Directors

Our board of directors is currently comprised of eight members. The following information is provided with respect to the directors of FirstService as at the date hereof:

Name and municipality of residence

Age

Present position and tenure

Principal occupation during last five years

Officers

The following information is provided with respect to the executive and other key officers of FirstService as at the date hereof:

Ownership

As of the date hereof, the directors and executive/key officers of FirstService, as a group, own, or control or direct, directly or indirectly, 7,269,194 Common Shares, which represents 17.5% of the total Common Shares outstanding.

Legal proceedings and regulatory actions

There are no legal proceedings to which FirstService is a party to, or in respect of which, any of the property of FirstService is the subject of, which is or was material to FirstService during 2019, and FirstService is not aware of any such legal proceedings that are contemplated. In the normal course of operations, FirstService is subject to routine immaterial claims and litigation incidental to its business. Litigation currently pending or threatened against FirstService includes disputes with former employees and commercial liability claims related to services provided by FirstService. FirstService believes resolution of such proceedings, combined with amounts set aside, will not have a material impact on FirstService’s financial condition or the results of operations.

During 2019, there were no penalties or sanctions imposed against FirstService by a court relating to provincial and territorial securities legislation or by a securities regulatory authority, nor were there any other penalties or sanctions imposed by a court or regulatory body against FirstService and, during 2019, FirstService did not enter into any settlement agreements before a court relating to provincial and territorial securities legislation or with a securities regulatory authority.

Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures

In this AIF, we make reference to “adjusted EBITDA” and “adjusted EPS,” which are financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with GAAP.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net earnings, adjusted to exclude: (i) income tax; (ii) other expense (income); (iii) interest expense; (iv) depreciation and amortization; (v) acquisition-related items; (vi) stock-based compensation expense; and (vii) settlement of the LTIA. The Company uses adjusted EBITDA to evaluate its own operating performance and its ability to service debt, as well as an integral part of its planning and reporting systems. Additionally, this measure is used in conjunction with discounted cash flow models to determine the Company’s overall enterprise valuation and to evaluate acquisition targets. Adjusted EBITDA is presented as a supplemental measure because the Company believes such measure is useful to investors as a reasonable indicator of operating performance because of the low capital intensity of its service operations. The Company believes this measure is a financial metric used by many investors to compare companies, especially in the services industry. This measure is not a recognized measure of financial performance under GAAP in the United States, and should not be considered as a substitute for operating earnings, net earnings from operations or cash flow from operating activities, as determined in accordance with GAAP. The Company’s method of calculating adjusted EBITDA may differ from other issuers and accordingly, this measure may not be comparable to measures used by other issuers. A reconciliation of net earnings (loss) from operations to adjusted EBITDA appears below.

Adjusted EPS is defined as diluted net earnings (loss) per share, adjusted for the effect, after income tax, of: (i) the non-controlling interest redemption increment; (ii) acquisition-related items; (iii) amortization of intangible assets recognized in connection with acquisitions; (iv) settlement of the LTIA; (v) stock-based compensation expense; and (vi) a stock-based compensation tax adjustment related to a US GAAP change. The Company believes this measure is useful to investors because it provides a supplemental way to understand the underlying operating performance of the Company and enhances the comparability of operating results from period to period. Adjusted EPS is not a recognized measure of financial performance under GAAP, and should not be considered as a substitute for diluted net earnings per common share from operations, as determined in accordance with GAAP. The Company’s method of calculating this non-GAAP measure may differ from other issuers and, accordingly, this measure may not be comparable to measures used by other issuers. A reconciliation of diluted net earnings (loss) per common share from operations to adjusted EPS appears below.

