By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
Feb. 7, 2011

Click here to view this article on OBJ.ca.

More than $35 million in total claims against green construction group, court documents show

Frank D’Addario.
Ottawa Business Journal file photo.

The envision Group – one of the newest ventures of local businessman Frank D’Addario – has filed for creditors’ protection, with court documents showing claims against the group of environmental construction companies total more than $35 million.

A document released by court-appointed monitor RSM Richter Inc. indicated The envision Group went into bankruptcy protection in mid-December “with a view to developing a strategy to preserve and maximize value under a court-supervised process.”

Six of the group’s eight subsidiaries – including Ottawa-based firm LandEx Construction Inc., headed by Mr. D’Addario’s wife Ferne – are included in the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings, the report showed. Avid Enterprises Inc. and Calgary-based electrical contracting company RBT Electric Inc. are not part of the filing.

The report showed management had estimated a positive net cash flow of approximately $3.4 million for the six-week period that ended Jan. 14, 2011, but that actual cash flow had been significantly lower as most of its customers suspended payments after learning of the CCAA filing.

“Management was overly optimistic in its ability to collect accounts receivable … (and) did not fully comprehend the impact the CCAA proceedings would have on its operations.

“Previous business practices employed by The envision Group could no longer be used to resolve numerous issues with its customers and suppliers,” the monitor’s report stated. Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
June 29, 2009 (July 2 on OttawaBusinessJournal.com)

Bridgewater could benefit from the one area where carriers are still spending

While many other tech companies have seen their stock value plunge since the onset of the recession as customers trim or delay their spending, Bridgewater Systems is one of the few exceptions.

Although its share price has dipped somewhat in recent weeks, over the past six months its value has more than doubled, hitting a 52-week high of $5.25 in May that brought it close to revisiting its $5.50 initial public offering price. With record revenues in its last fiscal year and recent deals with major partners and customers, as well as a successful compromise with shareholder Crescendo Partners that helped avert a messy proxy battle, the path seems clear for the mobile service management software firm to capitalize on the rising popularity of the smartphone. So is there a downside?

The company’s view: Bridgewater CEO Ed Ogonek has said the company is at the “front stage of a mobile data revolution.” As more people request services and add more applications onto their mobile devices, demand for Bridgewater’s subscriber management and policy control technology is expected to soar, which makes sense considering many users are already drowning in a sea of applications ranging from the mundane and functional to a plethora of online games.

Mr. Ogonek noted the company is debt-free, has reported profits in 19 out of its last 20 quarters and, notably, has enough cash to be conducting an ongoing share buyback program and to be considering strategic acquisitions. Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
June 8, 2009

Click here to view this article on OBJ.ca.

Shift from Canadian GAAP to new standards not just a matter for finance departments

Carol Devenny of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Photo by ETIENNE RANGER for the Ottawa Business Journal

Although it isn’t until Jan. 1, 2011 that reporting issuers must officially switch from using current Canadian accounting standards – known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles – to the new International Financial Reporting Standards, many firms have already started the complicated, multi-phase process.

And not a moment too soon, experts say. “It’s not just an accounting change,” says Carol Devenny, who’s in charge of PricewaterhouseCooper’s audit practice.

Among other things, the level of disclosure required of a company will increase, meaning most departments, if not all, will have to start gathering new and more detailed types of information to comply. A firm might find it has to overhaul its entire IT system to accommodate the changes, some say.

As well, adds Ms. Devenny, shareholders will have to be appraised Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
Aug. 4, 2008

Click here to view this article on OBJ.ca

Espial CFO Carl Smith says the recent acquisition of Kasenna Inc. should bolster excitement in the Ottawa-based company.
Photo by DARREN BROWN for the Ottawa Business Journal

Internet TV products maker Espial began its public life with a bang, with the company’s stock price soaring by more than 12 per cent on its opening day in June 2007 on the TSX, quickly reaching a high of $9.25 about a month later.

Since then, however, Espial’s shares have dwindled to a mere 95 cents each, an 87-per-cent plunge from the company’s debut price of $7.85. Partnership agreements with significant service providers have been fairly thin, and the company was forced to cut 30 per cent of its staff at the end of 2007.

But now, the company is hoping to turn itself around with the $6.6-million acquisition of California-based competitor Kasenna Inc. But what will the market think of Espial’s prospects with this addition, which the company has said will expand its footprint to Continue reading →

By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published in the Ottawa Business Journal newspaper and website.
April 28, 2008 (May 1 on OttawaBusinessJournal.com)

The idea of literally giving something away but still profiting from it isn’t a new concept, but with the advent of the Internet there’s now a new dimension to it – and soon, all products and services we now pay for could become free, says Wired Magazine head honcho Chris Anderson.Wired Magazine editor-in-chief Chris Anderson previews his new book on how everything online will soon be free

It’s the subject of his new book, aptly named Free, which he will be previewing at Celebridee during the Canadian Tulip Festival, held from May 2 to May 19 in Ottawa. The OBJ picked Mr. Anderson’s brain to find out more about the new free economy and what it will mean for businesses.

OBJ: So tell us a bit more about what it means to have an economy where everything is free.

ANDERSON: It’s a broad economic trend that affects every industry everywhere. Any company, product, service that is digital is either going to eventually become free or compete with free; it’s the law of gravity in digital economics. It’s the Google model, where they don’t charge you: Google doesn’t show up on your credit card bill, Google’s free to consumers.

Software’s increasingly moving from a product that you buy to a free service that you go to on the web, the software-as-a-service model. And increasingly, services are moving from professional people you pay for to places you go to for free, be it Continue reading →