Partner

Audrey Gibeault (lawyer, CPA, M.Fisc., TEP, FEA) is a partner in the Business Law group and head of the tax team.

In addition to having a practice focusing primarily on tax law and having a master?s degree in taxation, she is also a chartered accountant, which allows her to act as a multidisciplinary advisor to her clients.

As a legal partner and trusted business advisor, she assists clients in planning and implementing complex and innovative commercial, corporate and tax structures. Her clients are loyal to her and entrust her with their most important transactions, including acquisitions, the sale of their businesses, implementation of profit-sharing plans for their employees, creation of discretionary family trusts and estate planning.

Audrey leverages her entrepreneurial spirit and remarkable ability to communicate in layman?s terms to help senior managers and entrepreneurs achieve their business goals. She makes use of her extensive expertise in law, accounting, taxation and knowledge of market trends when negotiating and implementing transactions, strategic alliances and commercial agreements for her clients, including shareholders? agreements.

She also advises a large number of family businesses on various projects involving issues specific to shareholders? agreements, family hiring policies and family shareholding policies, in addition to specializing in the transfer of businesses from generation to generation (e.g.,  gen 1 to gen 2, gen 2 to gen 3). She frequently works in multidisciplinary teams with other advisors to better understand family dynamics and provide advice in consultation with other professionals helping the family.

She has a passionate personality and a very practical side, enabling her to give effective and persuasive advice.

Audrey also has good oratorical skills, making her an outstanding speaker. Audrey is frequently asked to provide training or courses on various topics related to her areas of practice.

Representatives mandates

• Taxation and legal advisor in numerous complex multi-generational family business transfers
• Advisor to Agile MV Inc. shareholders on the sale of all of its shares to the U.S.-based investment fund Resonetics LLC
• Advisor for shareholders of a major technology company in the sale of its shares to a UK company, in which an innovative tax planning strategy was implemented to defer income tax that would otherwise have applied on the consideration to be received as shares of the UK company
• Advisor in the implementation of several types of incentive plans, including employee trusts and a stock option plan
• Advisor in the implementation of profit-sharing plans for several key employees, including rebalancing shareholding percentages in favour of key employees (management buy-out)
• Representation of foreign clients wishing to do business in Canada
• Representation of several U.S. companies doing business in Canada or wishing to acquire Canadian companies

Publications and training courses

• Course entitled ?Les conventions entre actionnaires et les pièges fiscaux y étant associés,? given at APFF, 2022 and 2023
• Author, ?Unexpected Application of Part XII.2 Tax to a Canadian Personal Trust,? Canadian Tax Focus, May 2013
• Coauthor, ?Règles canadiennes qui s?appliquent à des sociétés canadiennes faisant affaire à l?étranger?, APFF, Montréal, 2012
• Coauthor, ?Financement d?opérations à l?étranger?, 2010 Journée d?études fiscales, Association canadienne d?études fiscales, 2010

