Quarterlytics / Financial Services / Asset Management / Bank Polska Kasa Opieki

Bank Polska Kasa Opieki

peo · TSX Financial Services
Claim this profile
Ticker peo
Exchange TSX
Sector Financial Services
Industry Asset Management
Employees 501-1000
← All annual reports
FY2015 Annual Report · Bank Polska Kasa Opieki
Sign in to download
Loading PDF…
2 0 1 5   A N N U A L   R E P O R T

H I G H L I G H T S

YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Revenue

$  49,293,254

$ 42,575,935

$ 32,892,159

$ 27,157,385

$ 24,274,990

Operating income before corporate costs

$  13,318,640

$ 11,256,369

$  7,839,707

$  6,140,744

$  5,632,042

Adjusted EBITDA

$  9,161,383

$  7,542,081

$  4,344,309

$  2,710,379

$  2,346,088

Total assets

Total debt

$ 114,597,346

$ 56,109,427

$ 53,736,277

$ 25,342,445

$ 24,994,058

$  25,409,649

$  9,660,449

$ 19,249,335

$  2,219,691

$  2,889,376

Other liabilities

$  45,108,307

$ 20,427,048

$ 20,310,320

$  9,363,384

$  9,174,599

Shareholders’ equity

$  44,079,390

$ 26,021,930

$ 14,176,622

$ 13,759,370

$ 12,930,083

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

$ 114,597,346

$ 56,109,427

$ 53,736,277

$ 25,342,445

$ 24,994,058

Cash, end of year

$  6,514,734

$  2,750,465

$  2,449,169

$  3,199,643

$  1,287,741

Repayment of long-term debt, net

$  8,400,009

$ 11,258,167

$ 

802,538

$ 

853,910

$  2,749,928

Common shares outstanding at year end

  44,958,383

  39,551,486

  33,027,193

  32,970,527

  32,970,527

REVENUE
(in $ millions)

OPERATING INCOME 
BEFORE CORPORATE 
COSTS
(in $ millions)

ADJUSTED EBITDA
(in $ millions)

50

40

30

20

10

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

 
T O   T H E   S H A R E H O L D E R S   O F   P E O P L E   C O R P O R AT I O N

For many investors, 2015 was a year of concern, with the realities of a soft domestic economy, weakening Canadian 
dollar, pull back in crude oil prices and the threat of rising interest rates. I am pleased that People Corporation 
once again performed very well despite a landscape of economic uncertainty, and that our industry continues to 
exude strong long-term fundamentals. More than ever, Canadian businesses require leading edge and effective 
tools to enable them to attract, reward and retain the very best talent for their organizations. These important tools 
are the intellectual capital and customized advice People Corporation’s teams of professionals dispense every 
day to allow our clients to achieve their goals of effective cost containment and intelligent plan design in their 
employee benefit programs.

During fiscal 2015, our experienced leadership team, once again, executed and delivered results to significantly 
move our organization forward. A number of the more notable accomplishments and milestones that our team 
achieved this year are:

1.  Materially scaled up our business through delivery of key financial results including:

a.  Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth of 15.8% and 21.5%, respectively – both records;

b.  Total Assets of the firm at $114 million – doubled since last year;

c. 

 Annual Premiums at year end exceeding $1 billion for the first time and pension assets under 
administration exceeding $3 billion; and,

d. 

 Significantly increased geographic footprint across Canada – 30 offices across 7 provinces with over 400 
people in our organization.

2.  We welcomed a new and very significant strategic partner to People Corporation during the year as part of 
our ongoing acquisition related growth plan. In June 2015, we announced the acquisition of Coughlin & Associates 
Ltd., one of Canada’s largest and most successful independent Third Party Administration (TPA) businesses, which 
provides group benefit consulting, pension consulting, administrative solutions and claims management services to 
many of Canada’s most respected corporations, unions and public service organizations. The addition of Coughlin 
& Associates Ltd. clearly positions People Corporation as one of the foremost TPA organizations in Canada today 
and into the future for the following key reasons:

a. 

 The addition of Coughlin to our already successful TPA businesses significantly enhances our scale and 
institutional capabilities by enabling us to offer clients new product and service lines, as well as enhancing 
capabilities in pension management, pension administration and individual financial services consulting 
and advice; and,

b. 

 The addition of Coughlin’s management team and professional staff in Ottawa, Ontario and Winnipeg, 
Manitoba, markedly increases People Corporation’s leadership bench strength and technical capabilities. 

3.  We continued to deliver impressive organic growth as approximately 300 companies and well known brand 
names across Canada chose to become new clients of People Corporation during 2015. Even more impressive is 
that our client retention across the firm remains at an all time high. This, indeed, is a testament to the high quality 
of our people and our very strong value proposition for both new and current clients. 

4.  We continued to expand the breadth and depth of our leadership team during the year to lead and guide us 
as we move forward and prepare to bring our organization to the next level of success. 

CEO AND CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE TO SHAREHOLDERS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015

1

5.  We fortified our financial position and strengthened our capability to take advantage of growth opportunities 
through completing a highly successful $14.4 million bought deal private placement of common shares during  
the year. This second private placement was, again, very well received by investors, with demand significantly 
exceeding supply. 

6.  The investment community continued to take increasing notice of People Corporation and once again for the 
third consecutive year we were recognized as part of the annual PROFIT 500, the definitive ranking of Canada’s 
fastest growing companies. In addition, we achieved a ranking in the 2015 TSX Venture 50 during the year which 
recognizes the top 50 performers from over 1900 companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. 

Today and as we move forward, our commitment to the client remains unwavering. Our people truly understand 
that meeting clients’ needs with market leading solutions is our first priority and essentially makes everything else 
within our organization possible. What is also truly gratifying is that our vision to build the leading independent 
national provider of group benefits, group retirement and HR consulting services in Canada, with the best 
consultants delivering innovative and customized solutions to our clients, is taking hold and we are not only  
a leader in our industry but also within corporate Canada. 

Once again in 2015, with strong financial results, an expanding customer base, and an energized and talented 
leadership team, as well as with fundamentals on our side, I firmly believe that we are extremely well positioned  
to continue to enjoy our industry leading position and successfully grow our firm well into the future. You’ve 
heard me say it before and it’s well worth repeating – “we are clearly well past start up, and our momentum is 
accelerating but we have really only just begun”. 

Thank you for your ongoing support, trust and partnership as a People Corporation shareholder. Whether you are  
a long term shareholder or have joined us since our last annual report it is my sincere hope that you will continue  
to partner with us on our journey of success and Experience the Benefits of People.

Sincerely, 

Laurie Goldberg 
Chairman and CEO

2

PEOPLE CORPORATIONM A N A G E M E N T ’ S   
D I S C U S S I O N   &   A N A LY S I S   
F O R   T H E   Q U A R T E R   A N D   Y E A R   E N D E D 
A U G U S T   3 1 ,   2 0 1 5

TA B L E   O F   C O N T E N T S

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

BUSINESS OVERVIEW  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Consulting Solutions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Group Benefit Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Human Resource Solutions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Shared Services  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND STRATEGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

OVERVIEW OF OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Operational Initiatives  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Notable Milestones  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Growth Through Acquisitions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

OUTLOOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

OVERVIEW OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Adjusted EBITDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Operating Income Before Corporate Costs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

SELECTED ANNUAL INFORMATION  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Personnel and Compensation Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

General and Administrative Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Depreciation, Amortization and Impairment Losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Occupancy Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Administration Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Finance Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Public Company Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

SELECTED QUARTERLY INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Contractual Obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Cash Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Capital Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Working Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Credit Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Share Capital  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Contingencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

RISKS FACTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

SEASONALITY  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

OFF‑BALANCE‑SHEET ARRANGEMENTS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

3

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4

PEOPLE CORPORATIONThis Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) has been prepared with an 
effective date of December 10, 2015 and provides an update on matters discussed 
in, and should be read in conjunction with the audited annual consolidated financial 
statements of the Company, including the notes thereto, as at and for the year ended 
August 31, 2015, which were prepared in accordance with International Financial 
Reporting Standards (“IFRS”), unless otherwise specified. All amounts contained 
within this MD&A are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified. Amounts set 
forth in this MD&A are stated in thousands of dollars except for per share, issued and 
outstanding share data, and unless otherwise noted. Certain totals, subtotals and 
percentages may not reconcile due to rounding.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional information regarding the Company is available on SEDAR  
at www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at www.peoplecorporation.com.

FORWARD‑LOOKING STATEMENTS
This MD&A contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable 
securities laws, such as statements concerning anticipated future events, results, 
circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts. Use of 
words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “believe”, “intends”, “likely”, or other words 
of similar effect may indicate a “forward-looking” statement. These statements 
are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous risks and 
uncertainties, including those described in the Company’s publicly filed documents 
(available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com) and in this MD&A under the heading “Risks 
and Uncertainties”. Those risks and uncertainties include the ability to maintain 
profitability and manage organic or acquisition growth, reliance on information 
systems and technology, reputation risk, dependence on key clients, reliance on key 
professionals and general economic conditions. Many of these risks and uncertainties 
can affect the Company’s actual results and could cause actual results to differ 
materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement made 
by the Company or on its behalf. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors 
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of 
actual results. All forward‑looking statements in this MD&A are qualified by these 
cautionary statements. These statements are made as of the date of this MD&A and, 
except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to 
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new 
information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, the Company undertakes no 
obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties 
in respect of the Company, its financial or operating results or its securities. 

Readers are cautioned that net income before finance expense, income tax expense, 
depreciation and amortization (“Standardized EBITDA”) or EBITDA before 
acquisition, integration and reorganization costs, share-based compensation expense 
and Retained Economic Interest by vendor (“Adjusted EBITDA”), operating income 
before corporate costs (“Operating Income before Corporate Costs”), corporate 
costs, Operating Working Capital and Available Operating Working Capital, 
hereinafter defined, and other similar terms do not have standardized meanings as 
prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by 
other companies. Further, readers are cautioned that Standardized EBITDA, Adjusted 
EBITDA and Operating Income before Corporate Costs should not replace net 
income or loss or cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities (as 
determined in accordance with IFRS), as an indicator of the Company’s performance. 
See the “Non-IFRS Financial Measures” section for further commentary.

5

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015People Corporation (the “Company”) is an employee benefit, pension and human 
resource consulting firm in Canada. With a growing national footprint, the Company 
is bringing together leading consultants in the industry to offer innovative and 
customized product solutions to clients. The Company is listed on the TSX Venture 
Exchange (“TSX‑V”) under the symbol “PEO”.

F I N A N C I A L   H I G H L I G H T S

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015 AUG 31, 2014 AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

Revenue

Adjusted EBITDA

$ 15,767.2

$ 10,008.4

$ 49,293.3

$  2,358.3

$  1,394.7

$ 9,161.4

Adjusted EBITDA per share (Basic)

Net Income

Net income per share (Basic)

Net income per share (Diluted)

$

 0.053

$  1,050.5

$

$

 0.023

0.023

$

 0.035

$

0.221

$  (425.2)

$ 1,394.4

$  (0.011)

$  (0.010)

$

$

 0.034

 0.033

$ 42,575.9

$ 7,542.0

$

0.212

$ 1,540.9

$

$

0.043

0.041

For the twelve months ended August 31, 2015, the Company experienced revenue 
growth of $6,717.4 or 15.8%. The Company recognized acquired growth of $4,865.2 
(11.4%) and organic growth of $1,852.2 (4.4%). Organic growth was driven by the 
addition of new clients, natural inflationary factors and increased revenue from 
corporate Shared Services. Organic growth was partially offset by reduced sales 
volumes in the Human Resource Solutions division and the effect of a depressed 
labour market in Alberta on certain premium product lines. 

For the three months ended August 31, 2015, the Company experienced revenue 
growth of $5,758.8 or 57.5%. The Company recognized acquired growth of $4,292.2 
(42.9%) and organic growth of $1,466.6 (14.7%). This increase was driven by organic 
increases in revenue in Group Benefit Solutions and Consulting Solutions groups, 
including natural inflationary factors, and new sales activity during the fourth quarter, 
offset by a decrease in Human Resource Solutions.

For the twelve months ended August 31, 2015, the Company reported Adjusted 
EBITDA growth of $1,619.2 or 21.5%, resulting from organic and acquired growth in 
the business. Growth in the Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve month period was driven 
by the increase in revenue, as discussed above, offset by increased operating and 
corporate costs, including professional fees and claims administration costs.

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $2,358.3, representing an 
increase of $963.6 or 69.1%, as compared to the same period in fiscal 2014. Growth in 
Adjusted EBITDA for the three month period was primarily driven by contribution from 
acquisitions and the increase in fourth quarter revenue, partially offset by increases in 
variable compensation expenses tied directly to the higher revenue. The Company 
may experience fluctuations in timing of revenue between quarters and, as a result, 
Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue is less meaningful on a quarterly basis.

6

PEOPLE CORPORATIONB U S I N E S S   O V E R V I E W

The Company delivers employee group benefit consulting, third party benefits 
administration, group retirement consulting, pension advisory services, claims processing, 
disability management and administration services and strategic human resource consulting 
and recruitment services to help companies attract, retain and reward employees.  
The Company achieves this through approximately 400 employees and contractors with 
thirty offices (includes 17 satellite offices) located in seven provinces. The Company earns 
revenues from a diverse base of clients in various industries. Approximately 93% (2014 ‑ 
90%) of the Company’s revenues come from employee group benefit consulting, third party 
benefits administration and group retirement consulting while the remainder comes from 
strategic human resource consulting, recruitment services and other revenues.  
The Company maintains a corporate strategic plan, a financial plan and an ongoing annual 
planning process that enables the Company to continue to grow and execute on its vision. 
The Company’s priority is the continued profitable expansion of existing operations through 
a focus on organic growth and the acquisition of synergistic companies with a view to 
maximize value for its stakeholders: i) shareholders, ii) clients, iii) acquisition partners,  
and iv) employees. The Company has financial and management resources in place  
to execute these priorities.

The Company is organized in order to emphasize integration of all of its practice areas, 
which are as follows:

The Company has offices across Canada; each led by a team of experts and backed by the 
resources of a public company. The Company’s diverse team of experienced consultants 
have industry‑specific expertise and can provide businesses with insight to customize 
an innovative suite of services specific for their business requirements. The Company is 
committed to helping businesses attract, reward and retain their people thereby assisting in 
the achievement of the client’s goals.

While the Company continues to go-to-market with the various brands acquired through 
acquisition, the Company is organized in such a way so as to leverage the capabilities of 
the entire organization. People Corporation can help businesses attract the right talent for 
the job and provide the right incentives to motivate employees to excel, enabling client 
businesses to prosper.

7

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015People Corporation helps businesses:

Attract 

Reward 

Retain 

 The Company’s employee benefit, group retirement and 
HR divisions are led by experts who understand a client’s 
business and can help a client attract the best people for 
their industry, helping position them as top employers.

 Proprietary solutions offered by the Company’s 
employee group benefit consulting, third party 
benefits administration, group retirement consulting, 
pension advisory services, claims processing, disability 
management and administration services ensures that 
a client’s staff has access to health, wellness, dental, 
and retirement plans that make financial sense for their 
families, as well as for the client’s business. 

 The Company can help make a client’s organization  
a place where the best people will want to build their 
careers while also ensuring cost containment for the 
client’s benefit, HR and group retirement plans. 

Whether a client needs a simple benefits package or a comprehensive solution,  
the Company’s experts can customize a program for its client’s unique needs.

Expertise 

Custom Solutions 

 The Company’s consultants are recognized industry 
leaders who can create value for a client’s organization. 
Through the experience of working with hundreds of 
clients, the Company’s consultants have developed 
broad, as well as specialized, product, insurance and 
industry expertise.

 The Company’s broad range of innovative and proprietary 
group benefit solutions, group pension and disability 
solutions can be tailored to suit organizations of any size, 
in any sector. This is achieved through the Company’s 
partner relationships, its ability to leverage its various 
systems and platforms and through the expertise of its 
consultants and staff. 

Industry Leading Pricing 

 As a national provider, the Company’s buying power 
allows it to offer clients the best products on the best 
terms.

Independent Guidance 

 The Company’s expert advice is unbiased and 
independent. The Company works with all major insurers 
to provide clients with the best customized solution for its 
clients’ businesses and people. 

National Servicing 

 With offices across the country, the Company can provide 
clients with servicing on a localized basis. 

8

PEOPLE CORPORATIONBelow is a summary of the Company’s various operating brands within group benefits:

CONSULTING SOLUTIONS
Within the Consulting Solutions division, the Company focuses on providing a unique 
and proprietary employee benefit, group retirement and human resource solution that 
is customized to individual client needs. The consulting advice primarily includes plan 
review and plan design, plan recommendations and alternative funding methods, plan 
set up, employee communications, wellness programs and plan marketing. 

The Company’s consultants are divided into teams that focus independently of each 
other on corporate benefits, public sector benefits, association benefits, student 
benefits and alternative funding methods including self‑insurance. While each team 
goes to market independently, the Company has an advisor group that brings the 
skills of the different teams together and therefore, the Company is able to proactively 
approach client assignments in a manner that brings the expertise from various 
consultants together where necessary. 

The Company is a reseller of benefit products and services and therefore assumes no 
underwriting risk as the insurance policy is underwritten by the insurance carrier.

GALLIVAN & ASSOCIATES

Gallivan & Associates (“Gallivan”), established in 1993, provides professional 
advice and service infrastructure to post-secondary student organizations in order 
to offer group benefit programs to students. Gallivan operates on a national basis 
with offices and satellite offices across the country and provides Student Health 
and Dental Plans to post-secondary student organizations representing over 
250,000 students.

THE INVESTMENT GUILD

The Investment Guild (“TIG”), established in 1981, specializes in mid-market 
corporate benefits, association plan benefits, group retirement solutions and 
individual insurance products. 

BUFFETT TAYLOR & ASSOCIATES

Buffett Taylor & Associates (“Buffett Taylor”), established in 1981, is a consulting 
firm specializing in providing service to a predominately public sector and 
not‑for‑profit clientele. Buffett Taylor is versed in all areas of group benefits 
insurance and benefit plans. Using an integrated approach to the design and 
cost management planning of group benefit programs with a proven track record 
in servicing clients across Ontario has enabled Buffett Taylor to maximize the 
investment that their clients have made in their employee benefit plans.

WHITE WILLOW BENEFITS CONSULTANTS

White Willow Benefit Consultants (“White Willow”), established in 1988, is a 
boutique group benefits consulting firm that provides services to mid‑market to 
large corporate clients with group benefit plans and group retirement solutions. 
White Willow has special expertise in servicing legal firms and organizations within 
the financial services sector.

9

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015LES ASSURANCES W.B. INC.

Les Assurances W.B. Inc. (“LAWB”) provides group benefit advisory services to 
clients based in the Québec City area and northern Québec. LAWB leverages 
the HSP platform, hereinafter described, to provide its clients with third‑party 
administration of group benefit programs including billing services, client services, 
employee data management and claims management. In addition to providing 
third‑party administration services, LAWB also provides traditional group benefit 
programs to its clients.

JSL

JSL (“JSL”), established in 1976, provides group benefit solutions to clients based 
in southern Ontario and specializes in mid-market corporate clients. JSL takes 
a partnership approach with clients to develop customized employee benefits 
programs that meet the changing needs of their businesses and employees.

PROSURE GROUP ADMINISTRATORS & PROSURE INSURANCE 
AGENCIES

Prosure Group Administrators and Prosure Insurance Agencies (collectively, 
“Prosure”), established in 1987, provides employee benefits solutions, consulting 
services and third‑party administration services to over 300 mid‑market corporate 
clients, the majority of which are located in Ontario.

BENCOM FINANCIAL GROUP SERVICES INC.

Bencom Financial Services Group Inc. (“Bencom”), established in 1982, provides 
group benefit, group retirement and individual benefit advisory services to 
approximately 200 mid-market corporate clients located primarily in Ontario.

FAIRLES BENEFIT SERVICES

Fairles Benefit Services (“Fairles”), established in 1991, provides group benefits 
and group retirement consulting to a broad range of clients in the Southwestern 
Ontario region. Fairles was acquired by Bencom in 2014 and now operates in 
close association with Bencom.

HAMILTON + PARTNERS INC.

Hamilton + Partners Inc. consists of three operating companies, Employee 
Benefits Inc. (“EBI”), Disability Concepts Inc. (“DCI”) and 6814409 Canada 
Incorporated (“681”), (collectively “H+P”). EBI is a group benefits consulting firm 
that provides service predominantly to Alberta based small to large corporate 
clients with group benefit plans and group retirement solutions. DCI provides 
unique disability and critical illness solutions designed to balance employer 
interests of cost savings and product enhancements with employee concerns 
and adequate coverage. 681 provides specialized medical insurance products 
which expedites access to medical imaging and rapid second opinion as well as 
coverage for private medical treatments.

10

PEOPLE CORPORATIONGROUP BENEFIT SOLUTIONS
The Company’s Group Benefit Solutions division has several third‑party administration 
(“TPA”) service platforms allowing it to provide consulting advice that is highly 
customized towards the client’s needs. The TPA administers benefit plans on behalf 
of clients and insurance carrier partners. These administration platforms allow the 
Company to develop specialized, unique and customized benefit solutions for its 
clients through a plug-n-play approach of using multiple insurance carrier partners 
on a single benefits plan design. TPA services include employee data management, 
billing services, consolidated billing services where a client has multiple insurance 
carriers associated with its plan, customized reporting, customized plan design 
services, underwriting services, communication services and booklet printing services. 
In addition, through its various partners, the TPA platforms also provide claims 
adjudication services and claims management.

