Committee
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Add search criteria
Results: 106 - 120 of 174
Lucia Iacovelli
View Lucia Iacovelli Profile
Lucia Iacovelli
2021-05-06 17:13
I understand that our U.S. member firm did face penalties with respect to that occurrence, and I understand that this had implications for the types of services it was able to provide.
View Ed Fast Profile
CPC (BC)
View Ed Fast Profile
2021-05-06 17:13
Okay. Thank you for that answer.
I know you don't admit to culpability for these frauds, and I understand why you would do that. However, reflecting on what has happened, is there something you could have done to prevent these frauds from occurring, as an accounting firm and as a consultant to your clients?
Lucia Iacovelli
View Lucia Iacovelli Profile
Lucia Iacovelli
2021-05-06 17:13
With respect, again, we have no connection with Cinar and with the “sword” companies, whether directly or indirectly. I'm a tax adviser; I'm not a specialist with respect to fraud. I couldn't even begin to explain how to prevent something like this.
View Ed Fast Profile
CPC (BC)
View Ed Fast Profile
2021-05-06 17:14
All right.
You did say that you had done an extensive review. KPMG had done an extensive review of steps that could have been taken.
Can you tell us if this extensive review you undertook actually provided you with some information as to what additional protection could have been implemented to protect vulnerable Canadians like Ms. Watson?
Lucia Iacovelli
View Lucia Iacovelli Profile
Lucia Iacovelli
2021-05-06 17:14
The extensive review we undertook was to determine which clients sat under the OCS. Back in 2017, the CBC approached us again about the “sword” companies. We spent thousands upon thousands of hours reviewing our files—hard-copy files and electronic files—and conducting forensic reviews within our systems to determine if those clients were our clients. I can very certainly say that they aren't our clients.
With respect to your question on what can be done, I think we've seen a lot of measures put in place for common reporting standards. A lot of global standards have been put in place as well. There's an exchange of information, including the PAC exchange with the U.S.
The most recent budget included a new form of disclosure requirements for transactions. From a corporate perspective, there are also disclosures for foreign affiliate reporting. An extensive number of disclosures are required with respect to offshore accounts, both for individuals and for corporations.
View Gabriel Ste-Marie Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Iacovelli, I would remind you that the act that gives the committee its powers overrides the professional secrecy of accountants. You can consult section 48 of the Code of Ethics of Chartered Professional Accountants of Quebec if you want to verify this.
I will now refer to the CBC website article published on April 27 by two journalists, Mr. Cashore and Mr. Zalac, who reported having found, through the Paradise Papers leak, internal emails written by Sandra Georgeson, an administrator for several shell companies incorporated in the Isle of Man for KPMG's Canadian clients.
Here's what it says:
In an email dated Dec. 16, 2015, with the subject line “Canadian Tax Investigations,” a manager asked Georgeson "who was [the] promoter of the scheme/product"? She answered that it was “KPMG in Canada”...
Do you acknowledge that as true?
Lucia Iacovelli
View Lucia Iacovelli Profile
Lucia Iacovelli
2021-05-06 17:30
I'm sorry; I'm not sure that I fully understood. Was it with respect to the offshore structure?
I'm not sure that the translation is coming through clearly.
View Gabriel Ste-Marie Profile
BQ (QC)
In the Paradise Papers leak, journalists reported finding internal emails written by Sandra Georgeson, an administrator for several shell companies incorporated in the Isle of Man for Canadian clients.
She said that KPMG in Canada was the promoter of the scheme/product.
Do you acknowledge that as true?
Lucia Iacovelli
View Lucia Iacovelli Profile
Lucia Iacovelli
2021-05-06 17:31
I think we've always been forward about the fact that we created the offshore structure, but with respect to the Isle of Man, there are other offshore structures that were available at the time that were not KPMG offshore structures.
View Gabriel Ste-Marie Profile
BQ (QC)
In the email of December 16, 2015, Sandra Georgeson attached a spreadsheet with the names of four companies related to the KPMG scheme, which may have been used by the fraudsters in the Cinar, Norshield and Mount Real case. Those were Katar, Sceax, Spatha and Shashqua.
Once again, I understand that you are distancing yourself from that, and that, although those four sword companies were associated with KPMG in Canada, you are telling us that you are not connected to them in any way, shape or form. Is that correct?
Lucia Iacovelli
View Lucia Iacovelli Profile
Lucia Iacovelli
2021-05-06 17:32
That's correct. We are not in any way connected to the “sword” companies. There are a few emails in which Ms. Georgeson actually contradicts herself. In one email she says that Cordery was only the service provider for KPMG, when we know that Cordery was also the service provider for nine other non-KPMG OCSs and was also the service provider for the “sword” companies, which we had no involvement in.
She also goes on to indicate that the service provider provided other services and not just the OCS services. She contradicts herself in saying that was the only service that she provided. She also goes on to say that the OCS was unique to KPMG. We know for a fact that it wasn't unique to KPMG. There are all sorts of OCSs that are provided within the Isle of Man.
With respect to Ms. Georgeson, I'm not suggesting she is lying; I'm suggesting that she is an administrator who was doing her job but really didn't provide the same level of due diligence that we would have in terms of searching out who was included within the KPMG offshore companies.
We've done extensive searches within our databases, Mr. Ste-Marie. We've spent hours upon hours searching our databases, including forensic reviews. We've involved external legal counsel as well. We've interviewed everybody involved with the offshore structure.
View Gabriel Ste-Marie Profile
BQ (QC)
I have to interrupt you. That's all in the article.
I have one last question.
Has KPMG Canada ever had Norshield and Mount Real as clients?
Lucia Iacovelli
View Lucia Iacovelli Profile
Lucia Iacovelli
2021-05-06 17:34
With respect to Mount Real, it was not a client of KPMG. With respect to Norshield, we were the auditor of a fund that is in a chain of funds with respect to Norshield. That fund was Olympus. When we were the auditors, there was a sophisticated fraud that was undertaken at Olympus, and unfortunately we didn't uncover that. The fraud involved an inflation of asset values, which in my understanding is different from the fraud that was undertaken with respect to Cinar and the “sword” companies.
That—
Results: 106 - 120 of 174 | Page: 8 of 12

|<
<
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
>
>|
Export As: XML CSV RSS

For more data options, please see Open Data