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Selecting the best site for a business operation requires
comprehensive consideration of many financial and non-financial
factors, examined from both a business and personal perspective.
The relative importance of these factors will vary significantly;
not only for different industries, but also for individual
firms within a particular industry.
Since its inception in 1995, KPMG's Competitive Alternatives
study has provided independent analysis of the major cost
and other factors that impact the site location decision.
The MMK Consulting team has been instrumental in the development
of this major international study since its inception, and
has managed most aspects of the ongoing Competitive Alternatives
series on behalf of KPMG.
Released on March 26, 2008 is the latest edition of Competitive
Alternatives offers detailed analysis of business location
factors in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and
new in 2008, Mexico.
For full details on the Competitive Alternatives 2008
Edition, visit the study website (developed and maintained
by MMK Consulting) at www.CompetitiveAlternatives.com.
MMK Consulting is also hosting a mirror of the Competitive
Alternatives download site, and the study reports and
summaries can be downloaded directly
from our site.
In various previous editions of Competitive Alternatives,
MMK Consulting professionals have been involved in analyzing
business competitiveness in all of the following countries:
- Australia
- Austria
- Canada
- France
- Germany
- Iceland
- Italy
- Japan
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Singapore
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
- United States
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As part of the Competitive Alternatives project, on
behalf of KPMG, MMK Consulting developed and maintains this
sophisticated web-based application which allows users to perform
customized analysis of the costs of operating different types
of businesses in more than 120 cities around the world. The
Model is licensed to economic development agencies, to assist
them in performing powerful "what if" analysis based
on the business plans of their clients. For further information
on the CompetitiveAlternatives.com Cost Model, an
on-line demonstration is available... (Internet Explorer only) |
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As part of the Competitive Alternatives 2008 project,
on behalf of KPMG, MMK Consulting developed a special report
focusing on comparing tax burdens in 102 cities in ten countries:
Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico,
the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States.
This study calculates and compares the Total Effective Tax
Rate and Total Tax Index for each country and city, including
corporate income taxes, other corporate taxes, and statutory
labor costs.
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Economic Recovery in New Orleans
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Under the auspices of the International Economic Development
Council's Gulf
Coast Economic Recovery Volunteer Program, Glenn Mair
of MMK Consulting spent a week in June 2007 working as a volunteer
with the City
of New Orleans Office of Recovery Management. New Orleans
is still working on economic recovery efforts following Hurricane
Katrina and the related flooding of more than 80 percent of
that great city in August 2005. Glenn's work in New Orleans
assisted in moving forward specific economic development trigger
projects in 17 targeted recovery areas.
If you want to directly assist in recovery efforts in New
Orleans, many charitable organizations are continuing to provide
ongoing on-the-ground support to the many families still living
in emergency accommodation. Among many worthwhile causes,
New
Orleans Area Habitat For Humanity is working on the construction
of new affordable housing for displaced residents.
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Canada – A Strategic Choice
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On behalf of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade (DFAIT), MMK Consulting researched and
authored a series of six brochures highlighting Canada's investment
value propositions for each of six industry sectors.
Drawing on a wide variety of data sources, these brochures
established key location drivers and competitive advantages
for Canadian and international clusters in the following industries:
aerospace, biotechnology, business services, environmental
technology, machinery manufacturing, and wireless and multimedia.
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In conjunction with KPMG, on behalf of Industry Canada and
the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council, completed a detailed
review of the automotive sector in Canada as compared to key
US jurisdictions. This study was originally undertaken in
2003, and then later updated in 2008.
The review was broad-based, encompassing a wide variety of
competitiveness issues including business costs, business
incentives, labor force issues, logistics and border issues,
and environmental considerations.
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For General Motors of Canada Limited (GMCL), MMK Consulting
completed an independent review of GMCL's proposed Cdn $2.5
billion Beacon Project. This review was in the lead-up to
the March 2005 announcement by GMCL that the Beacon Project
is proceeding.
The Beacon Project will include new investments by GMCL in
new vehicle programs, enhanced vehicle engineering activities,
flexible vehicle manufacturing, new environmental technologies,
employment skills and training, and the creation of a Canadian
Automotive Innovation Network in partnership with leading
Canadian universities.
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MMK Consulting, in conjunction with KPMG, completed a project
for the Government of South Australia to benchmark business
costs for Australia, including four Australian cities, against
the 2006 Competitive Alternatives results.
Building upon this analysis, a further study, for the Australian
federal Department of Transport and Regional Services benchmarked
business costs in a total of 28 Australian cities.
