The Ontario Commercial List’s Pianosi decision is a powerful reminder that family dynamics do not override shareholder rights. Examining a dispute between two brothers and equal shareholders, the case highlights how exclusion from management, lack of transparency, and self-dealing can constitute oppression. Family business owners can draw important lessons about governance, fairness, and protecting both corporate value and family relationships.

Market uncertainty can create unique planning opportunities for business owners and investors. An estate freeze is a tax and succession planning strategy that locks in the current value of an asset while transferring future growth to the next generation. By freezing value at today's fair market value (FMV), individuals may reduce the potential tax liability arising from the deemed disposition of assets upon death, while preserving control over the underlying assets.

Business valuation is more than applying a multiple to earnings. Learn how professional judgment, financial analysis, industry knowledge, and valuation methodologies help Chartered Business Valuators assess a company's true value. Discover why understanding the story behind the numbers is essential to reaching a well-supported valuation conclusion.

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools are increasingly becoming part of valuation practice. Practitioners are using large language models to research comparable transactions, extract data from inconsistently formatted financial statements, summarize due diligence materials and increasingly perform a first-pass quality review of valuation reports against professional standards.

Effective January 1, 2026, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (CICBV) introduced significant revisions to its Valuation Practice Standards, with a particular focus on calculation valuation reports. These changes reflect a shift toward increased rigor, consistency, and transparency, driven by insights from practice inspections, evolving expectations of courts and regulators, alignment with International Valuation Standards, and the growing need for more rel

The 2026 Ontario Budget introduces proposed changes to small business and personal dividend tax rates that could meaningfully affect the fair market value of Ontario CCPCs. This article outlines how reduced small business tax rates may increase business values, while higher non‑eligible dividend tax rates could increase personal contingent disposition costs for shareholders.