As part of WS & Company Ltd.’s commitment to accessibility, our multi-year accessibility plan outlines our strategy and the actions that have been and will be implemented to prevent and remove barriers and to meet our requirements under the Accessibilities for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). This multi-year accessibility plan focuses on our initiatives in respect of the AODA’s Accessibility Standards including:

• Customer service
• Information and communications
• Policies and training
• Employment
• Design of Public Spaces
• Feedback

This plan applies to WS & Company Ltd. and its related businesses as required by the AODA.

Information and Communication

In accordance with the AODA’s Information and Communication Standard, WS & Company Ltd. will:

• Ensure internet websites and web content conform with Level A of the World Wide Web Consortium Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 by 1 January 2025.
• Ensure WS & Company Ltd. notifies the public and provides, on request, accessible formats and supports for people with disabilities in a timely manner and at no additional cost to others by 1 January 2025.
• Ensure conformation with Level AA of the WCAG 2.0 as required by the standard by 1 January 2025.

Employment

In accordance with the AODA’s Employment Standards, by 1 January 2025, WS & Company Ltd. will:

• Ensure inclusive employment processes for recruitment, retention and development within the company, including:
  • Notification of the company’s commitment to accessibility and availability of accommodation 
  • Provision of accessible formats and communication supports that take into account an employee’s accessibility needs 
  • Taking employees’ disabilities and accommodation needs into account in respect of performance management and career development 
  • Ensuring processes are in place to support employee / workplace accommodation requests following absences from work and during an employee’s employment

Policies and Training

WS & Company Ltd. has and will continue to implement policies and practices and training initiatives in accordance with the AODA by taking the following steps:

• Implementing a policy outlining our commitment to accessibility for clients (implemented 20 September 2024)
• Training for our people on accessibility in the provision of services to our clients (implementing in October 2024)
• Implementing a statement of our organization’s commitment to meet the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities in a timely manner and in compliance with the AODA’s Integrated Accessibility Standards (implemented as of 27 August 2025)
• Training for our people on accessibility standards and human rights legislation, as it pertains to people with disabilities (implementing October 2025)

Training will be provided in a way that best suits the nature of our people’s work.

A Workplace Emergency Response Plan will be provided to employees who have indicated to the firm that they have a disability and require assistance in the event of an emergency.

This plan will be reviewed at least once every five years.

Design of Public Spaces

As of 13 September 2024, WS & Company Ltd. does not have any plans for new construction or significant redevelopment of it’s facility to which the Design of Public Spaces Standard of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation is applicable. For any future plans to which this Standard would be applicable, however, WS & Company Ltd. will comply with the required responsibilities under this Standard.

WS & Company Ltd. will also put in place procedures to prevent service disruption to accessible elements of its public spaces as required under the Design of Public Spaces Standard. In the event of a service disruption affecting these accessible elements, WS & Company Ltd. will notify the public of such service disruption and any available alternatives. 

Client Feedback

WS & Company Ltd. is pleased to have established its policy on Accessibility Formats and Communication Supports for clients, which outlines our commitment to ensuring our services are accessible to our clients and our training plan. We achieved compliance with the AODA’s Customer Service Standard by 27 August 2024.

Feedback

Receiving feedback from our people, clients and the public is an important part of our commitment to accessibility. In 2024, we developed a feedback process to respond to enquiries and suggestions. 

Details are available on our intranet for our people, as well as in our Commitment to Accessibility policy on ey.com/ca. We will continue to monitor and respond to feedback promptly.

For more information on this accessibility plan, please contact us: 

• By email to accessibility@wsandcompany.com
• By telephoning the office (416-754-9800)
• In person or by mail at our office location (138 Nugget Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M1S 3A7, Canada), Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Accessible formats of this document are available free upon request.