The Company serves as an independent data administrator on behalf of the plan 
sponsor – this allows the benefit consultant to work with the plan sponsor to select 
from various insurance carriers and funding options that are best suited to the 
benefit categories within the plan sponsor’s employee benefits program. The benefit 
to the client is the availability of multiple carriers and funding alternatives on one 
consolidated billing and reporting platform. 

HEALTHSOURCE PLUS

HealthSource Plus (“HSP”), established in 1992, provides TPA of group benefit 
programs, including billing services, client services, employee data management 
and claims management through a proprietary platform. As a TPA, HSP is able to 
provide customized benefits solutions based on the needs of the client, including 
complex plan design, customized reporting, alternative funding models and 
hybrid plans. HSP has offices in Toronto, Montreal, Niagara and Winnipeg and 
typically serves businesses with 25 to 5,000 employees.

PROSURE

In addition to providing group benefit advisory services, as discussed above, 
Prosure operates a specialized TPA platform for the administration of Health 
Spending Accounts and Cost-plus Accounts.

BRYAN H. LUPE AND ASSOCIATES

Bryan H. Lupe and Associates (“BHL”), established in 1969, provides group 
benefits and consulting and administration services to a broad range of clients, 
and has established a solid reputation for outstanding client service and creativity 
in providing group benefits solutions to clients primarily based in Manitoba.

COUGHLIN & ASSOCIATES LTD.

On June 12, 2015, the Company acquired Coughlin & Associates Ltd. 
(“Coughlin”). Coughlin, established in 1958, provides group benefit consulting, 
pension consulting, administrative solutions and claims management services 
to many of Canada’s most respected corporations, unions and public service 
organizations. Coughlin has offices in Ottawa and Winnipeg.

11

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015HUMAN RESOURCE SOLUTIONS
The Company’s Human Resource Solutions division works with clients to diagnose, 
design and deliver customized human resource solutions. The human resources 
consulting team delivers a broad range of services, including: human resource 
consulting, compensation services, assessment services, and talent management.

PEOPLE FIRST HR SERVICES LTD.

People First HR Services Ltd. (“PFHR”), established in 2000, is Manitoba’s largest 
full service human resource provider. PFHR through its various brands delivers high 
quality leadership and organizational solutions and contributes to the success of 
its clients by working with them to: recruit top talent; discover the full potential 
of each of their employees; realize the collective strength of a highly engaged 
workforce; and support employees and employers during times of change. They 
leverage the experience base of the firm and the efficiency of its processes to 
create workable and timely solutions that deliver great value for clients.

SHARED SERVICES
Through its Shared Service division, the Company works with its subsidiaries and 
divisions by providing subject matter experts and proprietary products, services and 
solutions to attract and retain clients and provide additional revenue opportunities. 
The corporate shared service divisions were created to ensure that the Company’s 
subsidiaries and divisions have access to an internal shared service not normally 
available to mid‑size employee benefit firms and thereby ensuring that clients are 
receiving the best possible consulting advice, and that the Company’s subsidiaries 
have a unique value proposition providing them a competitive edge. 

INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS

Integrated Solutions (“IS”) provides group benefit advisory services with a 
focus on unique strategic and tax effective compensation solutions designed to 
realign the competing needs of the business and the people in it. IS provides its 
specific expertise through a network of third party insurance brokers who do not 
traditionally serve group benefit needs.

GROUP RETIREMENT SOLUTIONS

Group Retirement Solutions (“GRS”) focuses on enhancing and expanding upon 
the Company’s existing group retirement products and client service model. The 
mandate of the division is to provide support services to the Company’s benefit 
consultants to facilitate and help them expand their service offering to clients by 
adding Group Retirement Solutions. 

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTATIVES

The Business Development Representatives (“BDR”) division is an inside sales 
department responsible for generating qualified leads for the Company’s benefit 
consultants. BDR identifies companies and their decision makers in order to 
qualify, create, and develop sales opportunities. The purpose of the department 
is to create and heighten People Corporation awareness to potential prospects as 
well as to generate leads for the consultants to ultimately increase revenues. 

12

PEOPLE CORPORATIONWELLNESS SOLUTIONS

Wellness Solutions focuses on providing the Company’s corporate clients  
with a suite of proprietary products and service offerings that will help manage  
the increasing costs of absenteeism, presenteeism, and loss of productivity.  
In addition, the Company’s Wellness Solutions serve to help the Company’s clients 
attract, reward, and retain their employees.

B U S I N E S S   E N V I R O N M E N T   
A N D   S T R AT E G Y

INDUSTRY

Many companies are increasingly utilizing employer‑sponsored benefits 
programs as one of the tools to help them attract and retain employees in today’s 
competitive market for talent. However, they are challenged in doing so because 
of the increasing cost of providing such programs to employees, which is driven 
by rising insurance premiums as a result of factors such as increasing healthcare 
costs, the entry of new drugs and treatments, the advent of new medical services, 
higher utilization rates, and the overall aging demographics of the workforce. 
Given these factors, companies are looking for value-added advice with respect 
to plan design, and strategies to minimize the cost of plans while continuing to 
provide competitive benefit programs that will be appealing to employees.

Concurrent with the evolution in client demands as described above, the supplier 
base for group benefits and pension products and services, which is primarily 
the insurance carriers, continues to consolidate, leading to fewer alternatives for 
benefits consultants to work with when devising and pricing benefit plans. At the 
same time, competition has increased not only from traditional market players, 
but also from new players focused on technology-based solutions, as well as 
from market participants who have traditionally focused on other segments of 
the market or adjacent sectors. Finally, the regulatory environments that can 
impact benefit and pension programs continue to evolve, not only as it relates 
to the products and services themselves (e.g. pension plan regulations), but also 
as it relates to the provision of products and services, including matters such 
as fee disclosure. Given these market dynamics, scale is becoming increasingly 
important. 

The Canadian market for group benefits, group pension and HR consulting 
products and services is dominated by many small players and a few large 
multinational firms. Historically, the market has been segregated by size: small 
and medium-sized enterprises have traditionally been serviced by a large number 
of small regional and local market players, providing a relatively narrow range of 
products and services, generally priced on a commission-based structure. The 
balance of the industry, which is focused on large employers and government 
accounts, has traditionally been serviced by a small number of multinational 
consulting firms, with a broader scope of services, primarily offered on fee‑based 
structures. While a significant amount of consolidation has occurred among 
players servicing large enterprises (i.e. consolidation among the multinational 
consulting firms), the segment of the market servicing small‑ and medium‑sized 
enterprises continues to be highly fragmented, with a significant number of small 
firms, many of which are encountering succession planning issues given the 
demographic characteristics of their consultant owners. Management believe that 
this, along with the increasing need for scale as described above, suggests that 
consolidation in this segment of the market is likely to intensify.

13

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015Management believes that the current dynamics in the group benefits, group 
pension and HR consulting sectors will continue to drive change within the 
industry, likely at an accelerating pace. In order to provide a compelling value 
proposition to employers, benefits, pension and HR consultants must provide 
innovative products, specialized services and customized solutions. Furthermore, 
in a highly competitive environment, consultants need to find ways to be more 
efficient and cost effective. As a result of these environmental factors, scale is 
increasingly important in these sectors.

O V E R V I E W   O F   O P E R AT I N G 
P E R F O R M A N C E

As a result of a focus on executing its strategic plan, the Company continues to be 
successful in building upon and growing operational capabilities by investing in 
employees and the tools they need to provide responsive solutions which address 
its clients business challenges. The Company wants its clients to experience the 
benefits that People Corporation professionals bring to the table, to experience 
the benefits their people can deliver to them, and wants the client relationship 
to be an experience, not a transaction. The Company continued its positive 
momentum and strong performance during the year.

OPERATIONAL INITIATIVES INCLUDE:

• 

 Enhancing the client service model to promote client retention;

•  Expanding the product portfolio to expand solutions to the Company’s clients;

•  Pursuing possible acquisitions which align with the Company’s strategic plan;

•  Expanding the Company’s billing platforms and TPA platforms, thereby 

increasing the number of product offerings available to clients;

•  Promoting and recruiting additional leadership to execute the Company’s 

organic growth plans; and,

•  Recruiting additional benefits consultants in order to expand our organic 

revenue generating capabilities.

Results from implementation of these initiatives, momentum from past initiatives 
and overall improvement in revenue growth can be seen in the Company’s 
continued strong financial performance.

14

PEOPLE CORPORATIONNOTABLE MILESTONES INCLUDE:

•  Acquired 100% of the voting interest and 66% of the economic interest of 
Coughlin, one of Canada’s preeminent independent full service national 
benefit and pension consulting and third party administration firms, based in 
Ottawa, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba;

•  Completed a bought deal private placement financing, issuing 4,232,000 

common shares at $3.40 per share;

•  Entered into new expanded credit facility with $35,000 of senior credit 
available, a significant increase over the previous senior credit facility of 
$24,500. The agreement also provides for the potential to increase the facility 
by a further $15,000 to a total of $50,000 of available credit, effectively 
doubling senior credit capacity;

•  Strengthened the organizational structure to position the Company for 
continued growth, with the appointments of Ms. Bonnie Chwartacki as 
President, Mr. Keith McMahon, CA as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, 
Mr. Brevan Canning as Executive Vice President and Group Head ‑ Benefit 
Solutions, and Ms. Lisa Villani as Executive Vice President and Group Head – 
Consulting Solutions;

•  Expanded organic growth capabilities through the continued expansion of its 
consulting team, including hiring three additional consultants in Montreal, two 
in Toronto and one in Winnipeg;

•  Launched a new sales management and underwriting workflow management 

technology platform in its corporate focused third party administration division;

•  Laurie Goldberg, Chairman and CEO, named 2014 Prairie Region EY 

Entrepreneur of the Year for the professional and financial services category, as 
awarded by Ernst & Young LLP; and, 

•  Appointed Mr. Eric Stefanson to the Company’s Board of Directors.

15

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015GROWTH THROUGH ACQUISITIONS

The Company intends to pursue growth opportunities both organically, increasing 
its existing business by gaining new clients, increasing product and service 
penetration with existing clients, as well as through transactions in which the 
Company acquires new operating entities or subsidiaries. Over the past few 
years, the Company has enhanced its corporate development capabilities to 
execute transactions, through significant investments in people, technology and 
other organizational resources, and has developed techniques, processes and 
other intellectual capital, all with the objective of creating a compelling value 
proposition for new entities to join People Corporation.

Over the past year, the Company has completed a number of initiatives that 
position it for continued growth, particularly related to access to financial capital 
for execution of transactions.

• 

• 

In October 2014, the Company entered into a new credit facility totalling 
$35,000 that provides expanded capacity and enhanced flexibility to access 
senior debt as a source of financing for acquisitions. The new facility includes 
an accordion feature giving the Company the option, subject to the satisfaction 
of certain terms and conditions, to increase it to a maximum of $50,000.

In May 2015, the Company completed a $14,400 bought deal private 
placement of common shares, issuing 4.2 million shares at a price of $3.40 
per share, to fund growth initiatives, reduce indebtedness and for general 
corporate purposes.

• 

In addition to these sources of capital, the Company also uses ‘vendor take 
back’ debt as an additional cost effective source of capital for transactions. 

Given this depth and breadth of access to financial capital, Management believes 
the Company is well positioned to continue to make investments for growth.

The Company will consider acquisitions ranging in size and structure, but all share 
the characteristic of having a strong underlying strategic rationale, which may 
include enhancing the Company’s position in existing markets or providing entry 
into new markets, expanding the Company’s administrative and technological 
capabilities, providing new supplier relationships and enhancing the breadth 
and depth of the Company’s product and service offering. At the same time, 
given the financial characteristics of the underlying businesses, and the structural 
components and financial terms of the transactions, the Company will continue 
to focus on achieving attractive financial returns, as has been the case for past 
transactions.

With a flexible transaction model to address the objectives of vendors, and an 
operating model to support the ongoing success and growth of the underlying 
businesses, the Company continues to attract partners who want to join the 
People Corporation group of companies. In the past three fiscal years, seven 
transactions have been completed, and there continues to be significant 
momentum in this component of the Company’s overall growth strategy.

16

PEOPLE CORPORATIONEffective June 12, 2015, the Company acquired Coughlin, an independent full 
service national firm providing group benefit consulting, pension consulting, 
administrative solutions and claims management services to corporations, unions 
and public service organizations in Canada, for consideration totaling $45,610.0. 
Through the acquisition, management believes the Company is significantly 
enhancing its national footprint and capability, providing the combined 
organizations with a competitive advantage. The Company’s interest in Coughlin 
includes 100% voting interest through a class of voting preferred shares and 66% 
economic interest through a class of non-voting, non-cumulative, dividend-bearing 
shares of Coughlin.

Consideration of $30,091.0 at closing was comprised of (i) a cash payment of 
$26,375.0 to the principals of Coughlin, (ii) the issuance of 626,566 common 
shares of People (issued at a ten-day volume weighted average trailing price of 
$3.99 per share) to certain of the principals for an aggregate value of $2,500.0, (iii) 
the issuance of $1,350.0 of vendor‑take‑back notes with a fair value of $1,189.0 
to certain of the principals, and (iv) a payable of $27.0 to the vendors related to 
closing working capital adjustments.

The Company also recorded additional consideration totaling $15,519.0 
representing the discounted value of the initial 34% minority economic interest 
(“Coughlin Retained Economic Interest”) retained by the former Coughlin 
shareholders (the “Coughlin Vendors”). The Coughlin Retained Economic Interest 
is held through a class of non-voting, non-cumulative, dividend-bearing shares of 
Coughlin (“Coughlin Vendor Shares”). In addition, certain of the Coughlin Vendors 
were issued a class of non-voting, non-cumulative, dividend-bearing shares of 
Coughlin (“Coughlin Spring Shares”) in which they may increase their Coughlin 
Retained Economic Interest to 40% in five years, subject to certain specified 
terms and conditions having been met and subject to Coughlin achieving certain 
financial performance targets over the next five years, and thereby reducing the 
Company’s economic interest in Coughlin to 60%.

Commencing September 1, 2015, all classes of non-voting, non-cumulative, 
dividend-bearing shares of Coughlin have an ongoing contractual right to receive 
quarterly dividends based on a calculation derived from Coughlin’s earnings. The 
Company is entitled to a priority on the payment of dividends declared on the 
Coughlin dividend‑bearing shares to the extent of a specified earnings amount. 

In addition, the Company has the right to purchase the Coughlin Vendor Shares 
and the Coughlin Spring Shares (“Coughlin Call Option”) and individual Coughlin 
Vendors have the right to require the Company to purchase the Coughlin Vendor 
Shares and the Coughlin Spring Shares (collectively, the “Coughlin Put Options”) 
by giving notice to the Company. On the effective date of exercise of the 
Coughlin Call Option or the Coughlin Put Option, the Coughlin Vendor’s right to 
earn performance based dividends will be terminated.

17

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015O U T L O O K

In order to position itself for growth in this environment, the Company has made 
significant investments in people, technology and other organizational resources, 
and has developed techniques, processes and other intellectual capital to provide 
a compelling value proposition to its clients. Driven by these investments, the 
Company intends to pursue growth opportunities both organically, increasing its 
existing business by gaining new clients and increased penetration of products 
and services within its existing client base, as well as through acquisitions in which 
new operating entities or subsidiaries become part of the Company. Given the 
positive underlying industry fundamentals, the ongoing development of the 
Company’s operating and transaction models, and the overall value proposition 
the Company provides to stakeholder groups that include its clients, consultants, 
suppliers and employees, management currently expects to continue to generate 
growth in the foreseeable future.

N O N ‑ I F R S   F I N A N C I A L   M E A S U R E S

The Company reports non‑IFRS financial measures, including Standardized 
EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Operating Income before Corporate Costs, Operating 
Working Capital and Available Operating Working Capital, hereinafter defined, 
as key measures used by management to evaluate performance of the business, 
to compensate employees and to facilitate a comparison of quarterly and annual 
results of ongoing operations. Adjusted EBITDA is also a concept utilized in 
measuring compliance with debt covenants. The Adjusted EBITDA measure is 
commonly reported and widely used by investors and lending institutions as 
an indicator of a company’s operating performance, ability to incur and service 
debt, and as a valuation metric. While used to assist in evaluating the operating 
performance and debt servicing ability of the Company, readers are cautioned 
that Adjusted EBITDA as reported by the Company may not be comparable in all 
instances to adjusted EBITDA as reported by other companies.

The CPA’s Canadian Performance Reporting Board defined EBITDA to foster 
comparability of the measure between entities (“Standardized EBITDA”). 
Standardized EBITDA represents an indication of an entity’s capacity to generate 
income from operations before taking into account management’s financing 
decisions and costs of consuming tangible and intangible capital assets, which 
vary according to their vintage, technological age and management’s estimate 
of their useful life. Accordingly, Standardized EBITDA comprises revenue less 
operating costs before interest expense, capital asset depreciation, intangible 
asset amortization and impairment charges, and income taxes. Adjusted EBITDA 
is calculated to exclude items of an unusual or one‑time nature that do not reflect 
normal or ongoing operations of the Company and should not be included 
in assessment of ability to service or incur debt. Adjusted EBITDA excludes 
acquisition, integration and reorganization costs which do not relate to the current 
operating performance of the business but are typically costs incurred to expand 
operations or improve productivity and efficiency, Retained Economic Interest 
representing the minority economic interest portion of earnings, and share-based 
compensation. Acquisition, integration and reorganization costs are comprised 
of professional fees and other non-recurring incremental costs incurred to secure 
and complete specific acquisitions, non‑operating outlays associated with 
integrating acquired operations into the Company’s business model subsequent 
to completion of an acquisition, and non-recurring outlays including consulting 
and recruiting fees and severance costs associated with reorganization operations 
to position the Company for building additional scale and to enhance operating 
performance.

18

PEOPLE CORPORATIONO V E R V I E W   O F   F I N A N C I A L   P E R F O R M A N C E

ADJUSTED EBITDA

The following is a reconciliation of the Company’s Net Income to Standardized EBITDA and Adjusted 
EBITDA:

Net income

 Add: 

 Depreciation, amortization and impairment losses

  Finance expenses, net

Income taxes, net

Standardized EBITDA

Add:

 Acquisition, integration and reorganization costs

  Share-based compensation

  Retained Economic Interest

Adjusted EBITDA

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015 AUG 31, 2014 AUG 31, 2015 AUG 31, 2014

$ 1,050.5

$  (425.2)

$ 1,394.4

$ 1,540.9

1,364.7

(240.1)

(60.2)

787.7

437.8

509.1

3,935.4

2,901.4

1,648.7

877.4

1,642.6

1,185.6

2,114.9

1,309.4

7,855.9

7,270.5

622.3

62.4

(441.3)

40.6

44.7

-

1,528.1

218.7

(441.3)

95.8

175.7

-

$ 2,358.3

$ 1,394.7

$ 9,161.4

$ 7,542.0

Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended August 31, 2015 was $9,161.4, an increase of $1,619.4, or 
21.5% from $7,542.0 reported for the same period in the prior year. Factors influencing the increase 
in Adjusted EBITDA include:

•  Acquired revenue growth of $4,865.2 representing the increase in revenue resulting from  

the increased contribution to run rates from 2014 and 2015 acquisitions;

•  Organic revenue growth of $1,852.2 representing the increase in revenue resulting from the 

addition of new clients from the Company’s existing and expanded benefits consulting team, 
natural inflationary factors and increased revenue from corporate Shared Services. These 
factors are partially offset by reduced sales volumes in the Human Resource Solutions division 
and the effect of a depressed labour market in Alberta on certain premium product lines;

• 

Increased salaries, bonuses and commissions of $2,630.6 primarily attributable to the 
increased employee count resulting from the acquisition of Coughlin, the expansion of the 
consulting team through hiring additional sales consultants, and increased commissions 
resulting from organic growth in sales; 

• 

Increased operating costs of $2,026.1 primarily attributable to the acquired operations of 
Coughlin and organic growth of the Company’s business; and

•  Retained Economic Interest of Coughlin representing the vendors’ 34% of Coughlin Adjusted 

EBITDA was $441.3.

See ‘Selected Quarterly Financial Information’ for Management’s discussion of quarterly results.

19

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015 
 
 
OPERATING INCOME BEFORE CORPORATE COSTS

The following is a reconciliation of the Company’s Net Income to Operating Income before 
Corporate Costs:

Adjusted EBITDA

Add:

  Corporate costs

Operating income before  
corporate costs

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015 AUG 31, 2014 AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ 2,358.3

$ 1,394.7

$ 9,161.4

$ 7,542.0

1,221.9

1,043.1

4,157.3

3,714.3

$ 3,580.2

$ 2,437.8

$ 13,318.7

$ 11,256.3

Corporate costs, which represent expenses incurred at the corporate office, such as 
executive remuneration, public company compliance costs, insurance and corporate 
development activities, for the year ended August 31, 2015 were $4,157.3 versus $3,714.3 
incurred in the prior year. The increase of $443.0 is due to an increase in professional fees 
relating to implementing the Company’s new Security Based Compensation Plan and 
recruiting costs to fill corporate positions, as well as increases in public company costs, 
office space and office supplies. Those increases are offset by decreases in corporate travel 
and salaries and wages which are related to acquisition, integration, and reorganization 
costs during the twelve months ended August 31, 2015 and are grouped accordingly. 

