On December 1, 2011 I had the pleasure of attending a CMC Eastern Ontario event at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa titled Inside Government of Canada Procurement: What’s happening today, where are we headed, what can you do to get ready? The keynote speaker was Shereen Benzvy Miller, (M.A., LL.B), Director General for the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME), and Acting Director General of Client Engagement with Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).

This post will provide you with information about what has been presented last week, including the changes that are currently going on in the Canadian federal government on the procurement side, and with some pointers regarding where you need to go to get valuable information prior to putting together a proposal.

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On March 22, 2011, the Honourable Jim Flaherty tabled his sixth budget as Canada's Minister of Finance, while on March 29, 2011 the Honourable Dwight Duncan presented his fourth budget since becoming Ontario's Finance Minister. Both budgets promised various tax cuts for businesses in support for business innovation, and additional funding for various programs and initiatives that would see Ontario and Canada based businesses move new products and services into the market at a more rapid pace.

This blog post takes a critical look at what is being proposed, and discusses Canada's lag behind other countries in terms of its successes in commercializing new, innovative products and services.

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So, you’ve decided to become an independent consultant?! Now all you have to do is start earning top dollars in consulting fees, isn’t it? Not quite! To better understand the consequences of your decision to “fly solo” you’ll need to review some basic regulatory requirements that are likely to affect you when starting your business. Also, before you get too excited about the revenue side, you should also consider what happens with the cost of doing business.

This blog post discusses a very specific aspect of your future relationship as a consultant with the Canada Revenue Agency: How does the CRA determine your status as a self-employed individual versus an employee, when it comes to establishing your tax liability?

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Between September 20 and October 20 of the current year IIA Canada’s members have voted to establish a Canadian Institute. According to the announcement of the results made by Brian Brown, Chair of Canadian Council on November 1, 2010, only one third of Canada’s members voted, out of which 94% in favour of creating a Canadian Institute. The Ottawa IIA Chapter results were similar to those at the national level: over 36% of Chapter members voted, slightly higher than the Canadian Chapter average.

This post will take you through the transition plan, the expected benefits, and the challenges that lay ahead for the new entity.

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In Part II I discussed in detail the ISACA Risk IT Framework for Management of IT Related Business Risks .

In this final part, I am going to explain why I think IT risk analysis is feasible and necessary for any enterprise making investments in IT, and I’ll be looking at the pitfalls of not having a risk management framework in place for information technology (IT) development and implementation.

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