Lectures

• Speaker on the topic of ?La vente d?entreprise : de la planification fiscale à la vente, une revue de toutes les étapes importantes,? Institut de Leadership, 2023
• Co-speaker on the topic of ?Évitez les pièges dans la gestion de votre entreprise : conseils fiscaux et juridiques,? Chambre de commerce de Montréal Centre Sud-Ouest, May 25, 2023
• Speaker on the topic of ?Aspects fiscaux et légaux d?un transfert d?entreprise,? Institut de Leadership, November 23, 2022
• Speaker on the topic of ?Mise au point sur le projet de loi C-208,? ORIA, October 13, 2022
• Speaker on the topic of ?Planification fiscale d?actualité en matière d?achat/vente d?entreprise,? M&A Club, September 8, 2022
• Speaker on the topic of ?Aspects fiscaux et légaux d?un transfert d?entreprise,? Institut de Leadership, December 8, 2021
• Speaker on the topic of ?La fiscalité et les sociétés en croissance :  astuces et pièges à éviter,? Femmessor, November 25, 2021
• Co-speaker on the topic of ?Investissement immobilier : opportunités et pièges fiscaux,? Crew M, October 19, 2021
• Speaker on the topic of ?Pièges à éviter pour la PME en croissance et transfert d?entreprise,? RBC, September 2021
• Co-speaker on the topic of ?Les conventions entre actionnaires,? course given at the Centre de Transfert d?Entreprise du Québec, 2021
• Co-speaker on the topic of ?La fiscalité et les sociétés en croissance : astuces et pièges à éviter,? Evol, November 25, 2021
• Speaker on the topic of "L'essentiel des aspects légaux et fiscaux", Institut de leadership, November 10, 2020
• Course entitled "Aspects juridiques et fiscaux visés au transfert d?entreprise? given at the Centre de transfert d?entreprise du Québec, 2019
• Acted as an expert on the panel organized by the Centre de transfert d?entreprise du Québec and the Institut de Leadership addressed to participants in the purchase and sale of businesses to enable them to obtain a certificate in the transfer of businesses, 2019
• Speaker on several occasions on ?Pièges à éviter entourant la fiscalité des employés à commission?, RBC financial planners convention, 2019
• Co-speaker for a presentation entitled ?Nouveautés en droit corporatif ? at the symposium organized by Wolters, 2019
• Speaker for the Groupement des chefs d?entreprises du Québec on tax planning for purposes of the sale of a business, 2 seminars, 2019
• Speaker on the topic of ?5 choses à savoir en démarrage et en croissance? on the main stage of Expo Entrepreneurs, 2019
• Seminar for the organization Leadership au Féminin addressed to young female lawyers, 2019
• Speaker on the topic of ?Planification successorale et transition de l?entreprise : enjeux financiers, fiscaux et familiaux?, Regroupement des chefs d?entreprise du Québec, 2018
• Co-speaker on the topic of ?La fiducie familiale et autres nouveautés ? qu?en reste-t-il du budget Morneau?? for the Montreal CPA Group, 2018
• Co-speaker on the topic of ?Transfert et relève de moyennes entreprises?, 12^th M&A Club Forum, 2018
• Co-speaker on the topic of ?Pièges à éviter en matière fiscale pour un avocat en droit des affaires?, Symposium on corporate law, 2017
• Speaker on the topic of ?Les lectures incontournables : Start with why: How great leaders inspire action?, Association of Quebec Women in Finance (AFFQ), 2017
• Co-speaker on the topic of ?Fiscalité de l?entreprise en croissance?, M&A Forum, 2017
• Co-speaker on the topic of ?Nouveautés fiscales en matière d?achat/vente d?entreprise??, M&A Club, 2017
• Speaker on the topic of ?Commencez par le pourquoi?, Convention of the Association of Quebec Women in Finance (AFFQ), 2017
• Co-speaker on the topic of "Erreurs et pièges à éviter en matière fiscale? webinar addressed to managers working for Québec municipalities, 2013
• Speaker on the topic of ?Règles canadiennes qui s?appliquent à des sociétés canadiennes faisant affaire à l?étranger?, Convention of the Association de planification fiscale et financière (APFF), 2012

Education

• LL.B., Université de Montréal, 2010
• M.A. in taxation, Université de Sherbrooke, 2009
• Chartered Accountants? Uniform Final Examination, 2007
• Graduate diploma in public accounting, HEC Montréal, 2007
• B.A. in business administration, HEC Montréal, 2006
• Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP), 2020
• Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA), 2024 

Professional Associations
Ordre des Comptables Professionnels Agrees du Qc
Canadian Tax Foundation
Member of the succession committee of the Association de planification fiscale et financiere (APFF)
Member of the strategic committee of the Jeunes Philanthropes du Musee des Beaux-arts de Montreal
Member of the Young Directors Committee of the Institute for governance of private and public organizations (IGOPP)

• Quarterly legal newsletter intended for accounting, management, and finance professionals, Number 17
• Quarterly legal newsletter intended for accounting, management, and finance professionals, Number 18
• Quarterly legal newsletter intended for accounting, management, and finance professionals, Number 19
• Business Succession Planning: Transfer, Financing and Planning
• Directors’ Liability
• Federal budget and capital gain: Time for tax planning
• New Compensation Method: Employee Benefit Trust Replacing Stock Option Plans
• COVID-19: How to adapt your current tax planning?
• Termination agreements: New reporting requirements apply!
• Clarifications regarding the application of mandatory disclosure rules to severance agreements