Corporate Costs for the three months ended August 31, 2015 were $1,221.9 versus 
$1,043.1 for the same period in the prior year. The increase in Corporate Costs for the 
period is largely attributable to run-rates on increased salaries and wages as a result of the 
investment in leadership positions and the associated recruiting costs as well as an increase 
in professional fees.

See ‘Selected Quarterly Financial Information’ for Management’s discussion of quarterly 
results.

S E L E C T E D   A N N U A L   I N F O R M AT I O N

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

AUG 31, 2013

Revenue

$ 

 49,293.3

$  42,575.9

$   32,892.2

Net income and comprehensive income

Earnings per share (basic)

Earnings per share (diluted)

Total assets

$ 

$ 

$ 

 1,394.4

$ 

 1,540.9

 0.034

 0.033

$ 

$ 

 0.043

 0.041

$ 

$ 

$ 

 260.1

 0.008

 0.008

$  114,597.3

$  56,109.4

$  53,736.3

Total non‑current financial liabilities

$   58,130.9

$  18,969.6

$  27,328.8

See ‘Revenue’ for Management’s discussion of results.

Net income for the year ended August 31, 2015 was $1,394.4, a decrease of $146.5 from 
fiscal 2014 and an increase of $1,134.3 from fiscal 2013. Net income and comprehensive 
income has decreased as compared to the prior year as a result of acquisition-related 
amortization of intangible assets and an increase in acquisition, integration and 
reorganization costs primarily related to the magnitude of the 2015 acquisition; partially 
offset by increased adjusted EBITDA. Earnings per share is primarily affected by the change 
in net income, as well as by an increase in the number of outstanding shares from private 
placements to fund acquisition growth and exercise of stock options. 

20

PEOPLE CORPORATIONTotal assets at August 31, 2015 were $114,597.3, an increase of $58,487.9 and 
$60,861.0 from August 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The increase can primarily 
be attributed to additions to intangible assets, goodwill and working capital through 
acquisition. Total non‑current financial liabilities at August 31, 2015 were $58,130.9, 
an increase of $39,161.3 and $30,802.1 from August 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. 
Non‑current financial liabilities have increased due to increases in non‑controlling 
interest put options, vendor-take-back loans, loans and borrowings and deferred taxes 
in connection with acquisition activity in 2014 and 2015. 

REVENUE

Revenue from the Consulting Solutions division is primarily comprised of commissions 
from insurance carriers. In addition, the Company earns fees from pension assets 
under administration which are paid by the carrier who administers and invests the 
funds. The Company is a reseller of benefit products and services and therefore 
assumes no underwriting risk as the insurance policy is underwritten by the insurance 
carrier.

Revenue from the Group Benefit Solutions division is primarily from fees earned for 
third party administration services. 

Revenue from the Shared Services division is primarily earned through commissions 
which are paid by the insurance carriers and fees earned from pension assets under 
administration which are paid by the carrier who administers and invests the funds.

The Human Resource Solutions revenue is primarily earned from hourly or fixed fees 
for consulting services and as a percentage of compensation for recruiting services.

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ VARIANCE

% VARIANCE

$ 49,293.3

$ 42,575.9

$ 6,717.4

15.8%

For the year ended August 31, 2015, the Company experienced revenue growth of 
$6,717 or 15.8%. The Company recognized acquired growth of $4,865.2 (11.4%) 
representing the increase in revenue resulting from the increased contribution to run 
rates from 2014 and 2015 acquisitions and organic growth of $1,852.2 (4.4%). Organic 
growth is primarily comprised of the increase in commission revenue resulting from the 
addition of new clients from the Company’s existing and expanded benefits consulting 
team, natural inflationary factors and increased revenue from corporate Shared 
Services. This is partially offset by reduced fees and other revenue from reduced sales 
volumes in the Human Resource Solutions division, as well the effect of a depressed 
labour market in Alberta on certain premium product lines.

PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION EXPENSES

The largest operating expense of the Company is compensation and related costs 
which includes salaries, bonuses and commissions, stock-based compensation, group 
benefits, and payroll taxes.

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ VARIANCE

% VARIANCE

$ 29,132.6

$ 26,502.0

$ 2,630.6

9.9%

For the year ended August 31, 2015, personnel and compensation costs represent 
59.1% of revenues (2014 ‑ 62.2%). The Company believes that investment in its 
employees and associate consultant networks is key to ensuring successful execution 
of its strategic plans.

21

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015The increase in salaries, bonuses and commissions for the year ended August 31, 
2015 of $2,630.6 from $26,502.0 to $29,132.6 is primarily attributable to the increased 
employee count resulting from the acquisition of Coughlin during the fiscal year. Other 
factors include the expansion of the consulting team through hiring additional sales 
consultants in a number of markets in order to expand organic growth opportunities, 
and increased commissions resulting from organic growth in sales, which is reflective of 
the variable relationship between revenue and commissions.

GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

General and administrative expenses include expenses relating to travel, office 
supplies, telephone and internet, computer costs, professional fees, advertising, 
business development and other less significant categories.

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ VARIANCE

% VARIANCE

$ 7,438.7

$ 4,532.0

$ 2,906.7

64.1%

General and administrative expenses have increased by $2,906.7 for the year ended 
August 31, 2015 primarily due to incremental costs incurred to support the ongoing 
growth strategy of the Company, specifically:

•  An increase in acquisition, integration and restructuring costs of $1,432.3 
primarily comprised of costs related to the acquisition of Coughlin, other 
acquisition activity, and reorganizing certain aspects of its organizational 
structure during the year to position the Company positively for the future; 
and,

•  An increase of $1,474.4 resulting from a higher general and administrative 

run-rate due to the Coughlin acquisition in the fourth quarter of the year, an 
increase in one-time professional fees primarily due to recruiting costs incurred 
to support the investments in leadership and benefit consulting positions and 
accounting and legal costs incurred to execute certain strategic initiatives, 
including the Company’s new long-term incentive plan.

DEPRECIATION, AMORTIZATION AND IMPAIRMENT LOSSES

Depreciation is recognized over the estimated useful lives of each part of an item of 
property and equipment in a manner which most closely reflects the expected pattern 
of consumption of the future economic benefits embodied in the asset. Definite life 
intangible assets are amortized from the date of acquisition or, for internally developed 
assets, from the time the asset is available for use. Amortization is recognized either 
on a declining balance or on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the 
asset.

Depreciation, amortization and impairment losses are comprised of the following:

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ VARIANCE

% VARIANCE

$ 3,935.4

$ 2,901.4

$ 1,034.0

35.6%

Depreciation and amortization expense increased by $1,034.0 for the year ended 
August 31, 2015 primarily due to significant additions to intangible assets. 

Depreciation expense on property, plant and equipment increased by $380.4 due to 
additions to leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures pertaining to increased 
leased space and additional employees.

22

PEOPLE CORPORATIONAmortization expense and impairment losses on customer relationships, customer 
contracts and software increased by $653.6 primarily due to additions of customer 
relationships resulting from the acquisition of Coughlin and an increased investment in 
software development for the TPA platform.

There were no impairment losses recognized during the year. 

OCCUPANCY COSTS

Occupancy costs are composed of the following:

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ VARIANCE

% VARIANCE

$ 2,447.4

$ 2,156.2

$ 291.2

13.5%

Occupancy costs increased by $291.2 for the year ended August 31, 2015 primarily 
due to incremental lease costs associated with the acquisition of Coughlin during 
the year as well as increased lease space and increased rates on renewal of lease 
agreements.

ADMINISTRATION FEES

Administration fees represent amounts paid by the company to third party claims 
adjudicators for services provided on behalf of the Company to certain of its clients on 
its TPA platform.

Administration fees are composed of the following:

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ VARIANCE

% VARIANCE

$ 2,080.6

$ 1,845.3

$ 235.3

12.8%

Administration fees increased by $235.3 for the year ended August 31, 2015 due to 
an increase claims processing fees. The increase in claims processing fees is volume 
driven and is a direct result from the increase in TPA revenue in Group Benefit 
Solutions. 

FINANCE COSTS

Finance costs, net of interest income, are comprised of the following:

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ VARIANCE

% VARIANCE

$ 1,648.7

$ 1,642.6

$ 6.1

0.4%

Finance expenses increased by $6.1 for the year ended August 31, 2015. The change 
is primarily due to a net increase in interest and other finance costs of $122.4 offset by 
a decrease of $116.3 in accretion expense and fair value adjustments to contingent 
consideration and the non-controlling interest put obligation.

PUBLIC COMPANY COSTS

Public Company costs are composed of the following:

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ VARIANCE

% VARIANCE

$ 338.1

$ 270.0

$ 68.1

25.2%

23

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015Public company costs have increased by $68.1 for the year ended August 31, 2015. The increase can be 
attributed to higher TSX‑V filing costs due to higher average share price, increased directors’ fees with 
the addition of a director and increases in Director and Officer insurance costs. 

S E L E C T E D   Q U A R T E R LY   I N F O R M AT I O N
The selected financial information provided below is derived from the Company’s unaudited quarterly 
financial statements for each of the last eight quarters:

2015

2014

Q4

Q3

Q2

Q1

Q4

Q3

Q2

Q1

Revenue

$ 15,767.2

$ 10,487.6

$ 11,974.9

$ 11,063.6

$ 10,008.4

$ 11,577.0

$ 11,216.8

$ 9,773.7

Operating & corporate 
expenses

Adjusted EBITDA

Finance expenses

(13,408.9)

(8,345.1)

(9,513.9)

(8,864.2)

(8,613.6)

(9,612.2)

(8,884.5)

(7,923.4)

2,358.3

2,142.5

2,461.0

2,199.4

1,394.8

1,964.8

2,332.3

1,850.3

240.1

(631.4)

(584.2)

(673.2)

(437.8)

(466.3)

(283.3)

(455.3)

Depreciation and amortization

(1,364.7)

(903.9)

(821.6)

(845.1)

(787.7)

(801.8)

(664.1)

(619.2)

Write down of capital assets

Share-based compensation

Retained Economic Interest

-

(62.4)

441.3

-

-

-

-

(70.2)

(40.3)

(45.7)

(44.7)

-

-

-

-

(28.5)

(50.6)

-

-

-

(40.2)

(40.3)

-

-

Income tax expense, net

60.2

(317.6)

(352.6)

(267.3)

(509.1)

(455.1)

80.2

(301.6)

Acquisition, integration and 
reorganization costs

Net income

Total assets

(622.3)

(570.5)

(275.3)

(60.0)

(40.6)

(19.6)

-

(35.5)

1,050.5

(351.1)

387.0

308.1

(425.1)

142.9

1,424.9

398.4

114,597.3

69,808.2

57,440.7

57,838.5

56,109.4

63,356.5

52,838.0

53,349.0

Total loans and borrowings

25,409.6

9,773.5

9,986.8

10,637.0

9,660.4

16,847.5

17,688.2

18,740.1

Total other liabilities

Shareholders’ equity

45,108.3

19,748.9

20,495.9

20,689.1

20,427.0

20,108.4

18,937.4

19,958.6

44,079.4

40,285.8

26,958.1

26,512.5

26,021.9

26,400.6

16,212.4

14,650.4

Adjusted EBITDA per share

0.053

0.052

Earnings per share (basic)

0.023

(0.009)

Earnings per share (diluted)

0.023

(0.009)

0.062

0.010

0.009

0.055

0.039

0.008

(0.012)

0.008

(0.012)

0.054

0.004

0.004

0.070

0.028

0.043

0.012

0.040

0.011

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $2,358.3, representing an increase of $963.6 
or 69.1%, as compared to the same period in fiscal 2014. The growth in Adjusted EBITDA for the three 
month period was comprised of:

•  Acquired revenue growth of $4,292.2;

•  Organic revenue growth of $1,466.6; offset by,

• 

Increased salaries, bonuses and commissions of $3,104.4 primarily attributable to the acquired 
employee count, the expansion of the consulting team, and increased commissions resulting 
from organic growth in sales; and

• 

Increased operating costs of $1,249.6 primarily attributable to the acquired operations of 
Coughlin and organic growth of the Company’s business.

•  Retained Economic Interest of Coughlin representing the vendors’ 34% of Coughlin Adjusted 

EBITDA was $441.3.

24

PEOPLE CORPORATIONThe Company can experience fluctuations in timing of revenue between quarters and, as a 
result, Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue is less meaningful on a quarterly basis.

Finance expenses for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was ($240.1), representing a 
decrease of $677.9 or 154.8%, as compared to the same period in fiscal 2014. The 
decrease in finance costs for the three month period was primarily due to a reduction 
to the fair value of the H+P non‑controlling put liability resulting from difficult economic 
conditions in western Canada resulting from depressed oil and gas markets offset by 
higher interest on long-term debt resulting from an increase to the credit facility to fund the 
Coughlin acquisition.

Depreciation and amortization for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $1,364.7, 
representing an increase of $577.1 or 73.3%, as compared to the same period in fiscal 
2014, primarily due to increased amortization of customer lists acquired related to the 
Coughlin acquisition.

Retained Economic Interest of Coughlin representing the vendors’ 34% of Coughlin 
Adjusted EBITDA was $441.3.

L I Q U I D I T Y   A N D   C A P I TA L   R E S O U R C E S
Liquidity ensures the Company has sufficient financial resources available at all times 
to meet its obligations. This involves effectively managing assets and liabilities while 
maintaining an optimal capital structure. The Company manages this risk by ensuring it 
has adequate cash and access to credit to meet its obligations in the most cost-effective 
manner possible. Cash flow from operations, together with cash on hand and unutilized 
credit available on existing credit facilities are expected to be sufficient to meet operating 
and capital expenditure requirements.

The Company also continues to actively investigate acquisition and other growth 
opportunities. The Company expects to finance future acquisitions from a combination 
of available cash, unutilized credit available on existing credit facilities, vendor financing, 
expanded credit facilities, issuance of equity as part of the consideration and equity 
proceeds from treasury issuance.

CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

The following table summarizes, as at August 31, 2015, the Company’s contractual 
obligation for the periods specified.

 OBLIGATION

PAYMENTS DUE BY PERIOD

LESS 
THAN
1 YEAR

TOTAL

1 – 3
YEARS

4 – 5
YEARS

THERE-
AFTER

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

$   4,962.9

$  4,962.9

$ 

 ‑

$ 

 ‑

$ 

Operating lease obligations

6,042.9

1,815.8

3,021.9

1,205.2

Obligations under finance leases

3.9

3.9

-

-

 ‑

-

-

Vendor-take-back loans

3,305.0

2,005.0

400.0

300.0

600.0

Term loans

Acquisition line

6,580.0

665.0

805.0

5,110.0

15,775.0

-

15,775.0

-

-

-

$  36,669.7

$  9,452.6

$  20,001.9

$  6,615.2

$  600.0

Management believes that operations will generate sufficient cash flows to fund ongoing 
operations and finance its seasonal working capital needs.

25

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015CASH FLOWS

The following table summarizes the Company’s cash flows for the year ended August 
31, 2015:

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

AUG 31, 2015 AUG 31, 2014 $ VARIANCE % VARIANCE

Net income for the period

$  1,394.4

$  1,540.9

$   (146.5)

(9.5)%

Add non-cash items, net

4,351.5

844.7

3,506.8

415.2%

Changes in non-cash working capital

(2,391.6)

(1,222.6)

(1,169.0)

95.6%

Net cash from operating activities

3,354.3

3,558.6

(204.3)

(5.7)%

Net cash from (used by) investing 
activities

Net cash from (used by) financing 
activities

(27,676.2)

(3,027.8)

(24,648.4)

814.1%

28,086.2

(229.5)

28,315.7

(12,338.0)%

Net increase in cash

$  3,764.3

$   301.3

$  3,463.0

1,149.4%

Cash generated from operating activities for the year ended August 31, 2015 was 
$3,354.3, a decrease of $204.3 or 5.7% from the $3,558.6 of cash generated in the 
same period in the prior year. Significant influences of cash inflows and outflows 
related to operating activities for the year ended August 31, 2015 versus the same 
period in the prior year include:

•  Decrease in cash resulting from changes in working capital accounts of 

$1,169.0 including the effect of accounts receivable, accounts and other 
payables, income taxes payable, and deferred revenue. A portion of the 
change in working capital is a result of working capital acquired through 2015 
acquisitions. Change in deferred revenue of $912.7 is the result of timing 
differences between when funds are received and when revenue is recognized 
and services are provided to customers. Change in income taxes payable of 
$886.3 is attributable to a decrease in income tax expense. The remainder of 
the changes in working capital accounts are a result of increases in trade and 
accrued receivables and an increase in trade payables. 

• 

Increase in Adjusted EBITDA of $1,619.4, as compared to the prior year. 
Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is a valuable indicator of the 
Company’s ability to generate liquidity by producing operating cash flow 
to fund working capital needs, service debt obligations, and fund capital 
expenditures.

Cash used by investing activities for the year ended August 31, 2015 of $27,676.2 was 
used to fund the acquisition of Coughlin & Associates and additions to property and 
equipment and software. Direct costs were also incurred relates to the acquisition of 
customer relationships and the acquisition of customer contracts with fixed terms. 

Cash generated from financing activities for the year ended August 31, 2015, was 
$28,086.2, as compared to cash used of $229.5 in the prior year. Cash inflows related 
to proceeds from the issue of a new term loan of $7,000.0 (2014 ‑ nil), drawdown 
of the acquisition line of $15,775.0 (2014 ‑ nil) to fund current year acquisitions, net 
proceeds from the private placement of shares of $13,511.2 (2014 ‑ $9,573.4) and 
proceeds from the exercise of stock options of $200.0 (2014 ‑ $555.3) were partially 
offset by outflows related to repayment of long‑term debt and finance lease liabilities 
of $8,400.0 (2014 ‑ $11,258.2).

26

PEOPLE CORPORATIONCAPITAL MANAGEMENT

The Company’s objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the Company’s 
ability to continue as a going concern in order to provide opportunities for growth to 
shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders and to maintain financial flexibility in, or to 
take advantage of, organic growth and new acquisition opportunities as they arise.

In the management of capital, the Company includes cash, bank financing, 
vendor‑take‑back debt and shareholders’ equity in the definition of capital. The 
Company manages its capital structure and can adjust it in light of changes in economic 
conditions and the risk characteristics of the underlying assets. In order to maintain or 
adjust capital structure, the Company may issue new shares, issue new debt, renegotiate 
vendor-take-back debt or issue new debt to replace existing debt with different 
characteristics. The Company has the opportunity to use its operating line of credit during 
the year to finance cash flows related to seasonal changes in non‑cash working capital 
items. The Company did not make use of its operating line of credit during the year.

WORKING CAPITAL

The Company’s working capital (defined as current assets less current liabilities) at August 
31, 2015 is set forth in the table below. The Company defines Available Operating Working 
Capital as current assets less current liabilities, with an exclusion of certain current liabilities 
from such calculation. The current liabilities excluded are comprised of:

Deferred Revenue

Deferred revenue represents the excess of retainer amounts billed over costs incurred and 
revenue earned on service contracts. The amount is amortized into income as services are 
rendered, in accordance with the revenue recognition policies described in the Company’s 
financial statements. Group benefit commission revenue from clients where advisory 
services and plan administration services are provided by the Company is generally 
received in advance and recorded as deferred revenue. Fee revenue that is contingent on 
certain criteria being met is included in deferred revenue until the criteria have been met.

Deferred revenue is a non-cash liability and therefore management believes that adding 
back the deferred revenue provides a more accurate reflection of the liquidity and working 
capital position of the Company.

Loans and borrowings related to acquisitions

The Company anticipates cashflows required to service the incremental debt are to be 
generated through incremental cashflows earned from the existing entities, as well as the 
new entities acquired during the most recent year.

27

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015The table below reconciles the differences in the calculation of working capital and 
Available Operating Working Capital.

Current assets

Less:

  Current liabilities

Working capital

Add back:

  Deferred revenue

Operating working capital

Add back:

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ 15,203.4

$ 6,700.1

12,387.0

11,117.9

2,816.4

(4,417.8)

4,951.7

4,059.7

7,768.1

(358.1)

  Current portion of loans and borrowings related to acquisitions

2,468.5

3,056.5

Available Operating Working Capital

$ 10,236.6

$ 2,698.4

Available Operating Working Capital has increased by $7,538.2 to a surplus of $10,236.6 
compared to the available working capital surplus of $2,698.4 at August 31, 2014. The 
increase in Available Operating Working Capital is due to an increase in cash and accounts 
receivable as a result of Coughlin working capital acquired and timing of cash received 
pertaining to renewals late in the fiscal year.

The current portion of acquisition related loans and borrowings decreased by $588.0 to a 
balance of $2,468.5 due to revised repayment terms under the Company’s new credit facility.

