Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
This course provides a practical, technically focused overview of income‑tax considerations in business succession planning for owner‑managed private companies. Participants will learn how to identify planning opportunities and apply key tax concepts across the various stages of a business’s life cycle, from early‑stage planning to estate freezes, reorganizations, divestitures, and post‑mortem strategies.
Topics include:
- Tax and non‑tax considerations across the business succession life cycle.
- The owner‑manager wealth cycle and its implications for succession planning.
- Financing considerations for private corporations, including interest deductibility.
- Estate freeze techniques and commonly used corporate rollover provisions.
- Divisive reorganizations and surplus‑stripping considerations.
- Arm’s‑length and non‑arm’s‑length divestiture planning.
- Capital gains exemption strategies and purification techniques.
- Post‑mortem planning approaches to mitigate double taxation.
NOTE: This course description has been revised and reflects updates for 2026. If you have any questions, please contact pdevents@cpaontario.ca.
Schedule
- November 3, 2026, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- November 4, 2026, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Key Takeaways
By the end of this course, participants should be able to:
- Identify the stages of the owner‑manager wealth cycle and assess their impact on succession planning.
- Evaluate succession alternatives and apply key tax and non‑tax considerations, including estate‑freeze strategies and trust structures.
- Recognize common tax risks such as post‑mortem double taxation, surplus‑stripping, and valuation‑related issues.
- Assess planning strategies for divestitures, including capital gains exemptions, purification techniques, and arm’s‑length share‑sale considerations.
- Describe the high‑level application of divisive reorganizations and the role they may play in succession planning.
Who Will Benefit
- Accountants in public practice advising owner‑managed private corporations.
- In‑house tax professionals supporting private enterprises facing succession or ownership transitions.
Prerequisite(s)
- Participants should have intermediate to advanced knowledge of private company tax planning and transactions involving private company shares.
- Recommended prerequisite: Corporate Tax: RDTOH, CDA, and Other Tax Accounts.
How to Access the Course
This course is delivered as a live webinar. To receive verifiable CPD hours, you must attend the session live. We recommend joining at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start time. For the best interactive experience, please use a computer equipped with a camera and microphone.
A reminder email with the Zoom link and course details will be sent two business days before the session. If you do not receive it, please check your spam or junk folder.
The same information, including any available materials, will also be posted in advance on our Blackboard LMS.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Speaker(s)
Karen Wilkinson, FCPA, FCA is President of Karen Wilkinson Professional Corporation. She was previously a Tax Partner with Deloitte LLP with over 25 years of tax experience. Karen's practice is focused on assisting private companies and their owners in maximizing wealth and transitioning the business to the next generation. While at Deloitte LLP, Karen was the Chief Learning Officer for the Canadian tax practice for 9 years. She has been involved in the delivery of all aspects of the CPA Canada In-depth tax program and is a former lecturer for the CPA Canada Income Tax for the General Practitioner course. Karen graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Master of Accounting degree. Karen has been very involved in the community over the years currently serving as a member of the Board of the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Association and the Treasurer at Orchestras Canada. Prior community involvement has included the Board of Governors at the University of Waterloo and United Way of Cambridge and North Dumfries.