent.
The business leaders also gave accountants the highest mark (78 per cent) for the value of their service. Lawyers ranked a close second with 71 per cent. Management consultants barely passed on the service scale with a 51 per cent, while the service stockbrokers provide failed to make the grade with 47 per cent.
The survey of executives of small, medium and large corporations and local and national chambers of commerce was conducted in October 2002 for the National Postunder the sponsorship of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
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