Current assets increased by $8,503.3 to a balance of $15,203.4 largely due to incremental 
increases in cash balances, accounts receivable and other assets resulting from the 
acquisition of Coughlin & Associates.

The Company maintains a revolving operating line of credit of $5,000.0 to facilitate 
management of short‑term working capital requirements. As at August 31, 2015,  
the Company had not utilized this facility.

CREDIT FACILITIES

Effective October 31, 2014, the Company entered into a Senior Credit Facility Agreement 
with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (“CIBC”) as lead lender of a syndicated loan 
facility. The credit facility includes the following components:

•  Operating revolver totalling $5,000.0 to fund operating cash flow needs;

•  Term Loan totaling $7,000.0 used to refinance the outstanding balance of the 

acquisition facility under the previous credit agreement; and,

•  Acquisition Revolver totalling $23,000.0 used to fund future acquisitions. 

The agreement also has an Accordion Feature, which provides for an option, subject to 
the satisfaction of certain terms and conditions, to increase the Acquisition Revolver by 
up to $15,000.0 of additional capacity. This would result in an increase in the size of the 
Acquisition Revolver of up to $38,000.0 and overall credit capacity of up to $50,000.0.

28

PEOPLE CORPORATIONThe facility matures on October 31, 2017, and the Company has the option to extend it to 
October 31, 2019. The Term Loan requires quarterly principal repayments of $140.0 per 
quarter for the first year, $175.0 per quarter in the second year and $210.0 per quarter in 
the third year, with the balance due at maturity. The Operating Revolver and Acquisition 
Revolver do not have scheduled principal repayments prior to maturity.

The loans bear interest at a floating rate based on prime or banker’s acceptances plus a 
credit margin based on the Company’s quarterly leverage ratio. The facility is secured by 
a general security agreement over the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries and is 
subject to both financial and non‑financial covenants, including maximum total leverage  
and senior leverage ratios and minimum fixed charge coverage ratios. 

The new facility replaces the Company’s previous credit facility that was entered into in 2011 
and subsequently amended.

At August 31, 2015, the Company had a balance of $6,580.0 outstanding on the $7,000.0 
drawn on the Term Loan, $15,775.0 outstanding on the Acquisition Revolver and was 
compliant with all financial covenants. 

At August 31, 2015, the Company had unutilized and available credit of $12,225.0, including 
$5,000.0 on the Operating Revolver and $7,225.0 to fund acquisitions on the Acquisition 
Revolver.

SHARE CAPITAL

The Company has authorized share capital of an unlimited number of common voting 
shares. The Company’s outstanding securities are comprised of:

Common shares issued and outstanding

Stock options outstanding

CONTINGENCIES

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

44,958,383

39,551,486

1,107,679

1,566,667

In the ordinary course of operating the Company’s business it may from time to time be 
subject to various claims or possible claims. Although management currently believes there 
are no claims or possible claims that if resolved would either individually or collectively result 
in a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or 
cash flows, these matters are inherently uncertain and management’s view of these matters 
may change in the future.

29

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015R I S K   F A C T O R S
The Company operates in a well-established and highly competitive industry and its 
results of operations, business prospects and financial condition are subject to a number 
of risks and uncertainties and are affected by a number of factors outside the control 
of management of the Company. These factors include, but are not limited to, the 
following:

KEY PERSONNEL

The Company is highly dependent upon the expertise and experience of its personnel, 
particularly those engaged in generating revenue, including, but not limited to, those 
involved in benefits plan design and administration, benefits legislative and regulatory 
issues, group retirement plan design and specialized human resource consulting, 
recruitment and career management. The Company’s operations depend, in part, on the 
relationships and reputations these individuals have established with clients, often over 
many years. In the event the Company were to lose a number of key personnel, client 
relationships could be negatively impacted, which could lead to material adverse effects 
on the Company’s operating and financial results.

The Company currently has many experienced employees who hold senior positions 
in the Company, who have various professional designations and who have developed 
deep and trusted relationships with clients. While the Company provides a competitive 
compensation structure for its employees, including an employee share purchase 
plan and a security based compensation plan and has comprehensive employment 
agreements in place with its employees to protect the Company, the loss of a number of 
key personnel may have a material adverse effect on the business of the Company. The 
ability to attract, retain and develop new employees into senior positions could affect 
the business of the Company.

CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

Group insurance contracts are generally renegotiated on an annual basis with clients, 
pursuant to which insurance premium pricing increases or decreases. Accordingly, there 
can be no guarantee that insurance contracts sold through the Company in the past 
will be renewed on a go forward basis. While the Company has several benefit and 
insurance clients with contracts that extend for one to seven years, the majority of the 
Company’s benefit and pension revenue is derived from contracts that can be cancelled 
upon thirty days’ notice. The Company’s experience is that most clients terminate during 
the renewal process rather than during the policy year. No single client makes up more 
than 2.5% of the Company’s revenue and the clients are diversified both in size and 
industry.

INSURANCE COMPANY RELATIONSHIPS

In certain cases, the Company acts as advisor to end-user employers to broker group 
insurance products with insurance companies. There can be no assurance that the 
Company will be able to maintain its existing relationships with these insurance 
companies which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, 
financial condition and operating results. In addition, during the renewal process the 
benefits consulting team will provide benefits planning and consulting services based on 
the availability of insurance products and pricing of such products, which could result in 
decreased benefits coverage and/or decreased premiums which generally would result 
in decreased revenue for the Company.

30

PEOPLE CORPORATIONREGULATION AND CERTIFICATION

The Company’s employee benefits and group retirement consulting and administration 
services are subject to laws and regulations that are constantly evolving. In addition, the 
laws and regulations differ from province to province and the Company is required to 
keep up-to-date with the laws and regulations of each province. 

Although there are currently restrictions on the ability of Canadian banks to market 
insurance products in competition with the Company, such legislation is currently under 
review. Accordingly, dependent upon the nature of legislative reforms, Canadian banks 
may in the future be able to offer products which are competitive with the products 
offered by the Company.

The rules and regulations governing income and commodity taxes are complex and 
wide ranging, and the calculations of income taxes and applicability of commodity taxes 
requires judgment in interpreting tax rules and regulations. The Company’s tax filings 
are subject to government audits that could result in material changes to the amount of 
current or future income taxes or related costs. 

Any changes to laws, rules, regulations or policies could have a material adverse effect 
on the Company’s business, financial condition and operating results.

TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION SECURITY

The Company is reliant on computerized operational and reporting systems. The 
Company makes reasonable efforts to ensure that back-up systems and redundancies are 
in place and functioning appropriately and maintains a disaster recovery plan to protect 
against significant system failures. Whereas a computer system failure would not be 
expected to critically damage the Company in the long term, there can be no assurance 
that a computer system crash or like event would not have a material impact on its 
financial results.

Information security risks have increased in recent years due, in part, to the proliferation, 
sophistication and constant evolution of new technologies used by hackers and external 
parties. The Company’s technologies, systems and networks and third parties providing 
services to the Company, may be subject to attacks, breaches or other compromises.  
In the event of such an occurrence, the Company may experience, among other things, 
financial loss, a loss of customer or business opportunities, disruption to operations, 
misappropriation or unauthorized release of confidential, financial or personal 
information, litigation, regulatory penalties or intervention, remediation, investigation or 
restoration cost, and reputational damage.

ACCESS TO CAPITAL

The Company relies principally on bank debt, vendor‑take‑back debt financing and 
issuance of common shares to fund its acquisitions. The Company may require additional 
funds to make future acquisitions of group benefit, group retirement and human resource 
consulting businesses and may require additional funds to market and sell its products 
into the marketplace. The ability of the Company to arrange such financing in the future, 
and to repay its existing debt, will depend in part upon the prevailing capital market 
conditions as well as the business performance of the Company. While the Company 
has been successful in the past, there is no assurance that capital will be available under 
terms that are satisfactory to the Company.

31

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015Pursuant to its articles of incorporation, the Company is authorized to issue an unlimited 
number of Common Shares for consideration and on such terms as are established by 
the Board of Directors without the approval of any shareholders. Any further issuance of 
Common Shares may dilute the interests of existing shareholders. If additional capital 
financing is not available on terms favourable to the Company, the Company may be 
unable to grow or may be required to limit or halt its strategic growth plans. In addition, 
certain of the Company’s creditors who have security interests in the Company’s assets, 
may decide to exercise their rights to acquire or dispose of the Company’s assets.

FUTURE GROWTH VIA ACQUISITIONS

The Company’s growth and expansion plans contain a dual approach of generating organic 
growth by increasing its existing business by gaining new clients and increasing product 
and service penetration with existing clients, as well as through transactions in which the 
Company acquires new operating entities or subsidiaries. There can be no assurance that 
an adequate number of suitable acquisition candidates will be available to the Company 
to meet this area of focus of its expansion plans, or in the event that such businesses 
are available for acquisition that they will be available at a price which would allow the 
Company to operate on a profitable basis. The Company competes for acquisition and 
expansion opportunities with entities that have substantially greater resources than the 
Company and these entities may be able to outbid the Company for acquisition targets. 

INTEGRATION OF FUTURE ACQUISITIONS

There can be no assurance that the businesses acquired by the Company in the future will 
achieve acceptable levels of revenue and profitability or otherwise perform as expected. 
The Company may be unable to successfully integrate businesses that it may acquire in the 
future, due to diversion of management attention, strains on the Company’s infrastructure, 
difficulties in integrating operations and personnel, entry into unfamiliar markets, or 
unanticipated legal liabilities or tax, accounting or other issues. A failure to integrate 
acquired businesses may be disruptive to the Company’s operations and negatively 
impact the Company’s revenue or increase the Company’s expenses. Risks related to the 
integration of acquisitions are mitigated through the Company’s due diligence procedures 
and legal structure of the acquisitions. 

POTENTIAL UNDISCLOSED LIABILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH ACQUISITION/
LIMITED INDEMNIFICATION

In connection with acquisitions completed by Company, there may be liabilities and 
contingencies related to the acquired entity that the Company failed to discover or 
was unable to quantify in its due diligence conducted prior to the execution of an 
acquisition, and the Company may not be indemnified for some or all of these liabilities 
and contingencies. The existence of any material liabilities or contingencies could have a 
material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, liquidity and results 
of operations.

INTEREST RATE

Advances under the Company’s credit facilities bear interest at variable rates. The 
Company may incur further indebtedness in the future that also bears interest at variable 
rates or it may be required to refinance its debt at higher rates. While the Company 
attempts to manage its interest rate risk, there can be no assurance that it will hedge such 
exposure effectively or at all in the future. Accordingly, increases in interest rates could 
adversely affect the Company’s cash flows.

32

PEOPLE CORPORATIONLEGAL

Legal risk is the potential for civil litigation or criminal or regulatory proceedings being 
commenced against the Company that, once decided, could materially and adversely affect 
the Company’s business, operations or financial condition. In the ordinary course of business, 
the Company may be involved in litigation and other claims as a defendant or as a plaintiff. 
The outcomes of these actions could result in significant losses to the Company which could 
have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and operating 
results.

INSURANCE

The Company believes that its professional errors and omissions insurance, director and 
officer liability insurance, and commercial general liability insurance coverage address all 
material insurable risks, provides coverage that is similar to that which would be maintained 
by a prudent operator of a similar business and is subject to deductibles, limits and 
exclusions which are customary or reasonable given the cost of procuring insurance and 
current operating conditions. However, there can be no assurance that such insurance will 
continue to be offered on economically feasible terms, that all events that could give rise to 
a loss or liability are insurable, or that the amounts of insurance will at all times be sufficient 
to cover each and every loss or claim that may occur involving the Company’s assets or 
operations.

CANADIAN ECONOMY AND COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS

The Company’s future success is dependent upon the direction and state of the Canadian 
economy. The business, operating results and financial condition of the Company could 
be materially affected by a prolonged and deep recession or downturn in the Canadian 
economy. In particular, the Company is exposed to difficult economic conditions in 
western Canada resulting from depressed oil and gas markets. There is no assurance that 
the Company will have sufficient financial resources to withstand a prolonged and deep 
recession. 

The insurance brokerage market is highly competitive and is composed of a large number of 
companies of varying size and scope of services. Insurance companies themselves also offer 
their products through other methods, including insurance agents and direct distribution 
channels, which are competitive with the insurance brokerage industry and the Company. 

BRAND AND REPUTATION

The Company is dependent, to a large extent, on its client relationships and its reputation 
with clients. Damage to the Company’s brand or reputation could result in the loss of client 
relationships, which could result in a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, 
financial condition and operating results. There can be no assurance that future incidents will 
not negatively affect the Company’s brand or reputation.

INTERNAL CONTROL

As a venture issuer, the Company is not required to certify the design and evaluation of the 
Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (DC&P) and internal controls over financial 
reporting (ICFR) as defined by National Instrument 52‑109, and as such has not completed 
such an evaluation. Investors should be aware that inherent limitations on the ability of 
certifying officers of a venture issuer to design and implement on a cost effective basis DC&P 
and ICFR may result in additional risks to the quality, reliability, transparency and timeliness of 
interim and annual filings and other reports provided under securities legislation.

33

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015C R I T I C A L   A C C O U N T I N G   P O L I C I E S 
A N D   E S T I M AT E S
Critical accounting policies are defined as those that are both very important to the 
portrayal of the Company’s financial condition and results, and require management’s 
most difficult, subjective or complex judgments. Management is required in preparing 
the Company’s financial statements, in accordance with IFRS, to make certain estimates, 
judgments and assumptions that it believes are reasonable based upon available 
information, historical information and/or forecasts. These estimates, judgments and 
assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the 
financial statements and the reported revenues and expenses during the reporting 
periods. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The accounting policies which 
management believes are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating 
the Company’s reported financial results include those relating to revenue recognition, 
business acquisitions and accounting for the resulting customer relationships and 
contracts, goodwill and income taxes.

REVENUE RECOGNITION

Revenue includes fees and commissions generated from administrative, advisory and 
consulting services provided to clients. 

Generally, revenue from the rendering of services is recognized when the following 
criteria are met:

•  The amount of revenue can be reliably measured;

•  The stage of completion can be reliably measured;

•  The receipt of economic benefits is probable; and

•  Costs incurred and to be incurred can be reliably measured.

Concurrently with the above general principles, the Company applies the following 
specific revenue recognition policies:

Group benefit commission revenue from clients where advisory services and plan 
administration services are provided by the Company is generally received in advance 
and recorded as deferred revenue. Commission advances are recognized in income 
on a monthly basis based on the number of months for which the commission revenue 
was advanced, net of a provision for return commissions due to policy cancellation and 
adjustments. The provision is determined based on historical data.

Group benefit commission revenue from clients where the Company provides only 
advisory services are recognized in income at the effective or renewal date of the policy, 
net of a provision for return commissions due to policy cancellation and adjustments. 
The provision is determined based on historical data.

Fee revenue from administrative and consulting services are recognized on the 
percentage of completion basis.

For fee revenue that is contingent on certain criteria being met, the revenue is not 
recognized until the work is completed.

34

PEOPLE CORPORATIONAll other revenues are recognized upon the completion of services rendered by the 
Company. Other revenue includes investment income recorded on the accrual basis of 
accounting.

BUSINESS COMBINATIONS

For acquisitions, the Company measures goodwill as the fair value of the consideration 
transferred including the recognized amount of any non-controlling interest in the 
acquiree, less the net recognized amount (generally fair value) of the identifiable assets 
acquired and liabilities assumed, all measured as of the acquisition date. When the 
excess is negative, a bargain purchase gain is recognized immediately in profit or loss.

Transaction costs, other than those associated with the issue of debt or equity securities, 
that the Company incurs in connection with a business combination are expensed as 
incurred.

INTANGIBLE ASSETS

(i)  Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price paid for the acquisition of 
subsidiaries over the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets acquired. 
Following the initial recognition, goodwill is measured at cost less any accumulated 
impairment losses. 

(ii)  Other intangible assets

Other intangible assets consist of acquired customer relationships and contracts. 
Other intangible assets acquired separately are measured on initial recognition at 
cost. The cost of identifiable intangible assets acquired in a business combination 
is equal to fair value as at the date of acquisition. Following initial recognition, 
identifiable intangible assets are carried at cost less any accumulated amortization 
and any accumulated impairment losses.

Definite life intangible assets are amortized from the date of acquisition or, for 
internally developed assets, from the time the asset is available for use. Amortization 
is recognized either on a declining balance or on a straight-line basis over the 
estimated useful life of the asset, and the residual values and useful lives of the 
assets are reviewed at each financial year‑end and adjusted if appropriate. 

Intangible assets are considered to have indefinite lives where management believes 
that there is no foreseeable limit to the period over which the intangible assets are 
expected to generate net cash flows.

DEFERRED TAX

Deferred tax is recognized in respect of temporary differences between the carrying 
amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts 
used for taxation purposes. Deferred tax is not recognized for the following temporary 
differences: the initial recognition of assets or liabilities in a transaction that is not a 
business combination and that affects neither accounting nor taxable profit or loss, and 
differences relating to investments in subsidiaries and jointly controlled entities to the 
extent that it is probable that they will not reverse in the foreseeable future. In addition, 
deferred tax is not recognized for taxable temporary differences arising on the initial 
recognition of goodwill. Deferred tax is measured at the tax rates that are expected to 
be applied to temporary differences when they reverse, based on the laws that have 

35

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS FOR THE QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015been enacted or substantively enacted by the reporting date. Deferred tax assets and 
liabilities are offset if there is a legally enforceable right to offset current tax liabilities and 
assets, and they relate to income taxes levied by the same tax authority on the same 
taxable entity, or on different tax entities, but they intend to settle current tax liabilities 
and assets on a net basis or their tax assets and liabilities will be realized simultaneously.

A deferred tax asset is recognized for unused tax losses, tax credits and deductible 
temporary differences, to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will 
be available against which they can be utilised. Deferred tax assets are reviewed at 
each reporting date and are reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that the 
related tax benefit will be realized.

S E A S O N A L I T Y
As the Company continues to grow through acquisitions, the revenue trends from 
quarter to quarter may change depending on the relative significance of acquisitions 
in a fiscal year and the seasonal variances of the client renewals of those particular 
acquisitions. As the company continues to grow both organically and through 
acquisitions the revenue and Adjusted EBITDA trends from quarter to quarter within 
a fiscal may continue to vary, however the annual revenue trends will increasingly be 
more representative of the Company’s annual revenue run rate as the company achieves 
increasing scale.

O F F ‑ B A L A N C E   S H E E T   
A R R A N G E M E N T S
Other than as outlined below, the Company does not have any off-balance sheet 
arrangements.

Concurrent with the acquisition of Coughlin, the Company assumed the role of 
sponsor of certain individual pension plans (“IPP”) which had been established prior 
to the date of acquisition. While the IPPs are ongoing, the Company’s obligation to 
make contributions towards any funding deficiency required by pension legislation is 
indemnified by the beneficiaries of the respective IPP. Conversely, any funding surpluses 
are payable to the beneficiaries of the respective IPP. As a result, the Company has no 
net exposure to unfunded or overfunded IPPs.

F I N A N C I A L   I N S T R U M E N T S
The financial instruments of the Company consist of basic financial instruments which 
are typically used in the Company’s operation, including cash, restricted cash, accounts 
receivable, accounts payable and other liabilities, obligations under capital lease, 
non-controlling interest put options and long-term debt.

For the current assets and liabilities, the main risk is the credit risk associated with 
accounts receivable. The credit risk is reduced due to a diversified customer base.  
The risks associated with long-term debt include the risk of interest rate increases and 
the risk of potential defaults in debt payments due to insufficient cash flows.

36

PEOPLE CORPORATIONC O N S O L I D AT E D   F I N A N C I A L 
S TAT E M E N T S   F O R   T H E   Y E A R S  E N D E D 
A U G U S T   3 1 ,   2 0 1 5   &   2 0 1 4

(Expressed in Canadian Dollars)

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

37

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTSFOR THE YEARS ENDED AUGUST 31, 2015 & 2014INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT

To the Shareholders of People Corporation:
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
We  have  audited  the  accompanying  consolidated  financial  statements  of  People  Corporation and  its  subsidiaries
which  comprise  the  consolidated  statements  of  financial  position  as  at  August  31,  2015 and 2014, and  the 
consolidated statements of  comprehensive income, consolidated statements of changes in equity and consolidated 
To the Shareholders of People Corporation:
statements of cash flows for the years  ended August 31,  2015 and 2014, and a summary of significant accounting 
policies and other explanatory information.
We  have  audited  the  accompanying  consolidated  financial  statements  of  People  Corporation and  its  subsidiaries
which  comprise  the  consolidated  statements  of  financial  position  as  at  August  31,  2015 and 2014, and  the 
Management’s Responsibility for Consolidated Financial Statements
consolidated statements of  comprehensive income, consolidated statements of changes in equity and consolidated 
statements of cash flows for the years  ended August 31,  2015 and 2014, and a summary of significant accounting 
Management  is  responsible  for  the  preparation  and  fair  presentation  of  these  consolidated  financial  statements  in 
policies and other explanatory information.
accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards,  and  for  such  internal  control  as  management 
determines  necessary  to  enable  the  preparation  of  consolidated  financial  statements  that  are  free  from  material 
Management’s Responsibility for Consolidated Financial Statements
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Management  is  responsible  for  the  preparation  and  fair  presentation  of  these  consolidated  financial  statements  in 
Auditors’ Responsibility
accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards,  and  for  such  internal  control  as  management 
determines  necessary  to  enable  the  preparation  of  consolidated  financial  statements  that  are  free  from  material 
Our  responsibility  is  to  express  an  opinion  on  these  consolidated  financial  statements  based  on  our  audits.  We 
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
conducted our audits in accordance with Canadian generally accepted  auditing standards. Those standards require 
that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance whether 
Auditors’ Responsibility
the consolidated financial statements are free from material misstatement.

