Notice to the Profession: You must submit your annual Report of Prepaid Funds within 3 months of your fiscal year end

This is a reminder that you must submit your annual Report of Prepaid Funds (RPF) within three (3) months of your fiscal year end.

Who must submit an RPF?

• All Funeral Establishment Operators – Class 1 and 2
• All Transfer Service Operators – Class 1 and 2
• Cemetery, Crematorium and Alternative Disposition (Hydrolysis) Operators that accept prepaids

 For funeral establishments and transfer services that do not accept any prepaid funds, including those not open to the public, please check off the box on the front page of the RPF form (see excerpt below), certifying that you have not entered into any prepaid contracts, and sign the back of the form.

Where do I find the RPF form?
The RPF form is on our website under For Professionals -> Forms. The form is the same for ALL operator classes and is a generic fillable-PDF form. If you have already submitted your RPF on an older version of the form, we will accept it.

Funeral establishments and transfer service operators: You will no longer be receiving a pre-populated RPF form with your Annual Licensure Renewal form. Simply download the fillable PDF and refer to your last RPF form to obtain your previous year’s numbers. Please make sure your numbers balance from one year to the next. (Tip: Make sure you keep a copy of any documents you mail to the BAO office.)

What must be included with my RPF?
When you submit your RPF, it must include the following three items:

1. Two-page RPF form completed and signed by the person in charge of day-to-day operations
2. Review Engagement Report or Audit (as applicable) prepared by your public accountant on the accounting firm’s letterhead
3. Financial statements from each financial institution where prepaid funds are held (trust and insurance/annuity), for the month of your fiscal year end.

How do I submit my RPF?
You can submit your RPF in the following order of preference: by email to the Financial Compliance Team at Trust@thebao.ca, by fax to 647-748-2645 or by regular mail. Please submit all three items described above, together. It is your responsibility as the operator – not your accountant’s, to submit the RPF.

What happens if I don’t submit my RPF on time?
As an outcome of the Auditor General of Ontario’s Value for Money Audit, there is renewed emphasis on meeting your filing deadline. There will be consequences for not filing on time including penalties, administrative action by the Registrar and likely an inspection by the BAO. Failing to file on time will also delay processing of your operator licence renewal, until such time that the RPF is received by the BAO. 

Questions?
You can email your inquiry to Trust@thebao.ca or call our office and ask to speak to one of our Financial Compliance Officers.

Thank you,
BAO Financial Compliance Team