Variables MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS OF INTEREST POLL OF THE MONTH Know Which Spend Is Up
ONLINE SHOPPING IS BECOMING MORE POPULAR among Canadian CPAs, our latest reader poll finds. Nearly four in 10 (37%) of you say the proportion of overall spending that you conduct online has gone up over the past year, including 9% who say it has increased significantly. More than half of you have purchased travel, books, concert/theatre tickets, clothing/accessories and computers/electronics on the Internet, while more than one-third bought music, sporting event tickets and housewares. Other online purchases cited by at least 10% of you include toys, sporting goods, fast food and groceries. —T
amar Satov Log on to
cpacanada.ca/ cpamagazine to take our
next monthly poll
BRIBE AND GROOM CORPORATE MISGIVING
SOMETIMES IT’S BETTER NEITHER TO GIVE NOR RECEIVE. Businesses that give gifts run the risk of facing criminal charges for trying to unduly influence officials. Here are some of the more notable — and lavish — offerings to draw attention during the past few decades. — Steve Brearton
NIKO RESOURCES $191,000
Calgary oil and gas firm Niko Resources is convicted of bribery in 2011 for giving a Toyota Land Cruiser Cygnus to a
Bangladeshi politician in 2005 to bolster its business interests in the country
SNC-LAVALIN $160 million
From 2001 to 2011, SNC intermediaries allegedly offered Saadi Gaddafi, son of former Libyan dictator Muammar
Gaddafi, gifts worth millions of dollars, including a superyacht featuring two VIP suites, a home theatre and a Jacuzzi
BRAZILIAN FOOTBALL CONFEDERATION
$1.2 million
Prior to the 2014 World Cup, Brazil’s national soccer body gave “goody bags” to 28 FIFA executive committee members containing Parmigiani watches valued at US$26,000 each
GLAXOSMITHKLINE Hundreds of
millions of dollars
In 2014, GSK was fined US$489 million in China for bribing doctors, hospitals and medical
associations with “cash payments, extravagant dinners, and all-expenses-paid trips to Europe” to boost drug sales
AVON PRODUCTS US$8 million
From 2004 to 2008, the cosmetics firm wooed Chinese officials with gifts including Gucci bags, Tiffany & Co. pens
and box seats to sporting events. In 2006, China granted Avon a direct-selling licence
BAE SYSTEMS Billions of dollars
During the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, the British defence contractor had a slush fund that doled out millions worldwide to win contracts. In 2000, one Saudi royal couple received an Aston Martin Le Mans and a peacock-blue Rolls-Royce
8 | CPA MAGAZINE | MARCH 2016
Purse: Akos Stiller/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Yacht: Laughing Mango/Getty Images
Eiffel Tower: Maria Wachala/Getty Images
Chart: Baiba Black
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