Our  responsibility  is  to  express  an  opinion  on  these  consolidated  financial  statements  based  on  our  audits.  We 
An  audit  involves  performing  procedures  to  obtain  audit  evidence  about  the  amounts  and  disclosures  in  the 
conducted our audits in accordance with Canadian generally accepted  auditing standards. Those standards require 
judgment,  including  the 
consolidated  financial  statements.  The  procedures selected  depend  on  the  auditors’
that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance whether 
assessment  of  the  risks  of material  misstatement  of  the  consolidated  financial statements,  whether due  to  fraud  or 
the consolidated financial statements are free from material misstatement.
error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and 
fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in 
An  audit  involves  performing  procedures  to  obtain  audit  evidence  about  the  amounts  and  disclosures  in  the 
the  circumstances,  but  not  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  an  opinion  on  the  effectiveness  of  the  entity’s  internal 
consolidated  financial  statements.  The  procedures selected  depend  on  the  auditors’
judgment,  including  the 
control. An audit also includes evaluation of the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness 
assessment  of  the  risks  of material  misstatement  of  the  consolidated  financial statements,  whether due  to  fraud  or 
of  accounting  estimates  made  by  management,  as  well  as  evaluating  the  overall  presentation  of  the  consolidated 
error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and 
financial statements.
fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in 
the  circumstances,  but  not  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  an  opinion  on  the  effectiveness  of  the  entity’s  internal 
We  believe  that  the  audit  evidence  we  have  obtained  is  sufficient  and  appropriate  to  provide  a  basis  for  our  audit 
control. An audit also includes evaluation of the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness 
opinion.
of  accounting  estimates  made  by  management,  as  well  as  evaluating  the  overall  presentation  of  the  consolidated 
financial statements.
Opinion

We  believe  that  the  audit  evidence  we  have  obtained  is  sufficient  and  appropriate  to  provide  a  basis  for  our  audit 
In  our  opinion,  the  consolidated  financial statements present  fairly,  in  all  material  respects,  the  financial position  of 
opinion.
People  Corporation  and  its  subsidiaries  as  at  August 31,  2015 and 2014 and their financial  performance  and  their
cash  flows  for  the  years  ended  August  31,  2015 and  2014 in  accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting 
Opinion
Standards.

In  our  opinion,  the  consolidated  financial statements present  fairly,  in  all  material  respects,  the  financial position  of 
People  Corporation  and  its  subsidiaries  as  at  August 31,  2015 and 2014 and their financial  performance  and  their
cash  flows  for  the  years  ended  August  31,  2015 and  2014 in  accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting 
Standards.
Toronto, Ontario
December 10, 2015

Chartered Professional Accountants
Licensed Public Accountants

Toronto, Ontario
December 10, 2015

Chartered Professional Accountants
Licensed Public Accountants

38

SUITE 300, 111 RICHMOND STREET W, TORONTO ON, M5H 2G4
1.877.251.2922   T: 416.596.1711   F: 416.596.7894   MNP.ca 

SUITE 300, 111 RICHMOND STREET W, TORONTO ON, M5H 2G4
1.877.251.2922   T: 416.596.1711   F: 416.596.7894   MNP.ca 

PEOPLE CORPORATION 
 
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT

To the Shareholders of People Corporation:

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT

We  have  audited  the  accompanying  consolidated  financial  statements  of  People  Corporation and  its  subsidiaries

which  comprise  the  consolidated  statements  of  financial  position  as  at  August  31,  2015 and 2014, and  the 

consolidated statements of  comprehensive income, consolidated statements of changes in equity and consolidated 

To the Shareholders of People Corporation:

statements of cash flows for the years  ended August 31,  2015 and 2014, and a summary of significant accounting 

policies and other explanatory information.

We  have  audited  the  accompanying  consolidated  financial  statements  of  People  Corporation and  its  subsidiaries

which  comprise  the  consolidated  statements  of  financial  position  as  at  August  31,  2015 and 2014, and  the 

Management’s Responsibility for Consolidated Financial Statements

consolidated statements of  comprehensive income, consolidated statements of changes in equity and consolidated 

statements of cash flows for the years  ended August 31,  2015 and 2014, and a summary of significant accounting 

Management  is  responsible  for  the  preparation  and  fair  presentation  of  these  consolidated  financial  statements  in 

policies and other explanatory information.

accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards,  and  for  such  internal  control  as  management 

determines  necessary  to  enable  the  preparation  of  consolidated  financial  statements  that  are  free  from  material 

Management’s Responsibility for Consolidated Financial Statements

misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Management  is  responsible  for  the  preparation  and  fair  presentation  of  these  consolidated  financial  statements  in 

accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards,  and  for  such  internal  control  as  management 

Auditors’ Responsibility

determines  necessary  to  enable  the  preparation  of  consolidated  financial  statements  that  are  free  from  material 

Our  responsibility  is  to  express  an  opinion  on  these  consolidated  financial  statements  based  on  our  audits.  We 

misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

conducted our audits in accordance with Canadian generally accepted  auditing standards. Those standards require 

that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance whether 

Auditors’ Responsibility

the consolidated financial statements are free from material misstatement.

Our  responsibility  is  to  express  an  opinion  on  these  consolidated  financial  statements  based  on  our  audits.  We 

An  audit  involves  performing  procedures  to  obtain  audit  evidence  about  the  amounts  and  disclosures  in  the 

conducted our audits in accordance with Canadian generally accepted  auditing standards. Those standards require 

consolidated  financial  statements.  The  procedures selected  depend  on  the  auditors’

that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance whether 

assessment  of  the  risks  of material  misstatement  of  the  consolidated  financial statements,  whether due  to  fraud  or 

the consolidated financial statements are free from material misstatement.

error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and 

judgment,  including  the 

fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in 

An  audit  involves  performing  procedures  to  obtain  audit  evidence  about  the  amounts  and  disclosures  in  the 

the  circumstances,  but  not  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  an  opinion  on  the  effectiveness  of  the  entity’s  internal 

consolidated  financial  statements.  The  procedures selected  depend  on  the  auditors’

control. An audit also includes evaluation of the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness 

assessment  of  the  risks  of material  misstatement  of  the  consolidated  financial statements,  whether due  to  fraud  or 

of  accounting  estimates  made  by  management,  as  well  as  evaluating  the  overall  presentation  of  the  consolidated 

error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and 

judgment,  including  the 

fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in 

the  circumstances,  but  not  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  an  opinion  on  the  effectiveness  of  the  entity’s  internal 

We  believe  that  the  audit  evidence  we  have  obtained  is  sufficient  and  appropriate  to  provide  a  basis  for  our  audit 

control. An audit also includes evaluation of the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness 

financial statements.

of  accounting  estimates  made  by  management,  as  well  as  evaluating  the  overall  presentation  of  the  consolidated 

opinion.

We  believe  that  the  audit  evidence  we  have  obtained  is  sufficient  and  appropriate  to  provide  a  basis  for  our  audit 

In  our  opinion,  the  consolidated  financial statements present  fairly,  in  all  material  respects,  the  financial position  of 

People  Corporation  and  its  subsidiaries  as  at  August 31,  2015 and 2014 and their financial  performance  and  their

cash  flows  for  the  years  ended  August  31,  2015 and  2014 in  accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting 

In  our  opinion,  the  consolidated  financial statements present  fairly,  in  all  material  respects,  the  financial position  of 

People  Corporation  and  its  subsidiaries  as  at  August 31,  2015 and 2014 and their financial  performance  and  their

cash  flows  for  the  years  ended  August  31,  2015 and  2014 in  accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting 

financial statements.

Opinion

opinion.

Opinion

Standards.

Standards.

Toronto, Ontario

December 10, 2015

Toronto, Ontario

December 10, 2015

Chartered Professional Accountants

Licensed Public Accountants

Chartered Professional Accountants

Licensed Public Accountants

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Consolidated Statements of Financial Position

As at August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Assets

Current assets:

  Cash and cash equivalents

  Trade and other receivables

Income taxes receivable

  Other current assets

  Total current assets

Non-current assets:

  Property and equipment

  Goodwill and intangible assets

  Deferred tax asset

  Total non-current assets

Total assets

Liabilities and shareholders’ equity

Current liabilities:

  Trade payables, accrued and other liabilities

  Deferred revenue

Income taxes payable

  Current portion of loans and borrowings

  Total current liabilities

Accrued and other liabilities

Deferred revenue

Non-controlling interest put options

Loans and borrowings

Deferred tax liability

Total liabilities

Shareholders’ equity:

  Share capital

  Contributed surplus

  Retained earnings

Total shareholders’ equity

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

Commitments and contingencies (Note 19) 
Subsequent Events (Note 24)

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

NOTE

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

5

13

6

7

13

8

9

13

12

8

9

11

12

13

14

$  6,514,734

$  2,750,465

7,199,276

3,423,216

610,065

879,282

15,203,357

1,582,820

97,087,692

723,477

-

526,444

6,700,125

1,173,248

47,740,023

496,031

99,393,989

49,409,302

$ 114,597,346

$ 56,109,427

$  4,962,924

$  3,700,928

4,951,681

-

2,472,433

12,387,038

1,666,656

89,303

22,649,069

22,937,216

10,788,674

70,517,956

4,059,744

276,275

3,080,922

11,117,869

1,093,781

68,536

6,661,351

6,579,527

4,566,433

30,087,497

39,029,883

22,465,334

736,584

4,312,923

638,090

2,918,506

44,079,390

26,021,930

$ 114,597,346

$ 56,109,427

SUITE 300, 111 RICHMOND STREET W, TORONTO ON, M5H 2G4

1.877.251.2922   T: 416.596.1711   F: 416.596.7894   MNP.ca 

SUITE 300, 111 RICHMOND STREET W, TORONTO ON, M5H 2G4

1.877.251.2922   T: 416.596.1711   F: 416.596.7894   MNP.ca 

 /s/ “Scott Anderson” 
 __________________________________  
Director, Chair of the Audit Committee 

/s/ “Laurie Goldberg”
 ________________________________  
Director, Chief Executive Officer

The notes on pages 43 to 74 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

39

 
 
 
 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Revenue

Operating expenses

Depreciation, amortization and impairment losses

Finance expenses

Acquisition, integration and reorganization costs

Income before income taxes

Income tax expense:

  Current

  Deferred

Net income

Earnings per share

   Basic

   Diluted

NOTE

YEAR ENDED  
AUG 31, 2015

YEAR ENDED  
AUG 31, 2014

23

6,7

16

23

23

13

13

14(c)

$ 49,293,254

$ 42,575,935

39,909,260

35,209,587

3,935,352

1,648,690

1,528,133

47,021,435

2,271,819

1,452,849

(575,447)

877,402

2,901,427

1,642,637

95,799

39,849,450

2,726,485

1,894,600

(708,976)

1,185,624

$ 1,394,417

$ 1,540,861

$

$

0.034

0.033

$

$

0.043

0.041

40

The notes on pages 43 to 74 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Balance, August 31, 2013

Net income (loss) and comprehensive  
 net income (loss) for the year

Issuance of common shares 

Exercise of stock options

Share-based payments

NOTE

SHARE 
CAPITAL

CONTRIBUTED 
SURPLUS

RETAINED  
EARNINGS

TOTAL

$  12,024,732

$  774,245

$  1,377,645

$  14,176,622

-

9,573,447

-

-

867,155

(311,888)

-

175,733

14(b)

14(b)

15(b)

1,540,861

1,540,861

-

-

-

9,573,447

555,267

175,733

10,440,602

(136,155)

1,540,861

11,845,308

Balance, August 31, 2014

$ 22,465,334

$ 638,090

$ 2,918,506

$ 26,021,930

Balance, August 31, 2014

Net income (loss) and comprehensive  
 net income (loss) for the year

Issuance of common shares 

Acquisition-related Issuance of shares

Exercise of stock options

Share-based payments

Total transactions with shareholders

NOTE

SHARE 
CAPITAL

CONTRIBUTED 
SURPLUS

RETAINED  
EARNINGS

TOTAL

$  22,465,334

$  638,090

$  2,918,506

$  26,021,930

14(b)

14(b)

14(b)

15(b)

13,744,339

2,500,000

-

-

320,210

(120,195)

-

16,564,549

218,689

98,494

1,394,417

1,394,417

-

-

-

-

13,744,339

2,500,000

200,015

218,689

1,394,417

18,057,460

Balance, August 31, 2015

$ 39,029,883

$ 736,584

$ 4,312,923

$ 44,079,390

The notes on pages 43 to 74 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

41

 
 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Operating activities

Net income for the year

  Adjustments for:

  Depreciation

  Amortization of intangible assets

  Share-based compensation

  Change in estimated fair value of non-controlling interest put option

  Accretive interest expense

  Loss from disposal or write down of intangible assets

  Deferred tax expense (recovery)

  Net cash from operations

  Change in the following:

  Trade and other receivables

  Commission advances

  Other current assets

  Trade payables, accrued and other liabilities

  Deferred revenue

Income tax payable

  Net cash from (used by) working capital items

Net cash from operating activities

Investing activities

NOTE

YEAR ENDED 
AUG 31, 2015

YEAR ENDED 
AUG 31, 2014 

$  1,394,417

$  1,540,861

6

7

15(b)

16

16

7

736,019

3,199,333

218,689

468,618

304,299

-

(575,447)

5,745,928

355,180

2,523,927

175,733

488,466

400,444

22,320

(725,735)

4,781,196

(1,043,778)

(476,748)

(36,848)

(120,403)

(694,071)

209,872

(706,419)

-

(138,061)

(992,909)

246,633

138,478

(2,391,647)

(1,222,607)

3,354,281

3,558,589

  Acquisition of subsidiary, net of cash and cash equivalents acquired

(26,214,652)

(746,044)

  Acquisition of property and equipment

  Acquisition of intangible assets

Net cash used in investing activities

Financing activities

  Proceeds from exercise of stock options

  Proceeds from loans and borrowings

  Repayment of loans and borrowings 

  Proceeds from private placement of shares, net

Net cash from (used) in financing activities

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year

(734,273)

(727,278)

(1,118,488)

(1,163,308)

(27,676,203)

(3,027,840)

200,015

22,775,000

555,267

900,000

(8,400,009)

(11,258,167)

13,511,185

28,086,191

3,764,269

2,750,465

9,573,447

(229,453)

301,296

2,449,169

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

$  6,514,734

$  2,750,465

42

The notes on pages 43 to 74 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 
 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

1.  REPORTING ENTITY:

People Corporation (the “Company”) was incorporated under the Ontario Business Corporations Act 
on July 5, 2006. The Company is a public company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSX-V”), 
trading under the “PEO” symbol and is domiciled in Canada. The address of the Company’s head office 
is 360 Main Street, Suite 1800, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and the Company’s registered office is 
180 Bay Street, Suite 4400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. These consolidated financial statements of the 
Company comprise accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. The Company is primarily involved 
in the delivery of employee group benefit consulting, pension consulting and third‑party benefits 
administration services, as well as, recruiting services, strategic human resources consulting and career 
management services to help companies recruit, retain and reward employees.

These consolidated financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorized for 
issue on December 10, 2015.

2.  BASIS OF PRESENTATION:

(a)  Statement of compliance

These consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International 
Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board 
(“IASB”).

(b)  Basis of measurement

These consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis except for 
the following material items in the consolidated statements of financial position:

• 

financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss are measured at fair value

• 

share-based compensation awards are measured at fair value at grant date

(c)  Functional and presentation currency

These consolidated financial statements are presented in Canadian dollars, which is the functional 
currency of the Company and its subsidiaries. All financial information presented has been rounded 
to the nearest dollar except where indicated otherwise.

(d)  Use of estimates and judgments

The preparation of these consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires 
management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of 
accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of these financial 
statements and reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual 
results may differ from these estimates.

43

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates 
and judgments that affect the application of policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, 
revenue and expenses. Actual results may differ from those estimates. Areas of significant accounting 
estimates and judgments include determination of fair value of financial instruments, impairment of 
financial instruments, impairment of goodwill and intangible assets, and taxes. We also use judgment 
when determining functional currencies, contingencies, restructuring, non-current assets and the 
determination of fair value of share-based payments. Details on the estimates and judgments are 
further described in the relevant accounting policies in these Notes. 

Provisions are recognized for present legal or constructive obligations as a result of a past event, if it 
is probable that they will result in an outflow of economic resources and the amount can be reliably 
estimated. The amounts recognized for these provisions are the best estimates of the expenditures 
required to settle the present obligations or to transfer them to a third party at the statement of 
financial position date, considering all the inherent risks and uncertainties, as well as the time value of 
money. These provisions are reviewed as relevant facts and circumstances change.

Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting 
estimates are recognized in the period in which the estimates are revised and in any future periods 
affected.

3.  SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:

The accounting policies set out below have been applied consistently to all years presented in these 
consolidated financial statements.

(a)  Basis of consolidation

(i)  Business combinations

For acquisitions, the Company measures goodwill as the fair value of the consideration 
transferred, including the recognized amount of any non-controlling interest in the acquiree, less 
the net recognized amount (generally fair value) of the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities 
assumed, all measured as of the acquisition date. When the excess is negative, a bargain 
purchase gain is recognized immediately in profit or loss.

The Company recognizes liabilities, if any, resulting from a contingent consideration arrangement 
at their acquisition date fair value and such amounts form part of the cost of the business 
combination. Subsequent changes in the fair value of contingent consideration arrangements are 
recognized in profit or loss for the period.

Changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration that qualify as measurement period 
adjustments are adjusted retrospectively, with corresponding adjustments to goodwill. 
Measurement period adjustments are adjustments that arise from additional information 
obtained during the ‘measurement period’ (which cannot exceed one year from the acquisition 
date) about facts and circumstances that existed at the acquisition date. 

The subsequent accounting for changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration that do 
not qualify as measurement period adjustments depends on how the contingent consideration is 
classified. Contingent consideration that is classified as equity is not re‑measured at subsequent 
reporting dates and its subsequent settlement is accounted for within equity. Contingent 
consideration that is classified as an asset or a liability is re‑measured at subsequent reporting 
dates in accordance with IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement, or IAS 37 
Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets, as appropriate, with the corresponding 
gain or loss being recognized in profit or loss. 

44

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Transaction costs, other than those associated with the issue of debt or equity securities, that the 
Company incurs in connection with a business combination are expensed as incurred.

(ii)  Subsidiaries

Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Company or a subsidiary of the Company. The financial 
statements of subsidiaries are included in these consolidated financial statements from the date 
that control commences until the date that control ceases. 

(iii)  Transactions eliminated on consolidation

Intra-company balances and transactions, and any realized or unrealized revenue and expenses 
arising from intra‑company transactions, are eliminated in preparing these consolidated financial 
statements. 

(b)  Financial instruments

(i)	 Non‑derivative	financial	assets

Financial assets classified as fair value through profit and loss (“FVTPL”) are measured at fair 
value, with gains and losses recognized in net income (loss). Cash and cash equivalents are 
classified as FVTPL.

The Company initially recognizes loans and receivables on the date that they are originated. 
All other financial assets (including assets designated at fair value through profit or loss) are 
recognized initially on the trade date at which the Company becomes a party to the contractual 
provisions of the instrument. 

The Company derecognizes a financial asset when the contractual rights to the cash and cash 
equivalents flows from the asset expire, or it transfers the rights to receive the contractual cash 
and cash equivalents flows on the financial asset in a transaction in which substantially all the 
risks and rewards of ownership of the financial asset are transferred. Any interest in transferred 
financial assets that is created or retained by the Company is recognized as a separate asset or 
liability.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount presented in the consolidated 
statements of financial position when, and only when, the Company has a currently enforceable 
legal right to offset the recognized amounts and intends either to settle on a net basis or to 
realize the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

(ii)  Loans and receivables

Loans and receivables are financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not 
quoted in an active market. Such assets are recognized initially at fair value plus any directly 
attributable transaction costs.

Subsequent to initial recognition loans and receivables are measured at amortized cost using the 
effective interest method, less any impairment losses. Loans and receivables comprise trade and 
other receivables.

(iii)	 Non‑derivative	financial	liabilities

Financial liabilities classified as fair value through profit and loss (“FVTPL”) are measured at fair 
value, with gains and losses recognized in net income (loss). Non-controlling interest put option 
is classified as FVTPL.

45

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

The Company initially recognizes debt securities issued and subordinated liabilities on the date 
that they are originated. All other financial liabilities (including liabilities designated at fair value 
through profit or loss) are recognized initially on the trade date at which the Company becomes 
a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

The Company derecognizes a financial liability when its contractual obligations are discharged or 
cancelled or expire.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount presented in the consolidated 
statements of financial position when, and only when, the Company has a legal right to offset the 
amounts and intends either to settle on a net basis or to realize the asset and settle the liability 
simultaneously.

