Track your spending during the holiday season: CPA Canada

TORONTO, Oct. 31, 2014 /CNW/ - Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) hopes Canadians track their spending during the holiday season just as they did in the summer of 2014.

According to a national survey conducted for the organization, two-thirds (66 per cent) of the respondents closely tracked their spending over the summer. Not surprisingly, almost the same number of respondents (61 per cent) reported that they were roughly on budget during that period.

"Financial decisions do matter so it is encouraging to see a significant number of respondents tracking their spending," said Cairine Wilson, a vice-president with CPA Canada who oversees the organization's financial literacy program. "We hope the practice continues during the coming holiday season. A budget does not necessarily eliminate financial stress but it can sure help to reduce it when properly managed."

Most respondents indicated that either summer (42 per cent) or winter (37 per cent) is the season when they spend the most money. Spring and fall were mentioned by a much smaller proportion of people.

The survey focused on spending outside of recurring expenses and asked for a comparison to what respondents 'expected to spend' this past summer.

"About what I expected" emerged as the top response for most activities including entertainment, yard work, transportation and dining out. The exceptions to the trend came with vacations away from home and home renovations where "did not spend money on this" was cited most often.

These latest findings basically echo those of an earlier CPA Canada survey conducted prior to the summer season. The earlier findings (released in June) suggested that spending would not heat up in the summer of 2014. 

"It's reassuring to see that Canadians spending projections were accurate," added Wilson.

For those respondents who did travel this summer, the most referenced destinations were: their own province (50 per cent), another Canadian province or territory (30 per cent) and the United States (25 per cent).

Because some participants may have taken more than one vacation or travelled within different jurisdictions, more than one response was possible.

Methodology

The CPA Canada Summer Spending Followup Survey was conducted by Nielsen via telephone (landline and cellphone dialing) between September 11 and September 14, 2014, with a national random sample of 1,045 adult Canadians aged 18 years and over and is considered accurate to within ± 3.0 per cent, 19 times out of 20.  The data is weighted to replicate the actual population distribution by age and sex within region according to the 2011 Census data. A survey summary report is available online at www.cpacanada.ca/summerspendingfollowup.

About CPA Canada

Canada's accounting profession is uniting under a new single designation, Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA). The profession's national body, Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada), represents and supports more than 190,000 members across the country. CPAs are valued for their financial and tax expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, management skills and leadership. CPA Canada has consolidated the operations of three national accounting bodies: The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Certified General Accountants of Canada and The Society of Management Accountants of Canada. CPA Canada conducts research into current and emerging business issues and supports the setting of accounting, auditing and assurance standards for business, not-for-profit organizations and government. It also issues guidance on control and governance, publishes professional literature and develops certification and continuing education programs.

SOURCE: CPA Canada

For further information: Tobin Lambie, Principal, Media, CPA Canada, [phone], [e-mail], www.cpacanada.ca

Related Links

www.cpacanada.ca