Smart building technology, new workplace models, sustainability requirements and the need for affordable living spaces are driving rapid disruption and change in the BCRE industry. But stakeholders must also deal with other factors beyond their control: rising costs, rising interest rates, supply chain disruptions and the need to keep up with Industry 4.0 and Web3. While this presents new challenges for the industry, it’s also an opportunity to evolve, innovate and gain competitive advantage.

Embracing tools like PropTech, blockchain and artificial intelligence can help create efficiencies —from predicting the market value of properties to automating property management systems. But many property developers, construction companies and real estate operators lack clear direction on how to integrate technology and data into their existing processes and future-proof their business models.

Those who can do this well will gain an edge in a highly competitive market, helping them reduce costs, mitigate risk and discover insights. But they need to understand how to govern this data and ensure its integrity to maximize any benefits. Turning data into insights will underpin any efforts around PropTech and ESG, and play a critical role in cybersecurity, privacy and compliance. For example, as a heavy carbon emitter, the BCRE industry will need data analytics to comply with ESG standards and drive sustainability efforts.

How we can help

With our cross-functional capabilities and breadth of services, KPMG can help you master new technologies, drive digital innovation, gain insights from your operational data and stay on top of regulatory changes, including ESG. We combine this advice with our long-standing expertise in structuring transactions, addressing regulatory and financial reporting requirements, assessing real estate strategies and providing general business advice, all supported by our robust legal capability to help balance your growth objectives with proper risk management and corporate governance.

Our BCRE practice serves public, entrepreneurial, institutional and international clients who own, operate and develop real estate in all asset classes in Canada and abroad. We have built one of the nation’s largest real estate practices, and our audit, tax and advisory professionals have the industry experience, technical skills and regulatory background to help your organization reach your full potential.

By combining our in-depth knowledge of the Canadian industry with the global reach of KPMG International’s member firms, we help our clients address today’s complex issues while maintaining focus on the opportunities of tomorrow through various accounting, tax and consulting services. Here are just some of the services we offer on the issues that matter most to you.

A leader in real estate financial reporting, we assist clients with their financial accounting, regulatory, and compliance reporting requirements under all relevant frameworks, including IFRS, ASPE, Canadian and US GAAP. Whether it’s understanding new accounting standards or transitioning to an entirely new framework, our accounting advisory professionals can help you organize your financial reporting processes and ensure your accounting operations match the objectives of your business.

Our integrated tax team can help you understand the tax implications when it comes to holding, buying, and selling real estate. From addressing tax legislative changes to identifying tax efficient planning opportunities, our specialists support our clients through various tax services including personal tax, Canadian and US corporate tax, transfer pricing, and wealth preservation. In addition, our legal specialists are integrated into our tax team and can help in every aspect of the real estate deal lifecycle.

Whether it’s helping accelerate decarbonization plans, identifying metrics for ESG reporting, or developing a social impact investing strategy, our professionals can help embed ESG practices into every stage of the property lifecycle and build ESG considerations into your portfolio.

Our integrated finance transformation processes provide an analytics-driven framework that can help improve performance and transparency, enhance decision-making, and enable better use of capital in the finance function. From digital strategy and transformation, cloud integration, and the incorporation of new PropTechs and ConTechs, our technology consulting specialists can implement a robust technology strategy to transform organizations into digitally enabled businesses.

We help real estate and construction organizations unlock the value of their data, enabling them to make better, faster and more confident business decisions. Leveraging the latest data analytics, intelligent automation and artificial intelligence technologies, our team can deliver tailored solutions to help clients with their business goals, including gaining greater control over asset operations within their properties and across their portfolios.

Our valuations team works collaboratively with our core audit team to assess the fair value of your real estate portfolio. By adopting a holistic valuation approach, our team of certified appraisers can service any engagements that require a valuation element, including tax, legal and financial reporting. Whether your needs are local or international, our sophisticated, tailored valuation techniques can help you make optimal decisions for your business.

Our cyber security professionals help create a resilient and trusted digital world in an age where data is drastically increasing through the rise of smart buildings and interconnected technologies. In addition to assessing your cyber security and aligning it to your business priorities, our team can help create advanced cyber programs, challenge and validate your defensible security posture, and help detect and respond effectively to cyber incidents.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

KPMG in Canada combines the responsiveness of a small firm with the strategic perspective of a large global network to serve our construction and real estate clients. We’ve built one of the nation’s largest BCRE practices, comprising audit, tax and advisory professionals who focus exclusively on this industry.

Our specialists have a proven track record of supporting real estate clients in the implementation of their growth strategies throughout Canada, the U.S. and globally. We have expertise in areas such as complex accounting, tax advisory, due diligence, M&A, transaction advisory, capital asset planning, development feasibility, real estate valuation, finance function transformation, cyber security and ESG.

Our BCRE practice is the result of a persistent effort of more than 40 years to forge one of the largest and strongest full-service practices among the top professional service providers. Our solid multi-disciplined real estate knowledge is the cornerstone of developing an efficient and cost-effective approach to the services we provide to our clients.

We have dedicated extensive resources to becoming one of the leading service providers to real estate clients. We have the resources and capabilities—embodied in our experienced professionals—well-established processes, industry knowledge and thought leadership, and an extensive Canadian, U.S. and global network to meet client needs. We understand the industry on the local, national and global levels.

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