The Company has the following non‑derivative financial liabilities: loans and borrowings, trade 
payables, and accrued and other liabilities. 

Such financial liabilities are recognized initially at fair value less any directly attributable 
transaction costs. Subsequent to initial recognition these financial liabilities are measured at 
amortized cost using the effective interest method.

(iv)  Share capital

Common voting shares are classified as equity. Incremental costs directly attributable to the issue 
of common voting shares are recognized as a deduction from equity, net of any tax effects.

(c)  Property and equipment

(i)  Recognition and measurement

Items of property and equipment are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and 
accumulated impairment losses. When parts of an item of property and equipment have different 
useful lives, they are accounted for as separate items (major components) of property and 
equipment. The costs of the day-to-day servicing of property and equipment are recognized in 
the consolidated statements of comprehensive income in the period in which they are incurred.

(ii)  Depreciation

Depreciation is recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income over the 
estimated useful lives of each part of an item of property and equipment in a manner which most 
closely reflects the expected pattern of consumption of the future economic benefits embodied 
in the asset. The estimated useful lives for the current and comparative periods are as follows:

ASSET

BASIS

Furniture and fixtures

Diminishing balance

Computer equipment

Diminishing balance

RATE

20%

30%

Leasehold improvements

Straight-line

Shorter of useful life or term of the lease

Automobiles

Diminishing balance

30%

46

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Depreciation methods, useful lives and residual values are reviewed at each financial year‑end and 
adjusted if appropriate.

(d)  Goodwill and intangible assets

(i)  Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price paid for the acquisition of subsidiaries over 
the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets acquired. Following the initial recognition, 
goodwill is measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. 

(ii)  Intangible assets

Intangible assets consist of acquired brands, customer relationships and contracts. Intangible 
assets acquired separately are measured on initial recognition at cost. The cost of identifiable 
intangible assets acquired in a business combination is equal to fair value as at the date of 
acquisition. Following initial recognition, identifiable intangible assets are carried at cost less any 
accumulated amortization and any accumulated impairment losses.

Definite life intangible assets are amortized from the date of acquisition or, for internally 
developed assets, from the time the asset is available for use. Amortization is recognized in 
the consolidated statements of comprehensive income either on a declining balance or on a 
straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset, and the residual values and useful 
lives of the assets are reviewed at each financial year‑end and adjusted if appropriate. 

Intangible assets are considered to have indefinite lives where management believes that there 
is no foreseeable limit to the period over which the intangible assets are expected to generate 
net cash flows.

(iii)  Computer software and software licenses

Computer software and software licenses are measured on initial recognition at cost. Following 
initial recognition, computer software and software licenses are carried at cost less any 
accumulated amortization and any accumulated impairment losses. Computer software is 
amortized on a straight-line basis over four years and software licenses are amortized over the 
shorter of the useful life of the license or the term of the license.

(e)  Impairment

(i)  Financial assets

A financial asset not carried at fair value through profit or loss is assessed at each reporting date 
to determine whether there is objective evidence that it is impaired. A financial asset is impaired 
if objective evidence indicates that a loss event has occurred after the initial recognition of 
the asset, and that the loss event had a negative effect on the estimated future cash and cash 
equivalents flows of that asset that can be estimated reliably.

At each reporting date, the Company assesses whether there is objective evidence that a 
financial asset is impaired. An impairment loss in respect of a financial asset measured at 
amortized cost is calculated as the difference between its carrying amount and the present 
value of the estimated future cash and cash equivalents flows discounted at the asset’s original 
effective interest rate. Losses are recognized in profit or loss and reflected in an allowance 
account against assets. Interest on the impaired asset continues to be recognized using the 
effective interest rate method. When a subsequent event causes the amount of impairment 
loss to decrease, the decrease in impairment loss is reversed up to the amount of original cost 
through profit or loss.

47

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

(ii)	 Non‑financial	assets

The carrying amounts of the Company’s non‑financial assets, other than deferred tax assets, are 
reviewed at each reporting date to determine whether there is any indication of impairment. 
If any such indication exists, then the asset’s recoverable amount is estimated. For goodwill, 
and intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives or that are not yet available for use, the 
recoverable amount is estimated each year at the same time.

The recoverable amount of an asset or cash and cash equivalents-generating unit is the 
greater of its value in use and its fair value less costs to sell. In assessing value in use, the 
estimated future cash and cash equivalents flows are discounted to their present value using 
a pre‑tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money 
and the risks specific to the asset. For the purpose of impairment testing, assets that cannot 
be tested individually are grouped together into the smallest group of assets that generates 
cash and cash equivalents inflows from continuing use that are largely independent of the 
cash and cash equivalents inflows of other assets or groups of assets (the “cash and cash 
equivalents-generating unit”, or “CGU”). For the purposes of goodwill impairment testing, 
goodwill acquired in a business combination is allocated to the CGU, or the group of CGUs, 
that is expected to benefit from the synergies of the combination. This allocation is subject to an 
operating segment ceiling test and reflects the lowest level at which that goodwill is monitored 
for internal reporting purposes.

The Company’s corporate assets do not generate separate cash and cash equivalents inflows. 
If there is an indication that a corporate asset may be impaired, then the recoverable amount is 
determined for the CGU to which the corporate asset belongs. 

An impairment loss is recognized if the carrying amount of an asset or its CGU exceeds its 
estimated recoverable amount. Impairment losses are recognized in profit or loss. Impairment 
losses recognized in respect of CGUs are allocated first to reduce the carrying amount of any 
goodwill allocated to the units, and then to reduce the carrying amounts of the other assets in 
the unit (group of units) on a pro rata basis.

An impairment loss in respect of goodwill is not reversed. In respect of other assets, impairment 
losses recognized in prior periods are assessed at each reporting date for any indications that the 
loss has decreased or no longer exists. An impairment loss is reversed if there has been a change 
in the estimates used to determine the recoverable amount. An impairment loss is reversed only 
to the extent that the asset’s carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would 
have been determined, net of depreciation or amortization, if no impairment loss had been 
recognized.

(f)  Trade payables, accrued and other liabilities

Trade payables include obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the 
ordinary course of business. Trade payables are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within 
one year or less and are recognized initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortized 
cost.

Accrued liabilities include accruals for salaries and compensation, and other obligations incidental 
to the Company’s normal business operations. They are classified as current when it is expected to 
be settled within one year of the reporting period date, and are recognized initially at fair value and 
subsequently measured at amortized cost.

48

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

(g)  Deferred revenue

Deferred revenue represents the excess of retainer amounts billed over costs incurred and revenue 
earned on service contracts. 

(h)  Insurance premium liabilities and related cash and cash equivalents

In its capacity as consultants, the Company collects premiums from insurers and remits premiums, net 
of agreed deductions, such as taxes, administrative fees and commissions, to insurance carriers. As 
the Company is acting in its capacity as consultants to collect and remit premiums from insurers to 
insurance underwriters, the Company is considered to have a legal right to offset premiums collected 
and corresponding liabilities. As such, the cash and cash equivalents and investment balances 
relating to these liabilities have been offset against the related liability in the Company’s consolidated 
statements of financial position.

(i)	 Employee	benefits

(i)	 Short‑term	employee	benefits

Short‑term employee benefit obligations are measured on an undiscounted basis and are 
expensed as the related service is provided.

A liability is recognized for the amount expected to be paid under short-term cash and cash 
equivalents bonus or profit‑sharing plans if the Company has a present legal or constructive 
obligation to pay this amount as a result of past service provided by the employee, and the 
obligation can be estimated reliably.

(ii)  Share‑based payment transactions

Share-based payments are comprised of equity-settled Employee Share Purchase Plan, 
equity-settled stock options, equity-settled performance-conditioned Restricted Stock Units and 
equity-settled Deferred Stock Units (collectively, “Equity-settled Awards”). Equity-settled Awards 
granted to employees and directors of the Company are measured at the fair value of the equity 
instruments at the grant date. The grant date fair value of Equity-settled Awards are granted 
to employees as a personnel expense, with a corresponding increase in equity, over the period 
that the Awards vest. The amount recognized as an expense is adjusted to reflect the number 
of Equity-settled Awards for which the related service and non-market vesting conditions are 
expected to be met, such that the amount ultimately recognized as an expense is based on the 
number of Equity-settled Awards that do meet the related service and non-market performance 
conditions at the vesting date. For Equity-settled Awards with non-vesting conditions, the grant 
date fair value of the share‑based payment is measured to reflect such conditions and there is no 
reconciliation for differences between expected and actual outcomes.

The Company’s contributions under its Employee Share Purchase Plan are expensed as incurred.

Equity-settled Awards to non-employees are measured at the fair value of the goods and 
services received unless that fair value cannot be estimated reliably, in which case they are 
measured at the fair value of the equity instrument granted and measured at the date the 
Company obtains the good or the counterparty renders the service.

49

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

(j)  Revenue recognition

Revenue includes fees and commissions generated from administrative, advisory and consulting 
services provided to clients. 

Generally, revenue from the rendering of services is recognized when the following criteria are met:

•  The amount of revenue can be reliably measured;

•  The stage of completion of services can be reliably measured;

•  The receipt of economic benefits is probable; and

•  Costs incurred and to be incurred can be reliably measured.

Concurrently with the above general principles, the Company applies the following specific revenue 
recognition policies:

Group benefit commission revenue from clients where advisory services and plan administration 
services are provided by the Company is generally received in advance and recorded as deferred 
revenue. Commission advances are recognized in income on a monthly basis based on the number 
of months for which the commission revenue was advanced, net of a provision for return commissions 
due to policy cancellation and adjustments. The provision is determined based on historical data.

Group benefit commission revenue from clients where the Company provides only advisory services 
is recognized in income at the effective or renewal date of the policy, net of a provision for return 
commissions due to policy cancellation and adjustments. The provision is determined based on 
historical data.

Fee revenue from administrative and consulting services is recognized as services are provided.

For fee revenue that is contingent on certain criteria being met, the revenue is not recognized until 
criteria has been met.

All other revenues are recognized as services are rendered by the Company. Other revenue includes 
investment income recorded on the accrual basis of accounting.

(k)	 Finance	income	and	finance	costs

Finance income comprises interest income on funds invested which is recognized as it accrues 
in profit or loss, using the effective interest method. Finance costs comprise interest expense on 
borrowings which are recognized in profit or loss using the effective interest method.

Foreign currency gains and losses are reported on a net basis.

(l) 

Income tax

Income tax expense comprises current and deferred tax. Current tax and deferred tax are recognized 
in profit or loss except to the extent that it relates to a business combination, or items recognized 
directly in equity or in other comprehensive income.

50

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Current tax is the expected tax payable or receivable on the taxable income or loss for the year, using 
tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the reporting date, and any adjustment to tax payable 
in respect of previous years.

Deferred tax is recognized in respect of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of 
assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for taxation purposes. 
Deferred tax is not recognized for the following temporary differences: the initial recognition of assets 
or liabilities in a transaction that is not a business combination and that affects neither accounting 
nor taxable profit or loss, and differences relating to investments in subsidiaries and jointly controlled 
entities to the extent that it is probable that they will not reverse in the foreseeable future. In 
addition, deferred tax is not recognized for taxable temporary differences arising on the initial 
recognition of goodwill. Deferred tax is measured at the tax rates that are expected to be applied to 
temporary differences when they reverse, based on the laws that have been enacted or substantively 
enacted by the reporting date. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset if there is a legally 
enforceable right to offset current tax liabilities and assets, and they relate to income taxes levied 
by the same tax authority on the same taxable entity, or on different tax entities, but they intend to 
settle current tax liabilities and assets on a net basis or their tax assets and liabilities will be realized 
simultaneously.

A deferred tax asset is recognized for unused tax losses, tax credits and deductible temporary 
differences, to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will be available against which 
they can be utilised. Deferred tax assets are reviewed at each reporting date and are reduced to the 
extent that it is no longer probable that the related tax benefit will be realized.

(m)  Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing income available to common shareholders by the 
weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. 

Diluted earnings per share is determined by adjusting the profit or loss attributable to common 
shareholders and the weighted average number of common shares outstanding, adjusted for own 
shares held, for the effects of all dilutive potential common shares, which comprise convertible notes 
and share options granted to employees.

(n)  New standards and interpretations not yet adopted

The Company has not early applied the following new and revised Standards and Interpretations that 
have been issued by IASB but are not yet effective:

IFRS 9, Financial Instruments (“IFRS 9”)
The IASB issued IFRS 9 as a single approach to determine whether a financial asset is measured at 
amortized cost or fair value, and replaces the multiple rules in IAS 39. The approach in IFRS 9 focuses 
on how an entity manages its financial instruments in the context of its business model, as well as the 
contractual cash and cash equivalents flow characteristics of the financial assets. The new standard 
also requires a single impairment method to be used, replacing the multiple impairment methods 
currently provided in IAS 39. The effective date is for annual periods beginning on or after  
January 1, 2018. 

The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting IFRS 9 on its financial statements and 
the extent of the impact of adoption of the standard has not yet been determined.

51

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

IFRS 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“IFRS 15”)
The IASB issued IFRS 15 to establish principles for reporting the nature, amount, timing and 
uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from an entity’s contracts with customers. It provides 
a single model in order to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The core 
principle of IFRS 15 is that an entity recognizes revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or 
services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be 
entitled in exchange for those goods and services. IFRS 15 also includes a cohesive set of disclosure 
requirements that would result in an entity providing comprehensive information about the nature, 
amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from the entity’s contracts with 
customers. This standard is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018 with 
earlier adoption permitted.

The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting IFRS 15 on its financial statements and 
the extent of the impact of adoption of the standard has not yet been determined.

(o)  Changes in accounting policies:

The Company has adopted the following revised standards on a prospective basis, along with any 
consequential amendments, effective September 1, 2014. These changes were made in accordance 
with the applicable transitional provisions.

IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements (“IAS 1”)
The IASB issued amendments to IAS 1. The amendments are part of the IASB’s Disclosure Initiative 
to improve presentation and disclosure requirements and to ensure entities are able to use judgment 
when preparing their financial statements. The amendments may impact presentation relating to 
materiality, presentation of financial position and profit or loss and other comprehensive income, and 
notes to the financial statements. These amendments are effective for annual periods beginning on 
or after January 1, 2016 and earlier application is permitted. The Company has early adopted IAS 
1 and has determined that early adoption did not result in a material impact on the results or the 
financial position of the Company. 

4.  BUSINESS ACQUISITIONS:

Effective June 12, 2015, the Company acquired Coughlin & Associates Ltd. (“Coughlin”), an independent 
full service national firm providing group benefit consulting, pension consulting, administrative solutions 
and claims management services to corporations, unions and public service organizations in Canada. The 
Company’s interest in Coughlin includes 100% voting interest through a class of voting preferred shares 
and 66% economic interest through a class of non-voting, non-cumulative, dividend-bearing shares of 
Coughlin (“Coughlin PC Shares”).

In connection with the Coughlin acquisition, the former Coughlin shareholders (the “Coughlin Vendors”) 
retained an initial 34% minority economic interest (“Coughlin Retained Economic Interest”) through a 
class of non-voting, non-cumulative, dividend-bearing shares of Coughlin (“Coughlin Vendor Shares”). 
In addition, certain of the Coughlin Vendors were issued a class of non-voting, non-cumulative, dividend 
bearing shares of Coughlin (“Coughlin Spring Shares”) in which they may increase their Coughlin 
Retained Economic Interest to 40% in five years, subject to certain specified terms and conditions having 
been met and subject to Coughlin achieving certain financial performance targets over the next five 
years, and thereby reducing the Company’s economic interest in Coughlin to 60%.

Commencing September 1, 2015, all classes of non-voting, non-cumulative, dividend-bearing shares of 
Coughlin have an ongoing contractual right to receive quarterly dividends based on a calculation derived 
from Coughlin’s earnings. The Company is entitled to a priority on the payment of dividends declared on 
the Coughlin dividend‑bearing shares to the extent of a specified earnings amount. 

52

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

In addition, the Company has the right to purchase the Coughlin Vendor Shares and the Coughlin Spring 
Shares (“Coughlin Call Option”) and individual Coughlin Vendors have the right to require the Company 
to purchase the Coughlin Vendor Shares and the Coughlin Spring Shares (collectively, the “Coughlin Put 
Options”) by giving notice to the Company. On the effective date of exercise of the Coughlin Call Option 
or the Coughlin Put Option, the Coughlin Vendor’s right to earn performance based dividends will be 
terminated (Note 11).

The Company accounted for this transaction as a business combination and has applied the acquisition 
method of accounting in accordance with IFRS 3. The recognized amounts of assets acquired and 
liabilities assumed in the transaction and the acquisition date fair value of the total consideration 
transferred are as follows:

Assets acquired and liabilities assumed

  Net working capital 

  Property and equipment

  Customer relationships 

  Goodwill (including assembled workforce)

  Post‑retirement benefits

  Deferred tax liabilities

Consideration paid or payable

  Cash payment on closing

  Common shares issued by the Company

  Working capital adjustment due to vendors

  Vendor take-back notes payable

  Non-controlling economic interest (“retained economic interest”)

$

641,759

446,000

25,855,000

25,930,637

(460,000)

(6,803,396)

$ 45,610,000

$ 26,375,000

2,500,000

27,000

1,189,000

15,519,000

$ 45,610,000

Total consideration paid is subject to final adjustments for working capital.

Further details as to consideration paid, including the fair value of certain components of contingent 
consideration are as follows:

•  626,566 common shares of the Company at a value of $3.99 per share, totaling $2,500,000 (Note 14);

•  Vendor take‑back notes payable with a face value of $1,350,000, payable in installments of $150,000 
in June 2016, and thereafter $300,000 annually until 2020. The notes payable were discounted at a 
rate of 4.4%, with a fair value of $1,189,000; and,

•  The retained economic interest comprises the Coughlin Vendor Shares and the Coughlin Spring 

Shares, which are classified as a liability due to their terms, including the put and call features. The fair 
value of these shares was determined using a discounted cash flow methodology, and based on the 
terms of the Coughlin Vendor Shares and the Coughlin Spring Shares. The key assumptions in valuing 
the retained economic interest include: estimated gross projected cash flows based on historical 
results and applying a growth factor; the dates at which the put options will be exercised by the 
holders; the likelihood of certain contingent milestones being reached; and, a discount rate of 16%.

53

 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Changes in fair value, arising from changes in assumptions and accretion of interest, of these estimated 
liabilities for consideration paid will be recorded in finance costs in the consolidated statements of 
comprehensive income in future periods.

The Company’s consolidated statements of comprehensive income include the result of operations for 
Coughlin from its date of acquisition to August 31, 2015.

Operating revenues

Net income and comprehensive income

AUG 31, 2015

AS REPORTED 
FOR COUGHLIN

PRO FORMA OF 
THE COMPANY

$ 4,239,888

$ 19,946,819

$  896,822

$  2,914,079

Pro forma balances represent management’s estimates of consolidated revenue and consolidated net 
income as if the acquisition had been completed on September 1, 2014. For the purposes of these pro 
forma balances, comprehensive income is equal to net income. Acquisition-related costs amounting 
to $1,528,133 (2014 ‑ $95,799) are not included as part of the consideration transferred and have 
been recognized as acquisition, integration and reorganization costs in the consolidated statements of 
comprehensive income.

5.  TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES:

The Company has the following trade and other receivables:

Trade receivables

Commission advances

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ 7,174,925

24,351

$ 7,199,276

$ 3,264,492

158,724

$ 3,423,216

Retainer amounts for which the related performance conditions have not yet been met are presented as 
deferred revenue (Note 9). The Company’s exposure to credit and currency risks, and impairment losses 
related to trade and other receivables is disclosed in note 20.

54

 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

6.  PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT:

The Company has the following property and equipment:

 LEASEHOLD  
IMPROVEMENTS

FURNITURE 
AND  
FIXTURES

COMPUTER 
EQUIPMENT

AUTOMOBILES

TOTAL

Cost

  Balance, August 31, 2013

$  540,542

$ 

782,217

$  1,218,918

$ 

  Additions

461,004

115,635

  Acquisition through business combination

44,681

-

165,332

46,641

  Balance, August 31, 2014

1,046,227

897,852

1,430,891

  Additions

331,454

235,533

  Acquisition through business combination

47,017

1,067,752

167,286

834,796

‑

-

-

-

-

$  2,541,677

741,971

91,322

3,374,970

734,273

35,000

1,984,565

  Balance, August 31, 2015

$ 1,424,698

$  2,201,137

$  2,432,973

$  35,000

$  6,093,808

Depreciation

  Balance, August 31, 2013

  Depreciation for the year

 Acquisition through business 
combination

$  (394,120)

$ 

(537,742)

$ 

(822,868)

$ 

(163,500)

(66,682)

(125,488)

(44,681)

-

(46,641)

  Balance, August 31, 2014

(602,301)

(604,424)

(994,997)

‑

-

-

-

$ (1,754,730)

(355,670)

(91,322)

(2,201,722)

  Depreciation for the year

(201,331)

(285,343)

(248,304)

(1,041)

(736,019)

 Acquisition through business 
combination

(38,537)

(790,893)

(726,518)

(17,299)

(1,573,247)

  Balance, August 31, 2015

$  (842,169)

$  (1,680,660)

$ (1,969,819)

$  (18,340)

$ (4,510,988)

Carrying amounts

  Balance, August 31, 2014

  Balance, August 31, 2015

$  443,926

$  582,529

$ 

$ 

293,428

520,477

$ 

$ 

435,894

463,154

$ 

‑

$  1,173,248

$  16,660

$  1,582,820

In accordance with IAS 38, Intangible Assets, computer software is being reported in Note 7.

