C-Suite Quarterly Survey: Canada’s Top CEOs Express Concern Over Economic Growth, Tax Avoidance, and Recession Recovery

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TORONTO (October 7, 2013) – Less than half of the companies who responded to this quarter’s C-Suite Survey said their companies have recovered from the 2008 recession, it was revealed in the 32^nd C-Suite Quarterly survey, released today. Throughout the day today, BNN draws upon the experience of Canada’s top business professionals to evaluate the survey’s results and how they reflect Canada’s current economic climate, focusing on business development since the 2008 recession, potential for growth in the Canadian economy, and taxation policies.

BNN’s in-depth look at this edition of the C-Suite Quarterly survey findings include feature interviews with David Herle, Principal of The Gandalf Group, and Willy Kruh, Partner, KPMG. These interviews and further analysis will be brought to BNN viewers today on BUSINESS DAY PM at 2:20 p.m. ET, and THE CLOSE just after 4:20 p.m. ET. BNN’s complete examination of the findings will be available online at BNN.ca post-broadcast.

Key Findings of the 32^nd C-Suite Survey include:

• Less than half of respondents believe their companies have fully recovered from the 2008-09 recession.
• One in 10 of those surveyed said their business had not recovered at all.
• The majority of executives said the recession has changed how their companies do business, and that there are tighter reins placed on spending causing more caution around debt and borrowing.
• More than half of those surveyed noted that overall credit conditions have improved only somewhat since 2008, and accessing credit continues to be a serious challenge, especially for resource companies.
• There is support for leveling the playing field and curbing the effort of companies that try to avoid taxation by pushing activities to low-tax jurisdictions.
• Most executives support a proposed OECD action plan to address tax base erosion and profit sharing to other countries.

The C-Suite Quarterly survey is conducted by Gandalf Group and sponsored by KPMG.

About BNN
BNN – Business News Network is Canada’s only television service devoted exclusively to business and finance news with wall-to-wall coverage of the markets. The network features the only televised stock ticker with real-time data from the TSX, NYSE and NASDAQ. BNN provides Canadian investors with the latest business news, newsmaker interviews and stock market analyses. BNN is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company. For more information about BNN, visit www.bnn.ca.

About Gandalf Group

The Gandalf Group is an opinion research and communications consulting firm. The firm’s principals are nationally recognized leaders in research and communications strategy, providing advice to business, industry associations, public sector agencies and media outlets. The Gandalf Group has been conducting quarterly editions of the C-Suite survey on behalf of KPMG, The Globe and Mail‘s Report on Business and BNN since 2006. Past editions of reports on survey findings are available at GandalfGroup.ca.

About KPMG

KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm (kpmg.ca), a Canadian limited liability partnership established under the laws of Ontario, is the Canadian member firm of KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”). KPMG International’s member firms have 140,000 professionals, including more than 7,900 partners, in 146 countries.

The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International, a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity, and describes itself as such

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For more information:

Julie MacFarlane, 416.384.4623 or julie.macfarlane@bellmedia.ca

Patricia Garcia, 416.384.2645 or patricia.garcia@bellmedia.ca