Erie's president
explains:

"Our loyalty to BDO has been earned because of the talented partners that have been accessible to us at all times—meeting our changing business needs in times of great challenge, always sustaining success. 

In 2009, Erie embarked on a significant business transformation. Since then, the BDO team has been 
a steady hand along the way in educating us about the financial world of mutual insurance. They’ve also guided us in adopting new accounting standards and regulation. 

The BDO Consulting team have been the architects and builders of our strategy and roadmap. Since 2017, we’ve made remarkable progress in digitally transforming our business with the expert guidance of this talented team of professionals. 

To build a competitive, thriving business we’ve learned that we can’t do it alone. Partnerships like the one we have with BDO are critical to the success of any and all business builds or rebuilds."

Margaret Driscoll, shareholder and executive director, shares her impressions: 

"My father—who is in his 90s—
bought the business when he was 
55. He and I have a great relationship with our BDO engagement partner, both personally and professionally. 

We stayed with BDO over the last 
4 decades because of the proactive business advice, the positive succession process, their support 
for domestic and U.S. tax and valuations. But above all, we stayed because of the strong relationship 
that was built with our engagement partner, who was always very responsive and supportive.  

To help us grow and improve, 
BDO has provided ongoing guidance with our advisory board. They’re a trusted sounding board for us to bounce off ideas and think big. Maintaining these networks, we’re 
able to attend BDO manufacturing round tables to share ideas with 
peers and learn from other experiences. We continuously 
engage with the advisory teams 
to leverage industry 4.0 and build 
out new digital solutions.  

In working with BDO, we’ve learned that strong relationships with all our stakeholders are key. We’ve learned the value of fostering innovation in 
our products along with superior customer service—both critical to growth and sustainability."

They explain: 

"We chose BDO because they are 
a well-respected firm. The people 
we worked with were professional and competent in their roles. Our shareholders have always been happy with the quality of work BDO provided.  

BDO has helped in providing 
capacity development and other trainings, as well as performing organizational reviews of some of 
our companies within the Nation.  

The experience of working with BDO has showed us areas where we are strong and areas where we need to provide more support."

The Chancellor Park owners provide their insights:

"We started the business relationship with the predecessor firm. We were looking for someone to help us through the start-up phase of our business. We had big plans and needed a lot of help with accessing capital, financing, budgeting, and business operations.

What made us stick with BDO over the years? It comes down to relationships. We always trusted BDO to give us good advice, with our needs at the forefront. Since BDO acquired the predecessor firm, we’ve grown, expanded, and our needs have become more complex. BDO’s depth of knowledge and expanding service offerings matched our needs from the start. This included an evaluation of complex financing offers, tax planning, succession planning, and HST advice.

BDO brings the right team to the table for each of our particular needs. They’re genuinely invested in our success and take the time to understand our business—which is really important to us.

What we’ve learned about running our business is that you have to rely on others to provide advice as you progress and grow. You can’t do either on your own. Having the right advisors is critical to success."

Langley’s president 
shares his experience:

"Our decision to move to BDO from 
a much smaller accounting firm was 
to fuel our growth at the time and 
align with the increased complexity 
of our ownership model. BDO was 
one of the larger firms in the Langley area whom my father developed a relationship with. 

Our family’s long-term relationship with BDO has provided stability 
and consistency in advice and reporting over decades of growth. Between 1990 and 2000, we relied 
on BDO’s advice on tax issues, organizational structure, and reporting requirements as we grew. Our close engagement partner relationships were our sounding board for many decisions as we continued to grow. They challenged us and provided guidance throughout all these years that created a trust between our firms and provided a closer-than-expected personal relationship. We probably would not have grown to our current size without BDO by our side. 

What we’ve learned about growing our business was to pay attention when the accountants are talking! 
Having a strategy to deal with taxes, ownership (particularly related to family enterprise), and our growth 
and capital expenditure plans was something BDO emphasized to us 
and helped us address."

Kim shares his
experience with BDO:

"What BDO offered me was one place to get everything I needed. BDO is a diverse company that’s pleasant to work with, is honourable, and knowledgeable of the services they provide.

I’m still involved with BDO to help with my children’s businesses as well as my own personal business.

They’re there to offer knowledge so you as a business owner can make better decisions. You need the right strategic partner to help you plan your right strategic future.

In over 30 years, we’ve covered a
lot of ground. Success to me is
family—and being in a position to help my family. And that’s where I
feel I am today."

They explain: 

"BDO has always provided audit, assurance, corporation, and taxation services for Kroeker companies.  In the past years, they’ve also provided consulting solutions; namely building our business central accounting system and integrating it with our wash plant and farm operations. This has allowed us to continue to grow and have good financial information in a timely manner. 

We chose BDO because they were always able to provide support and advice for any situation we’ve been in and have helped us make better business decisions. BDO has resources and expertise for international business opportunities and creative corporate and tax solutions that help our company grow. They’ve always supported our business with consistent and professional service, and they understand the agriculture sector. 

The BDO team in Winnipeg and Winkler have provided services beyond audit and assurance to the Kroeker companies as we’ve expanded our business in Canada and into the U.S. This includes tax planning, along with technology advisory and implementation.  

Building a successful business requires the support from business partners like BDO to help make 
key decisions and support new opportunities and expansion into 
new countries."

CISN shares their experience with BDO: 

"We chose BDO because it’s a top notch organization with world-class professionals spanning multiple industries and countries; for their innate ability to provide simple solutions to complex problems; and their in-depth knowledge of international shipping and logistics. 

We stayed with BDO because of 
the impeccable quality of service, attention to detail, staying ahead 
of the pack when it comes to knowledge and ideas, and helping our business continually grow.  

BDO helped us immensely when 
we relocated to Canada in the late 1990s by shoring up our accounting standards and bringing our reporting to the highest level. Over the course of 20 years, BDO was instrumental 
in their professionalism when we started to deal with international lending institutions, and still do the same today. 

What we learned from our experience working with BDO is that knowledge and its application is everything. Never waste your time dealing with non-professional people in this industry. BDO is a clear winner in 
its field."

OFSC’s CFO explains:

"Originally, we only dealt with BDO 
for auditing purposes. Throughout 
the years, we’ve consulted with BDO for various projects, like business planning and IT functions. 

BDO has been a great resource 
for all aspects of our organization. We’ve worked with BDO for finance, IT, HR, and business planning needs over the past decade. It doesn’t matter what BDO department 
we’re dealing with; they’re always professional and willing to answer
any and all questions."