55

 
 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

7.  GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS:

The Company has the following goodwill and intangible assets:

GOODWILL

CUSTOMER  
RELATIONSHIPS

CUSTOMER 
CONTRACTS

COMPUTER 
SOFTWARE

TOTAL

Cost

  Balance, August 31, 2013

$  29,552,558

$ 19,643,352

$  3,134,008

$ 

607,452

$  52,937,370

  Additions

  Disposals

 Acquisition through  
business combination

-

-

900,000

278,157

377,008

1,555,165

585,423

1,065,000

-

-

-

(22,320)

(22,320)

2,535

1,652,958

  Balance, August 31, 2014

30,137,981

21,608,352

3,412,165

964,675

56,123,173

  Additions

 Acquisition through  
business combination

-

308,461

93,945

324,871

727,277

25,930,637

25,855,000

-

1,209,581

52,995,218

  Balance, August 31, 2015

$  56,068,618

$ 47,771,813

$  3,506,110

$  2,499,127

$ 109,845,668

Amortization

  Balance, August 31, 2013

$ 

  Amortization for the year

 Acquisition through  
business combination

  Balance, August 31, 2014

  Amortization for the year

 Acquisition through  
business combination

  Balance, August 31, 2015

$ 

Carrying amounts

‑

-

-

-

-

-

‑

$  (3,599,811)

$ (1,853,372)

$ 

(403,505)

$ 

(5,856,688)

(2,110,533)

(308,092)

(105,301)

(2,523,926)

-

-

(2,535)

(2,535)

(5,710,344)

(2,161,464)

(511,341)

(8,383,149)

(2,689,396)

(329,905)

(180,032)

(3,199,333)

-

-

(1,175,494)

(1,175,494)

$  (8,399,740)

$ (2,491,369)

$ (1,866,867)

$ (12,757,976)

  Balance, August 31, 2014

$  30,137,981

$ 15,898,008

$  1,250,701

  Balance, August 31, 2015

$  56,068,618

$ 39,372,073

$  1,014,741

$ 

$ 

453,333

$  47,740,023

632,260

$  97,087,692

56

 
 
 
 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

The Company completed its annual impairment tests for goodwill and concluded that there was no 
impairment. For impairment test purposes, the carrying value of goodwill has been allocated as follows:

Coughlin & Associates Ltd. (Note 4)

Hamilton & Partners Ltd.

Bencom Financial Services Group Inc.

Other

AUG 31, 2015

$  25,930,637

11,600,184

3,913,752

14,624,045

AUG 31, 2014

$

 -

11,600,184

3,913,752

14,624,045

$ 56,068,618

$ 30,137,981

The key assumptions used to calculate the value in use are those regarding discount rates, growth rates 
and expected changes in margins. The values of these assumptions reflect past experience.

The weighted average cost of capital was determined to be in the range of 13.2% to 14.6%  
(August 31, 2014 ‑ 19.8% to 21.8%) and is based on a risk‑free rate, an equity risk premium adjusted for 
betas of comparable publicly-traded companies, an unsystematic risk premium, an after-tax cost of debt 
based on Company’s financing arrangements and the capital structure of the Company. 

Cash flow projections have been discounted using rates of return derived from Company’s after‑tax 
weighted average cost of capital considering specific risks relating to each CGU. At August 31, 2015,  
the after‑tax discount rates used in the recoverable amount calculations ranged from 13.2% to 14.6% 
(August 31, 2014 ‑ 19.8% to 21.8%). The pre‑tax discount rates ranged from 17.2% to 19.0%  
(August 31, 2014 ‑ 24.5% to 27.0%).

The Company included five years of cash flows in its discounted cash flow model. The cash flow forecasts 
were extrapolated beyond the five year period using estimated long term growth rate of 2.0%  
(August 31, 2014 ‑ 2.0%). 

8.  TRADE PAYABLES, ACCRUED AND OTHER LIABILITIES:

The Company has the following trade payables, accrued and other liabilities:

Trade payables and other liabilities

Contingent acquisition consideration

Post‑retirement benefits and other liabilities

Less current portion of trade payables, accrued and other liabilities

AUG 31, 2015

$  4,954,935

1,183,319

491,326

6,629,580

4,962,924

AUG 31, 2014

$  3,687,611

1,064,229

42,869

4,794,709

3,700,928

Total non-current accrued and other liabilities

$ 1,666,656

$ 1,093,781

57

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Amounts recognized as contingent acquisition consideration at August 31, 2015 represent the estimated 
undiscounted fair value of $1,308,793 (2014 ‑ $1,308,793) for potential additional future consideration 
related to the acquisition of Hamilton + Partners group of companies (“H+P”) on July 9, 2013. The 
estimate of additional future consideration is based on achieving financial targets for H+P and may be 
payable at 36, 48 and 60 months subsequent to the acquisition. The liability recognized in connection 
with the contingent consideration has been determined based on a pre‑determined formula defined in 
an agreement which is based on a multiple of estimated future earnings of H+P and other factors. The 
fair value of the liability in connection with the contingent consideration is determined by discounting 
the estimated future payment obligation at each reporting date. Changes in fair value of the estimated 
liability in future periods will be recorded in finance costs in subsequent consolidated statements of 
comprehensive income. For the year ended August 31, 2015 the Company recognized an adjustment to 
the fair value of the contingent consideration of $119,090 (2014 ‑ $114,025).

9.  DEFERRED REVENUE:

Deferred revenue is a non-cash liability which represents the excess of retainer amounts billed over costs 
incurred and revenue earned on service contracts. The Company has the following deferred revenue:

Fees received in advance

Less current portion of deferred revenue

Long-term portion of deferred revenue

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$  5,040,984

4,951,681

$ 

89,303

$  4,128,280

4,059,744

$ 

68,536

10.  INSURANCE PREMIUM LIABILITIES AND RELATED CASH  

AND CASH EQUIVALENTS:
In its capacity as third‑party benefits administrator, the Company collects premiums from insurers and 
remits premiums, net of agreed deductions, such as taxes, administrative fees and commissions, to 
insurance underwriters. These are considered flow‑through items for the Company and, as such, the cash 
and cash equivalents and investment balances relating to these liabilities are deducted from the related 
liability in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company has the following amounts held in accounts 
segregated from the Company’s operating funds for insurance premium liabilities.

Payable to carriers and insured individuals or groups

Less related cash and cash equivalents balances

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ 19,564,951

19,564,951

$ 

‑

$ 16,640,790

16,640,790

$ 

‑

58

 
 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

11. NON‑CONTROLLING INTEREST PUT OPTIONS:

The Company has the following non-controlling interest put options:

Balance, August 31, 2013 

Change in estimated fair value

Balance, August 31, 2014 

NOTE

COUGHLIN

H+P

BENCOM

TOTAL

$ 

‑ 

 - 

- 

$ 5,416,245 

$ 756,640 

$  6,172,885

393,695 

5,809,940 

94,871 

488,566

851,511

6,661,451

Acquisition through business combination 

4 

15,519,000 

- 

- 

15,519,000

Change in estimated fair value 

Balance, August 31, 2015 

(i)  Coughlin

423,013 

(13,184) 

58,789 

468,618

$ 15,942,013 

$ 5,796,756 

$ 910,300 

$  22,649,069

In connection with the acquisition of Coughlin (Note 4), the Company entered into various 
agreements whereby the Coughlin Vendors hold a minority economic interest in Coughlin through 
the ongoing right to receive quarterly dividends based on a calculation derived from Coughlin’s 
earnings. The Company is entitled to a priority on the payment of dividends declared on the 
Coughlin dividend‑bearing shares to the extent of a specified earnings amount. In addition, the 
Company has the right to purchase the Coughlin Vendor Shares and the Coughlin Spring Shares 
(“Coughlin Call Option”) and individual Coughlin Vendors have the right to require the Company to 
purchase the Coughlin Vendor Shares and the Coughlin Spring Shares (collectively, the “Coughlin 
Put Options”) by giving notice to the Company. On the effective date of exercise of the Coughlin 
Call Option or the Coughlin Put Option, the Coughlin Vendor’s right to earn performance based 
dividends will be terminated.

The liability recognized in connection with the Coughlin Retained Economic Interest, which includes 
the fair value of future dividend entitlements of the Coughlin Vendor Shares and Coughlin Spring 
Shares and the Coughlin Put Options, has been determined based on a pre-determined formula 
defined in an agreement which is based on a multiple of estimated future earnings of Coughlin, 
the estimated future exercise dates of Coughlin Put Options and other factors. Individual Coughlin 
Vendors are restricted from exercising their respective Coughlin Put Options until dates on or after 
August 2018, subject to certain terms and conditions including restrictions requiring minimum time 
period between individual exercise dates.

(ii)  H+P

In connection with the acquisition of H+P, the Company entered into various agreements 
whereby the H+P vendors hold an economic interest in H+P through the ongoing right to earn 
performance‑based commissions and fees. In addition, the H+P vendors hold ongoing ownership 
through non‑voting, non‑dividend earning special shares (“H+P Special Shares”). The Company has 
the right to purchase the H+P Special Shares (“H+P Call Option”) and the vendors have the right to 
require the Company to purchase the H+P Special Shares (“H+P Put Option”) at certain dates in the 
future, subject to certain vesting and other conditions. On the effective date of exercise of the H+P 
Call Option or the H+P Put Option, the H+P vendor’s right to earn performance‑based commissions 
and fees will be terminated.

59

 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

The liability recognized in connection with the H+P Put Option has been determined based on a 
pre‑determined formula defined in an agreement which is based on a multiple of estimated future 
earnings of H+P, the estimated future exercise dates and other factors. The H+P Put Option is 
restricted until July 2016, which is three years from the effective date of the agreement, but then 
may be exercisable at any time by the non‑controlling shareholder(s), subject to certain terms and 
conditions.

(iii)  Bencom

In connection with the acquisition of Bencom Financial Service Group Inc. (“Bencom”), the Company 
entered into various agreements whereby the vendors hold an economic interest in Bencom through 
the ongoing right to earn performance‑based commissions and fees. In addition, the vendors hold 
ongoing ownership through non‑voting, non‑dividend earning special shares (“Bencom Special 
Shares”). The Company has the right to purchase the Bencom Special Shares (“Bencom Call Option”) 
and the vendors have the right to require the Company to purchase the Bencom Special Shares 
(“Bencom Put Option”) at certain dates in the future, subject to certain vesting and other conditions. 
On the effective date of exercise of the Bencom Call Option or the Bencom Put Option, the Bencom 
vendor’s right to earn performance‑based commissions and fees will be terminated.

The liability recognized in connection with the Bencom Put Option has been determined based on 
a pre‑determined formula defined in an agreement which is based on a multiple of estimated future 
earnings of Bencom, the estimated future exercise dates and other factors. The Bencom Put Option 
is restricted until December 2015, which is three years from the effective date of the agreement, but 
then may be exercisable at any time by the non‑controlling shareholder(s), subject to certain terms 
and conditions.

The fair value of the liability associated with the non‑controlling put options is determined by 
discounting the estimated future payment obligation at each reporting date, and changes in fair value 
of the estimated liability in future periods will be recorded in finance costs in subsequent consolidated 
statements of comprehensive income. 

12. LOANS AND BORROWINGS:

The Company has the following loans and borrowings, which are measured at amortized cost:

Term loans

(a)

(b)

(c)

A bank loan bearing interest of prime plus 1.50% per annum, secured by 
the assets of the Company, repayable in quarterly installments of principal of 
$335,714 plus accrued interest. The loan was repaid in October 2014.

A bank loan bearing interest of prime plus an amount equal to 1.75% to 3.50% 
per annum subject to certain terms, secured by the assets of the Company, 
repayable in quarterly installments equal to 2.00% to 3.00% of the opening 
principal balance throughout the term of the agreement. The loan matures 
October 31, 2017 unless extended pursuant to the agreement.

A bank loan bearing interest of prime plus an amount equal to 1.75% to 3.50% 
per annum subject to certain terms, secured by the assets of the Company, to 
the extent not previously paid, the principal shall be due and payable on the 
maturity date. The loan matures October 31, 2017 unless extended pursuant to 
the agreement.

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

   $ 

‑

$ 6,057,143

6,580,000

15,775,000

‑

‑

Total term loans

22,355,000

6,057,143

60

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Vendor‑take‑back loans

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

(i)

(j)

A vendor-take-back loan bearing no interest per annum, unsecured, payable in 
two annual installments of $350,000. The amortized cost of the loan has been 
discounted using a rate of 6.43%. The loan was repaid on February 17, 2015.

A vendor-take-back loan bearing no interest per annum, unsecured, payable in 
three annual installments of $188,031. The amortized cost of the loan has been 
discounted using a rate of 6.43%. The loan matures on December 3, 2015.

A vendor-take-back loan bearing no interest per annum, unsecured, payable in 
two payments of $105,000 and $135,000, respectively. The amortized cost of 
the loan has been discounted using a rate of 5.76%. The loan matures June 14, 
2016.

A vendor-take-back loan bearing no interest per annum, unsecured, payable 
in three annual installments of $1,201,667. The amortized cost of the loan has 
been discounted using a rate of 6.43%. The loan matures on July 9, 2016.

A vendor-take-back loan bearing no interest per annum, unsecured, payable in 
three annual installments of $100,000. The amortized cost of the loan has been 
discounted using a rate equal to 5.80%. The loan matures on August 29, 2017.

A vendor-take-back loan bearing no interest per annum, unsecured, payable 
in monthly installments of $5,224. The amortized cost of the loan has been 
discounted using a rate of 6.43%. The loan matures on August 31, 2017.

A vendor-take-back loan bearing no interest per annum, unsecured, payable in 
five payments: $150,000 in the first year and $300,000 annually thereafter. The 
amortized cost of the loan has been discounted using a rate of 4.40%. The loan 
matures on June 12, 2020.

Total vendor‑take‑back loans

Finance lease liabilities

(k)

(l)

A finance lease repayable in monthly installments of $939 and secured by the 
assets to which the obligation relates. The lease expires August 1, 2015 and 
includes an implicit interest rate equal to 8.65%.

A finance lease repayable in monthly installments of $1,074 and secured by the 
assets to which the obligation relates. The lease expires December 1, 2015 and 
includes an implicit interest rate equal to 11.28%.

Total	finance	lease	liabilities

Less: current portion of:

  Term loans

  Vendor take-back loans

  Finance lease liabilities

-

346,476

186,137

358,619

230,197

217,659

1,141,168

2,213,392

186,928

272,183

117,284

170,564

1,189,000

3,050,714

-

3,578,893

‑

9,520

3,935

3,935

14,893

24,413

25,409,649

9,660,449

665,000

1,803,498

3,935

1,342,857

1,717,587

20,478

2,472,433

3,080,922

$ 22,937,216

$ 6,579,527

61

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

On October 31, 2014, the Company entered into an agreement with its senior lender, Canadian Imperial Bank 
of Commerce (“CIBC”), as lead lender of a syndicated loan facility, which included the following components:

1.  $5,000,000 revolving credit facility. As at August 31, 2015, the Company had not utilized this facility 

(August 31, 2014 ‑ nil).

2.  $23,000,000 term acquisition credit facility to fund future acquisitions. As at August 31, 2015, 

$15,775,000 (August 31, 2014 ‑ $6,057,143) was drawn down on the credit facility in connection with 
the acquisition of Coughlin. 

3.  $7,000,000 term credit facility installment loan which was used to refinance the acquisition facility 
balance outstanding under the previous agreement. As at August 31, 2015, the balance owing on 
this facility was equal to $6,580,000 (August 31, 2014 ‑ nil).

The agreement provides for an option (the “Accordion Feature”), subject to the satisfaction of certain terms 
and conditions, to increase the Acquisition Revolver by an additional $15,000,000 of capacity. The exercise of 
the option would result in the size of the Acquisition Revolver being increased to a maximum of $38,000,000 
and overall credit capacity being increased to a maximum of $50,000,000.

The new facility is secured by a general security agreement over the assets of the Company and its 
subsidiaries and is subject to covenants. The new facility replaced the Company’s previously existing credit 
facility originally entered into in 2011 and subsequently amended.

Finance lease liabilities are payable as follows:

FUTURE 
MINIMUM  
LEASE 
PAYMENTS

1-12 months

$ 4,028

13‑60 months

-

$ 4,028

AUG 31, 2015

PV OF  
MINIMUM  
LEASE 
PAYMENTS

FUTURE 
MINIMUM  
LEASE 
PAYMENTS

INTEREST

AUG 31, 2014

PV OF  
MINIMUM  
LEASE 
PAYMENTS

$ 3,935

$ 22,055

$ 1,577

$ 20,478

-

4,028

93

3,935

$ 3,935

$ 26,083

$ 1,670

$ 24,413

INTEREST

$ 93

-

$ 93

62

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

13.  INCOME TAXES:

Net income before income taxes

Statutory tax rate

Income taxes (recovery) at statutory tax rates

Adjustments to income taxes

  Non-deductible items

  Prior period deferred tax expense 

  Prior period current tax expense (recovery), net

  Change in rate at which temporary differences are recorded

  Change in estimate 

  Other

Current taxes

Deferred taxes

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$  2,271,819

$  2,726,485

26.57%

603,622

331,697

-

(10,526)

129

(47,520)

-

877,402

1,452,849

(575,447)

26.62%

725,790

340,546

81,610

(14,270)

729

14,222

36,997

1,185,624

1,894,600

(708,976)

The 2015 statutory tax rate differs from the 2014 statutory tax rate resulting from a change in the 
provincial allocation of gross revenue and wages.

Significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

$  877,402

$  1,185,624

Deferred tax assets

  Deferred financing costs

  Lease inducements

  Equity issue and financing costs

  Non-capital losses carried forward

  Cumulative eligible capital

  Other

Deferred tax liabilities

  Property and equipment

Intangible assets

  Other deferred tax liabilities

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ 

11,044

$ 

11,420

8,323

242,706

259,470

122,499

79,435

723,477

104,876

10,683,795

-

10,788,671

11,389

51,659

421,563

-

-

496,031

57,978

4,498,215

10,240

4,566,433

Net deferred tax liabilities

$  (10,065,194)

$ (4,070,402)

63

 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Movement in net deferred tax liabilities:

Balance, August 31, 2014

Recognized in the statement of income and comprehensive income

Share issue costs in equity

Recognized in business acquisitions (Note 4)

Other

Balance, August 31, 2015

14. SHARE CAPITAL:

(a)  Authorized

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ 

(4,070,402)

$ (4,493,737)

575,447

233,154

(6,803,396)

3

708,976

-

(275,401)

(10,240)

$ (10,065,194)

$ (4,070,402)

The Company has authorized share capital of an unlimited number of common voting shares with  
no par value.

(b)  Shares issued and outstanding

Shares issued and outstanding are as follows:

NOTE

NUMBER OF COMMON  
VOTING SHARES

AMOUNT

Balance, August 31, 2013

Private placement of shares

Exercise of stock options

Balance, August 31, 2014

Private placement of shares

Acquisition-related issuance of shares

Exercise of stock options

Balance, August 31, 2015

4

15(b)

33,027,193

$ 12,024,732

4,815,080

9,573,447

1,709,213

867,155

39,551,486

22,465,334

4,232,000

13,744,339

626,566

548,331

2,500,000

320,210

44,958,383

$ 39,029,883

On May 6, 2015, the Company closed a private placement offering of 4,232,000 shares at a price 
of $3.40 per share, which included the exercise in full of the Underwriter’s over‑allotment option of 
552,000 shares. The offering resulted in aggregate gross proceeds of $14,388,800 less share issuance 
and commission costs of $877,615 for net proceeds of $13,511,185. In addition, the Company 
recorded a deferred tax asset of $233,154 relating to share issuance and commission costs. 

In connection with the acquisition of Coughlin, the Company issued 626,566 common shares to the 
vendors for an aggregate value of $2,500,000.

64

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

(c)  Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share was calculated by dividing profit attributable to common shares by the sum 
of the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year.

Diluted earnings per share was calculated using the basic calculation described above, and adjusting 
for the potentially dilutive effect of the total number of additional common shares related to grants 
outstanding at August 31, 2015 that would have been issued by the Company under its stock option 
plans.

The following details the earnings per share, basic and diluted, calculations for the years ended 
August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014:

Net income (loss) attributable to common shares (basic and diluted)

Weighted average number of common shares (basic)

Add: Dilutive effect of stock options

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ 1,394,417

41,448,569

906,428

$ 1,540,861

35,540,710

1,891,772

Weighted average number of common shares (diluted)

42,354,997

37,432,482

Earnings per share (basic)

Earnings per share (diluted)

$ 

$ 

0.034

0.033

$ 

$ 

0.043

0.041

The average market value of the Company’s shares for the purposes of calculating the dilutive effect 
of share options was based on quoted market prices for the period during which the options were 
outstanding.

