Adam Morke, CPA, CA, TEP

Partner, Tax Specialist

Adam is passionate about tax. His education and experience have given him a broad knowledge base in both Canadian and international tax matters allowing him to advise business owners, high net worth individuals, and non-residents of Canada on a wide range of tax matters.  Adam is also a designated Trust and Estate Specialist (TEP). TEP is recognized worldwide as a way to formally distinguish qualified practitioners from non-specialists who only occasionally deal with trusts and estates.

Adam is a sought after speaker who presents at industry conferences including most recently:

• CPA Ontario’s Practice Management & Tax Summit – “Estate and Succession Planning” (October 2021)

How Adam Can Help You

Business Owners and High Net Worth Individuals:

Adam has helped business owners and high net worth individuals with:

• Estate planning
• Corporate reorganizations
• Business succession planning – Passing on a family business to the next generation
• Asset protection
• Post-mortem tax planning – Reducing or eliminating the double tax on death faced by shareholders of private corporations
• Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) disputes including audits and objections to (re)assessments
• Departure tax planning – Ceasing to be a resident of Canada for income tax purposes

Non-residents of Canada:

Adam has assisted non-residents of Canada in areas including:

• Expansion into Canada – Advising non-resident businesses expanding into Canada on Canadian income tax, GST/HST (sales tax), and payroll obligations
• Activities in Canada – When does a non-resident company need to file or collect tax in Canada? What are your obligations if you send an employee to Canada?
• Sale of Canadian real estate by non-residents of Canada – How do you reduce the tax withheld by the purchaser and reduce the Canadian income tax on the sale?

Education and Career Path

Adam graduated from Brock University with a Bachelor of Accounting (First-class honours). He is a Chartered Accountant, a Chartered Professional Accountant, and a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP).  Adam has completed both the In-Depth Income Tax Course (Parts 1-3) and the In-Depth GST/HST Course offered by CPA Canada. Adam has also completed CPA Canada’s Advanced Tax Issues for the Owner-Managed Business course dealing with estate and succession planning for owner-managed businesses.

Adam is a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP Canada).

Adam started his career at Stern Cohen in 2007 where he obtained his accounting designations before moving to a Canadian and International Tax Specialist firm to focus on domestic and international tax planning. Adam returned to Stern Cohen in 2014 as a Tax Manager and became a Partner in 2018.

Outside of Work

Outside of work, Adam fundraises and runs for the worthy causes of United Way Toronto, Camp Oochigeas, and the Terry Fox Foundation. He is a loyal Toronto Blue Jays’ fan and was fortunate enough to be at the infamous “bat flip” game at which the Jays defeated the Texas Rangers to clinch the American League Division Series. Go Jays!

What do clients appreciate about you?

I’m straight to the point, have a sense of humour, and provide practical solutions.

What is your greatest professional achievement?

Successfully objecting to large reassessments of corporate income tax, HST, and personal income tax resulting from a tax audit. The reassessments were vacated (ie. dismissed in whole).

What’s the most rewarding thing about being an accountant?

Knowing I’ve helped a client achieve their goal in a tax efficient manner whether it’s funding their children’s post-secondary education, selling their business, or helping them retire in a warm climate.

What’s different about Stern Cohen?

The people. You will notice this is a reoccurring answer if you view the profiles of my colleagues and for good reason. Stern Cohen hires smart, well-rounded, caring people. For clients this means you’ll always have someone at your fingertips who is knowledgeable, professional, and friendly.