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Vancouver Industry Sector Targeting Study
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On behalf of Vancouver Economic Development Commission (VEDC),
MMK Consulting completed an assessment of industry sector
targeting opportunities for Vancouver.
The study assess both Vancouver's competitiveness and strategic
fit for across all individual industries and identifies high,
medium, and low potential sectors for development in Vancouver.
This study was commissioned by VEDC as a preliminary step
toward development of a citywide economic development strategy.
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MMK Consulting has undertaken a number of studies for different
clients analyzing the trends and outlook for construction
cost escalation in British Columbia during the province's
post-2000 construction boom.
Summarizing some of these findings is a presentation by Stuart
MacKay of MMK Consulting to the Public Construction Council
of BC.
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Location Sensitive Cost Analysis for Data Centres
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On behalf of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA),
MMK Consulting completed an analysis of location sensitive
business costs in the data centre industry.
The study assessed both physical characteristics and infrastructure
requirements of typical data centre operations, and the detailed
business costs for operating a prototypical facility in a
total of 71 international cities.
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On behalf of the City of Vancouver, MMK Consulting analyzed
in detail the demand for tax-supported municipal services
from the residential and nonresidential property classes.
This report was commissioned as a resource document for use
by the City of Vancouver's Property Tax Policy Review Commission.
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On behalf of the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership, MMK
Consulting prepared a detailed analysis of business costs
and R&D tax incentives in Sarnia-Lambton and competing
Canadian and US jurisdictions.
This report contains a thorough discussion and comparison
of the R&D tax credit systems in Canada (SR&ED) and
the United States (R&E), and major sections of the report
have been posted on the Sarnia-Lambton website.
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Cost Competitiveness of the British Columbia Film Industry
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On behalf of Vancouver Economic Development Commission, MMK
Consulting completed an independent analysis of the cost competitiveness
of the British Columbia film industry.
The study provides a detailed analysis of production costs
for a major A-list movie in Vancouver, BC, as compared to
Toronto, Los Angeles, and New Orleans.
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A Comparison of Personal Taxes and Cost of Living In Alberta,
Canada and the US
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Commissioned by the Government of Alberta, this series of
studies examined Alberta's competitiveness in terms of total
cost of living for high-tech employees at five different salary
levels. The studies confirmed that personal taxation costs
in Canadian jurisdictions are higher than in the US, but also
finds that this difference is largely offset by lower costs
in Canada for housing, and for the purchase of general goods
and services.
This series of studies was conducted by MMK Consulting, in
conjunction with Runzheimer
International, on an annual basis from 2002 through to
2005.
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Using our experience from the Competitive Alternatives
project, MMK Consulting assisted KPMG Iceland in undertaking
a detailed comparison of business costs in Iceland, as compared
to the cities included in the Competitive Alternatives
study. The results of the study find Iceland to be favorably
positioned in terms of business operating costs for many types
of high-technology businesses and for service operations in
general.
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Other Projects and Studies
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Many studies completed by MMK Consulting represent confidential
studies that have not been publicly released. Studies completed
by MMK Consulting include:
- Business location and economic development projects:
- A study of business costs for financial services operations
in major financial centers around the world.
- An organizational plan and business plan for a new
business investment attraction agency.
- A study of anticipated trade and investment impacts
on Canada from the strong economic growth of the Asia
Pacific region.
- A study of business costs in three specific sub-sectors
of the agri-food industry in Canada and the United States.
- A study of business operating costs in China and India.
- The initial design of the business incentives to be
offered in a proposed new tax incentive zone.
- Assistance with the negotiation of incentives for
an industrial facility expansion in Nova Scotia.
- Post-secondary education projects:
- A review of the feasibility of a proposed private
university.
- A study of employee workloads at a post-secondary
educational institution.
- Business plans for university Athletics & Recreation,
and Child Care Services departments.
- A strategic business plan for a university field teaching
and research facility.
- Development of a capital planning and prioritization
model for a major university.
- Development of project case statements for three proposed
major new academic buildings at a BC university.
- Transportation infrastructure projects:
- A study of marine terminal development options for
a major shipping company.
- Analysis of financial implications for proposed port
infrastructure development projects.
- Multiple account evaluation studies related to various
major highway infrastructure and bridge construction
projects in Greater Vancouver.
- Other projects:
- A program evaluation of a government funded habitat
restoration program.
- Various studies of the cost of municipal services
consumed by different taxpayer groups in a number of
BC cities.
- An organizational review of the accounting function
at a venture capital firm.
- An assessment of the economic impacts and prospects
of the salmon farming and wild salmon industries in
British Columbia
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