Capital markets and financial accounting advisory services

Supporting you through complex accounting and moments of exceptional change

As the global business landscape evolves, your organization will inevitably face change that may be driven by choice or necessity. From planning and executing capital markets transactions like initial public offerings (IPO), mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or divestitures to navigating regulatory change and complex accounting, we are here to support you and help you address these challenges every step of the way.

Paul Feetham

Partner, Capital Markets & Accounting Advisory Services (CMAAS), PwC Canada

A strategic approach to change

Our dedicated network of deals, capital markets and accounting advisory professionals around the world has the knowledge and experience in domestic and international deals, regulatory frameworks, accounting standards and business processes to help you master the many challenges of your transaction.

We work with you to take the time to explore your business and the challenges you face. We also focus on using technology-driven solutions and bringing our extensive transformation experience to uncover ways to deliver more value at every stage.

Acquisition accounting/post-deal accounting

We help you create and capture value by guiding you through the challenges of delivering a successful deal. These include: accounting due diligence, the preparation of the closing balance sheet, purchase price allocation, preparing financial statements and advice on disclosures, accounting policies and reporting requirements.

We also collaborate with our colleagues from Consulting, Deals and Tax to offer a seamless experience. Whether you’re looking to optimize the entry or exit value or are looking for ways to fund and secure the business or improve financial metrics, we can help you achieve a smooth transition throughout the transaction life cycle.

Capital markets advisory/IPO readiness/capital markets assurance

Deciding to take your company public is a decision that will truly transform the way you do business and help you unlock new business opportunities while driving sustainable growth. We offer a number of tools and services to help you to successfully work towards your IPO date and navigate life as a public company afterwards:

Our IPO Readiness tool will help you strategically review where your company stands, identify critical gaps and develop an actionable plan to execute a successful IPO.
Benchmarking against best practices for listed entities and requirements for listed companies set out by regulators.
Help with preparing the public filing document, guidance on complex accounting issues, advice on responses to regulator comment letters and assistance with the preparation of your pro-forma financial statements.
With IPO experience in multiple jurisdictions, we act as an independent advisor to management as you navigate the many stakeholders involved in the IPO process.

Together with our tax, value creation, corporate governance, internal controls and compliance experts from across the PwC network, we’ll help you understand what you need to know and what you need to do.

Exit readiness/special purpose financial statements and carve-outs/accounting structuring

Selling or divesting a business requires careful planning and thoughtful execution. It’s an opportunity to look ahead and create a path to value, but the process can be high-stakes, emotional and fraught with financial uncertainty.

Drawing on our extensive divestiture experience, we advise on complex transactions and the many activities involved in a divestiture process, enabling you to be a prepared seller.

Our services include assisting with deal strategy and sell-side transaction execution planning to help facilitate a more effective sales process. We also help with preparing the often complex carve-out financial information and statements required in a transaction. This requires accurate, robust and flexible carve-out information that meets buyers’ informational and due-diligence needs and potential reporting requirements.

GAAP conversions/accounting standards change/ complex accounting issues

Our team brings deep technical expertise, industry knowledge, practical advice and international connectivity. Our accounting advisory team isn’t a subset of the audit practice, which means we’re dedicated to offering accounting advice to you on a daily basis in areas including:

Technical accounting interpretation and application of accounting standards as well as assistance with data gathering, process and control redesign, system implementation issues and GAAP conversions.
Areas of complexity that we regularly support our clients with include revenue, financial instruments, leases, business combinations, stock-based compensation and consolidated financial statements.

With our deep expertise in complex IFRS, US GAAP and ASPE accounting, we work with you to anticipate and avoid pitfalls by bringing you best practices from around the world.

Our Q2 financial reporting update provided an overview on the accounting and financial reporting implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it may impact financial reports.