15. SHARE‑BASED PAYMENTS:

Effective March 6, 2015, the Company established a Security Based Compensation Plan replacing the 
Company’s existing Stock Option Plan. The new Plan provides for more flexibility in the granting of equity 
incentive awards. The Security Based Compensation Plan allows for the issuance of stock options, tandem 
stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units and deferred stock units. All option agreements entered 
into under the former Stock Option Plan will continue to be governed under the terms of the former 
Stock Option Plan. The Company’s Employee Share Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) is unaffected by the new 
Plan. 

Under the Security Based Compensation Plan, awards may be granted to any director, officer, employee 
or consultant of the Company or of any of its affiliates. Subject to the adjustment provisions provided 
for in the Security Based Compensation Plan and the applicable rules and regulations of all regulatory 
authorities to which the Company is subject (including the TSX Venture Exchange), the aggregate number 
of common shares reserved for issuance pursuant to the Security Based Compensation Plan cannot 
exceed 5,986,222, which number takes into account the common shares that are available for issuance 
under the ESPP and the Security Based Compensation Plan.

65

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

(a)  Employee share purchase plan

The Company has an ESPP whereby both employee and Company contributions are used to 
purchase shares on the open market for employees. The Company’s contributions are expensed 
as incurred as there is no vesting period. Under the plan, the Company matches $1 for every $4 
contributed by employee contributions of between 2% and 5% of annual base remuneration. 

At August 31, 2015, there were 174 participants (August 31, 2014 – 177) in the plan. The total 
number of shares purchased during the years ended August 31, 2015 on behalf of participants, 
including the Company contribution, was 230,738 shares (August 31, 2014 – 335,633 shares). 
During the year ended August 31, 2015, the Company’s matching contributions totalled 46,148 
shares (August 31, 2014 – 66,907 shares).

For the year ended August 31, 2015 the Company recorded an expense to recognize the 
matching contribution equal to $134,209 (August 31, 2014 – $124,184).

(b)  Stock option plans

Options may be granted to directors, officers, employees and service providers of the Company 
on terms that the directors of the Company may determine within the limitations set forth in 
the Security Based Compensation Plan or former Stock Option Plan or by security regulators. 
Options shall not be granted for a term exceeding eight years under the terms of the Security 
Based Compensation Plan or five years under the terms of the former Stock Option Plan. 

Changes in the number of options outstanding during the years ended August 31, 2015 and  
August 31, 2014, are as follows:

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

WEIGHTED 
AVERAGE 
EXERCISE 
PRICE 

OPTIONS

OPTIONS

WEIGHTED 
AVERAGE 
EXERCISE  
PRICE 

Balance, beginning of year

1,566,667

$  0.57

3,129,809

$  0.37

Granted

Exercised

Forfeited and expired

Balance, end of year

189,345

(548,331)

(100,002)

3.06

0.36

0.31

150,000

(1,709,213)

(3,929)

1.90

0.32

0.28

1,107,679

$  1.12

1,566,667

$  0.57

Options exercisable, end of year

701,664

883,328

66

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

For the year ended August 31, 2015, the Company received proceeds equal to $200,016  
(2014 ‑ $555,267) from the exercise of 548,331 (2014 ‑ 1,709,213) options. Related to these 
transactions, the Company transferred $120,195 (2014 ‑ $311,888) from contributed surplus  
to share capital.

Options outstanding at August 31, 2015 consist of the following:

RANGE OF  
EXERCISE PRICES

$ 0.25 ‑ $ 0.50

$ 0.51 ‑ $ 1.00

$ 1.01 ‑ $ 2.00

$ 2.01 ‑ $ 3.00

$ 3.01 ‑ $ 4.00

$ 4.01 ‑ $ 4.12

$ 0.25 ‑ $ 4.12

NUMBER 
OUTSTANDING

REMAINING 
CONTRACTUAL  
LIFE

475,000

293,334

125,000

190,313

10,000

14,032

1,107,679

1.46 years

2.67 years

3.46 years

4.30 years

7.74 years

7.87 years

2.63 years

WEIGHTED 
AVERAGE 
EXERCISE  
PRICE

$ 0.41

0.63

1.71

2.92

3.83

4.11

NUMBER 
EXERCISABLE

475,000

176,666

41,665

8,333

-

-

$ 1.12

701,664

The share option compensation expense for options issued to employees was determined based 
on the fair value of the options at the date of measurement using the Black-Scholes option 
pricing model (Note 18) with the following weighted average assumptions:

Expected option life

Risk-free interest rate

Dividend yield

Forfeiture rate

Volatility factor of expected market price of the Company’s shares

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

5.00 years

5.00 years

0.90%

nil

5.72%

64.94%

1.61%

nil

6.38%

76.72%

For awards that vest at the end of a vesting period, compensation cost is recognized on a 
straight-line basis over the period of service. For awards subject to graded vesting, each 
installment is treated as a separate award with separate fair value and a separate vesting period. 
The estimated forfeiture rate is adjusted to actual forfeiture experience as information becomes 
available.

The expected life of the share options is based on historical data and current expectations and 
is not necessarily indicative of exercise patterns that may occur. Volatility is determined based on 
the five‑year share price history. The expected volatility reflects the assumption that the historical 
volatility over a period similar to the life of the options is indicative of future trends, which may 
also not necessarily be the actual outcome.

67

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

(c)  Performance‑conditioned Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”)

The Company has conditionally granted RSUs (payable in cash or shares of the Company’s 
common stock at the discretion of the Board of Directors) to designated management 
employees, that may be earned at the end of a one-year performance period, based on each 
fiscal year (“the performance period”), subject to achieving certain financial metrics for the 
performance period. In order to earn RSUs a minimum threshold must be achieved, with the 
maximum number of RSUs being earned upon achievement of the target. During the year 
ended August 31, 2015, the Company conditionally granted 38,568 RSUs related to the fiscal 
year. Any RSUs earned are scheduled to vest on August 31, 2017, conditional upon continued 
employment with the Company until such date.

(d)  Deferred Stock Units (“DSUs”)

Independent members of the Company’s Board of Directors are paid a portion of their annual 
retainer in the form of DSUs, which vest on the date determined by the Board of Directors. They 
may also elect to receive up to 100% of their remaining cash remuneration in the form of DSUs. 
The underlying security of DSUs are the Company’s common shares, which are valued based 
on their volume weighted average closing price for the ten trading days prior to the date on 
which the DSUs are granted. The DSUs will be settled by the issuance of common shares by the 
Company unless, subject to the consent of the Company, the Director elects to receive cash in 
lieu of common shares.

Granted

Balance, end of year

NUMBER OF DSUs

9,730

9,730

AUG 31, 2015
AMOUNT

$ 40,000

$ 40,000

For the year ended August 31, 2015 the Company recorded an expense to recognize Equity‑
settled Awards granted to employees and directors of the Company equal to $218,689  
(August 31, 2014 – $175,733).

16. FINANCE EXPENSES:

The Company’s finance expenses for the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 were 
comprised of the following:

Interest and finance costs on long‑term debt

12

$ 

829,544

$ 

705,246

NOTE

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

Other finance costs, net

Non‑cash finance costs

  Accretion expense on vendor-take-back loans

  Accretion on contingent acquisition consideration

  Change in estimated fair value of non-controlling interest put option

12

8

11

46,229

48,481

185,209

119,090

304,299

468,618

772,917

286,419

114,025

400,444

488,566

888,910

$ 1,648,690

$ 1,642,637

68

 
PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

17. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS:

Fair Value Measurement

The Company’s financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss include cash and cash 
equivalents, contingent consideration, and non-controlling interest put options. The valuation techniques 
used to measure level 2 and level 3 financial instruments are described in the referenced notes.

The following presents the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis and 
categorized by hierarchy level:

(QUOTED PRICES 
IN AN ACTIVE 
MARKET FOR 
IDENTICAL  
ASSETS)
LEVEL 1

NOTE

(SIGNIFICANT  
OTHER  
OBSERVABLE 
INPUTS)
LEVEL 2

(SIGNIFICANT  
OTHER  
UNOBSERVABLE 
INPUTS) 
LEVEL 3

$  6,514,734

$ 

-

-

$  2,750,465

$ 

-

-

‑

-

-

‑

-

-

$ 

‑

1,183,319

22,649,069

$ 

‑

1,064,229

6,661,351

8

11

8

11

August 31, 2015:

  Cash and cash equivalents

  Contingent acquisition consideration

  Non-controlling interest put options

 August 31, 2014:

  Cash and cash equivalents

  Contingent acquisition consideration

  Non-controlling interest put options

The carrying value of the Company’s trade and other receivables, trade payables, accrued and other 
liabilities approximate their fair values due to the immediate or short term maturity of these instruments. 
The carrying value of the long term debt approximates its fair value as the interest rates are consistent 
with the current rates offered to the Company for debt with similar terms.

Level 1 

 Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market 
for the asset of liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with 
sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.

Level 2 

 Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar assets or 
liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or 
can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or 
liabilities.

Level 3 

 Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to 
the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

Fair value through profit or loss financial instruments are measured at fair value using Level 1 inputs for 
cash and cash equivalents and Level 3 inputs for non‑controlling interest put options and contingent 
acquisition consideration.

69

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

18. DETERMINATION OF FAIR VALUES:

A number of the Company’s accounting policies and disclosures require the determination of fair value, 
for both financial instruments and non‑financial assets and liabilities. Fair values have been determined 
for measurement and/or disclosure purposes based on the following methods. When applicable, further 
information about the assumptions made in determining fair values is disclosed in the notes specific to 
that asset or liability.

(a)  Property and equipment

The fair value of property and equipment recognized as a result of a business combination is based 
on market values. The market value of property is the estimated amount for which a property could 
be exchanged on the date of valuation between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm’s length 
transaction after proper marketing wherein the parties had each acted knowledgeably and willingly.

(b)  Intangible assets

The fair value of customer contracts and customer relationships is based on the discounted cash 
flows expected to be derived from the use and eventual sale of the assets.

(c)  Share‑based payment transactions

The fair value of the employee share options and the share appreciation rights is measured using 
the Black-Scholes formula. Measurement inputs include share price on measurement date, exercise 
price of the instrument, expected volatility (based on weighted average historic volatility adjusted 
for changes expected due to publicly available information), weighted average expected life of 
the instruments (based on historical experience and general option holder behaviour), expected 
dividends, and the risk-free interest rate (based on government bonds). Service and non-market 
performance conditions attached to the transactions are not taken into account in determining fair 
value.

(d)  Non‑controlling interest put option

The fair value of the non-controlling interest put option has been determined by discounting 
estimated future cash flows based on an appropriate discount rate. The estimated future cash flows 
are calculated based on pre‑determined formulas as defined in the purchase agreements which are 
based on a multiple of estimated future earnings, estimated future exercise dates and other factors. 

19. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:

(a)  Contractual obligations

The Company leases premises and various office equipment under agreements which expire on 
various dates up to May 2019. Future minimum lease payments as at August 31, 2015 are as follows:

Next 12 months

13 ‑ 24 months

25 ‑ 36 months

37 ‑ 48 months

49 ‑ 60 months

70

$ 1,815,844

1,707,610

1,314,248

762,836

442,363

$ 6,042,901

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

(b)  Contingencies

In the ordinary course of operating the Company’s business it may from time to time be subject to 
various claims or possible claims. Management is of the position that there are no claims or possible 
claims that if resolved would either individually or collectively result in a material adverse impact on 
the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. These matters are inherently 
uncertain and management’s view of these matters may change in the future.

20. FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT:

The Company has exposure to the following risks from its use of financial instruments:

 Interest risk

• 
•  Credit risk
•  Liquidity risk

This note presents information about the Company’s exposure to each of the above risks, the Company’s 
objectives, policies and processes for measuring and managing risk, and the Company’s management of 
capital. Further quantitative disclosures are included throughout these consolidated financial statements.

(a)  Interest Rate Risk

Interest rate risk is the risk that the fair value or future cash and cash equivalents flows of a 
financial instrument will fluctuate because of changes in market interest rates. Financial assets and 
financial liabilities with variable interest rates expose the Company to cash and cash equivalents 
flow interest rate risk. Financial assets and financial liabilities that bear interest at fixed rates are 
subject to fair value interest rate risk. The Company’s term loans bear interest at variable rates 
and vendor-take-back loans are non-interest bearing. The carrying value of the long term debt 
approximates its fair value as the interest rates are consistent with the current rates offered to the 
Company for debt with similar terms.

The Company has identified an exposure to fair value variation in relation to variable interest term 
loans. The Company does not use financial derivatives to decrease its exposure to interest risk. For 
the year ended August 31, 2015, a change in interest rate relating to loans and borrowings of 1% 
would have increased or decreased interest expense by approximately $175,000 (2014 ‑ $145,000).

(b)  Credit Risk

Credit risk arises from the potential that a counter party will fail to perform its obligations.  
The Company is exposed to credit risk from customers. In order to reduce its credit risk, the 
Company reviews a new customer’s credit history before extending credit and conducts regular 
reviews of its existing customers’ credit performance. An allowance for doubtful accounts is 
established based upon factors surrounding the credit risk of specific accounts, historical trends 
and other information. The Company has experienced few bad debt write offs and accordingly its 
allowance at August 31, 2015 is $19,005 (2014 ‑ nil).

71

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

Pursuant to their respective payment terms, consolidated trade receivable are aged as follows as at 
August 31, 2015:

Current

31 – 60 days past due

61 – 90 days past due

Over 91 days past due

Allowance for doubtful accounts

(c)  Liquidity Risk

$ 6,390,284

477,371

270,969

79,657

7,218,281

(19,005)

$ 7,199,276

Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company would not be able to meet its financial obligations as they 
come to maturity or can only do so at excessive costs. Based on the Company’s ability to generate 
cash and cash equivalents flows through its ongoing operations, management believes that cash and 
cash equivalents flows are sufficient to cover its known operating and capital requirements, as well 
as its debt servicing costs. The Company manages its cash and cash equivalents resources through 
ongoing financial forecasts and anticipated cash and cash equivalents flows.

The maturity dates of the Company’s financial liabilities as at August 31, 2015 are as follows:

CARRYING
AMOUNT

CONTRACTUAL
CASH FLOWS 

MATURING  
IN THE NEXT 
12 MONTHS

MATURING 
IN 13 TO 36 
MONTHS 

MATURING 
IN 37 TO 60 
MONTHS

MATURING 
MORE THAN 
60 MONTHS

Trade payables and
accrued liabilities

$  6,629,580

$  7,038,054

$ 5,004,924

$  1,458,130

$  126,000

$  449,000

Loans and borrowings

25,409,649

25,663,937

2,611,323

17,042,614

5,410,000

600,000

$ 32,039,229

$ 32,701,991

$ 7,616,247

$ 18,500,744

$  5,536,000

$ 1,049,000

21. CAPITAL MANAGEMENT:

The Company views its capital as the combination of its cash and cash equivalents, long-term debt, 
and shareholders’ equity, which as at August 31, 2015 was equal to $62,974,305 (August 31, 2014 ‑ 
$32,931,914). The Company’s primary objective when managing capital is to safeguard the entity’s ability 
to continue as a going concern while supporting the growth of the Company’s business through organic 
growth and new acquisitions.

The Company manages the capital structure and makes adjustments to it in accordance with the 
aforementioned objective, as well as taking into consideration changes in economic conditions and the 
risk characteristics of the underlying assets. To maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Company may 
issue new or repurchase existing shares and assume new or repay existing debt.

The credit facilities require the Company to maintain certain financial covenants. Management also uses 
these ratios as key indicators in managing the Company’s capital. The Company complied with all the 
required financial covenants at August 31, 2015.

72

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

22. RELATED PARTIES:

(a)  Key management personnel compensation

Key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, 
directing and controlling the activities of the Company. The Board of Directors and Officers are key 
management personnel. In addition to their salaries, the Company also provides non-cash and cash 
equivalents benefits and participation in the Employee Share Purchase Plan (Note 15(a)) and Security 
Based Compensation Plan (Note 15(b)).

The following table details the compensation paid to key management personnel during the year 
ended August 31, 2015 and 2014:

Salaries, fees and short‑term employee benefits

$ 1,279,078

$ 1,569,695

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

Share-based payments

186,626

122,977

$ 1,465,704

$ 1,692,672

(b)  Key management personnel and director transactions

As at August 31, 2015, directors and key management personnel owned 19.06%  
(August 31, 2014 ‑ 24.50%) of the voting shares of the Company.

As at August 31, 2015, the Company engages in transactions with Directors and key management 
personnel of the Company. All the transactions are in the normal course of operations and are 
measured at the exchanged amount, which is the consideration agreed to by the parties.

23. EXPENSES BY NATURE:

The Company’s expenses for the year ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 were comprised  
of the following:

Personnel and compensation

General and administrative

Occupancy

Administration fees

Public company costs

Depreciation, amortization and impairment losses

Finance expenses

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$  29,132,600

$  26,501,987

7,438,743

2,447,378

2,080,553

338,119

4,531,973

2,156,215

1,845,251

269,960

41,437,393

35,305,386

3,935,352

1,648,690

2,901,427

1,642,637

$ 47,021,435

$  39,849,450

73

PEOPLE CORPORATION
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 

The Company’s operating expenses and acquisition, integration and reorganization costs, as reported on 
the statement of comprehensive income, for the year ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 were 
comprised of the following:

Operating expenses

Acquisition, integration and reorganization costs

AUG 31, 2015

AUG 31, 2014

$ 39,909,260

1,528,133

$ 41,437,393

$ 35,209,587

95,799

$ 35,305,386

Certain employees of the Company participate in a defined contribution pension plan. Contributions to 
the plan by the Company totalled $31,433 for the year ended August 31, 2015 (2014 – $27,292). 

Employee benefits totalled $2,637,982 for the year ended August 31, 2015 (2014 – $2,106,838). These 
amounts are included in the personnel and compensation expense in these consolidated financial 
statements.

For the year ended August 31, 2015 the Company incurred $1,528,133 (2014 ‑ $95,799) of acquisition, 
integration and reorganization costs. Acquisition, integration and reorganization costs are comprised of 
professional fees and other non‑recurring incremental costs incurred to secure and complete specific 
acquisitions, non-operating outlays associated with integrating acquired operations into the Company`s 
business model subsequent to completion of an acquisition, and non-recurring outlays including 
consulting and recruiting fees and severance costs associated with reorganization of operations.

24. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS:

On October 19, 2015, under its Security Based Compensation Plan, the Company’s Board of Directors 
has granted equity incentive awards to certain independent directors and executive management of the 
Company. In particular, the company granted:

•  34,205 stock options to independent directors with an exercise price of $3.59 per option, having 

terms of eight years, vesting over a period of three years and otherwise subject to the terms of the 
Security Based Compensation Plan;

•  16,712 deferred stock units to independent directors, vesting immediately and otherwise subject to 

the terms of the Security Based Compensation Plan; and

•  110,724 restricted stock units, subject to performance conditions, to certain executive management, 
vesting after three years and otherwise subject to the terms of the Security Based Compensation Plan.

In addition to the above, the Company’s Board of Directors granted 166,135 stock options to 
management with an exercise price of $3.59 per option, having terms of eight years, vesting over a 
period of three years and otherwise subject to the terms of the Security Based Compensation Plan.

25. COMPARATIVE FIGURES:

Certain prior period balances have been reclassified to conform with the current year presentation.  
These reclassifications do not affect prior period’s net income.

74

NOTES

75

NOTES

76

C O R P O R AT E   I N F O R M AT I O N

EXECUTIVE 
MANAGEMENT TEAM:

Laurie Goldberg, Chief Executive Officer

Bonnie Chwartacki, President 

Brevan Canning, Executive Vice President, Benefit Solutions

Lisa Villani, Executive Vice President, Consulting Solutions

Keith McMahon, Chief Financial Officer

Glenn Pittman, Vice President Corporate Development

Dave Young, Vice Chair, Corporate Initiatives

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Laurie Goldberg, Chairman

Scott Anderson, Lead Director

Richard Leipsic

Eric Stefanson

CORPORATE OFFICES: Executive Head Office:

1800 - 360 Main Street

Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3C 3Z3 Canada

Registered Office:

c/o McMillan LLP, 181 Bay Street, Suite 4400

Toronto, Ontario  M5J 2T3 Canada

LEGAL COUNSEL: McMillan LLP

Brookfield Place

181 Bay Street, Suite 4400

Toronto, Ontario  M5J 2T3  Canada

AUDITORS: MNP LLP

701 - 85 Richmond Street West 

Toronto, Ontario  M5H 2C9  Canada

TRANSFER AGENT: TMX Equity Transfer Services

200 University Avenue, Suite 300

Toronto, Ontario  M5H 4H1 Canada

LISTING: Stock Exchange: TSX-V

Symbol: PEO

ANNUAL  
GENERAL MEETING:

February 24, 2016

3:00 PM Central Standard Time

Suite 1800, 360 Main Street

Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3C 3Z3 Canada

EXECUTIVE HEAD OFFICE:

1800 – 360 Main Street

Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3C 3Z3  Canada

REGISTERED OFFICE:

c/o McMillan LLP

181 Bay Street, Suite 4400

Toronto, Ontario  M5J 2T3  Canada