We believe that the presentation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS, which are non-GAAP financial measures, provides important supplemental information to management and investors regarding financial and business trends relating to the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Non-GAAP financial measures do not have any standardized meaning and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. We use these non-GAAP financial measures to assist management and investors in understanding our operating performance, our ability to service debt, to assist in determining our overall enterprise valuation and to evaluate acquisition targets, and such measures are an integral part of our planning and reporting systems. We provide non-GAAP financial measures because we believe such measures are useful to investors as a reasonable indicator of our operating performance given the low capital intensity of our service operations and provide a supplemental way to understand our underlying operating performance that enhances the comparability of operating results from period to period, and such measures are commonly used by many investors to compare companies, especially in the services industry. We have also chosen to provide such measures to investors so they can analyze our operating results in the same way that management does and use such measures in their assessment of our core business and valuation. Investors are cautioned that non-GAAP financial measures should not be relied upon as a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the costs or benefits associated with the operations of our business as determined in accordance with GAAP. As a result, investors should not consider these measures in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP.

Risk factors

Readers should carefully consider the following risks, as well as the other information contained in this AIF and our management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business could be materially harmed. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties, including those of which we are currently unaware or we currently deem immaterial, may also adversely affect our business, and past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Risks relating to our Business

Economic conditions, especially as they relate to credit conditions and consumer spending and demand for managed residential property

During periods of economic slowdown or contraction, our business is impacted directly. Consumer spending directly impacts our FirstService Brands operations businesses because as consumers spend less on property services, our revenues decline. These factors could also negatively impact the timing or the ultimate collection of accounts receivable, which would negatively impact our operating revenues, profitability and cash flow.

Residential real estate property values, resale rates and general conditions of financial liquidity for real estate transactions

We provide various services at residential properties in our FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands operating divisions. Property values and consumer confidence are strongly correlated with demand for our services, including painting, closet installation, general maintenance, collections and resale processing.

Extreme weather conditions impacting demand for our services or our ability to perform those services

Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, can have a direct impact in our FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands operations. These events damage property, which require various services that our companies offer, such as restoration and large-scale landscaping. They may also harm our employees, facilities and franchisees, resulting in an inability to serve clients and generate revenues.

Economic deterioration impacting our ability to recover goodwill and other intangible assets

Expectations of future earnings drive the recoverability of goodwill and other intangible assets, which are tested, at least, on an annual basis. A future deterioration of operating performance may necessitate additional non-cash impairment charges.

A decline in our ability to generate cash from our businesses to fund future acquisitions and meet our debt obligations

We rely on our businesses to generate the necessary cash to service our financial obligations. As at December 31, 2019, we have $766.6 million of debt outstanding ($645.4 million net of cash) that will be required to be refinanced or repaid over the next 3 years. We also have $261.3 million of available un-drawn credit at December 31, 2019. To date, we have been able to meet all of our debt obligations, however with a decline in performance in some of our businesses, surplus cash may not be available to be remitted which may result in the inability to meet a debt repayment.

An important component of our growth strategy is strategic and selective acquisitions, which we tend to complete with cash. Although we have a revolving credit facility available to us under the Credit Agreement as noted elsewhere in this AIF, we also rely on surplus cash on hand to fund acquisitions. If cash on hand is not available and our revolving credit facility is fully utilized, then future acquisitions may not be possible.

The effects of changes in foreign exchange rates in relation to the U.S. dollar on our Canadian dollar denominated revenues and expenses

We generate less than 15% of our revenues outside the United States. Consequently, a portion of our consolidated results are impacted directly by fluctuations in the relative strength of the U.S. dollar versus the Canadian dollar currency. In the future, we may acquire additional international operations. In such event, the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations may increase.

Competition in the markets served by FirstService

We operate in highly competitive markets. Changes in the source and intensity of competition in the markets served by us impact the demand for our services and may result in additional pricing pressures. The relatively low capital cost of entry to certain of our businesses has led to strong competitive markets, including regional and local owner-operated companies. Regional and local competitors operating in a limited geographic area may have lower labour, benefits and overhead costs. The principal methods of competition in our businesses include name recognition, quality and speed of service, pricing, customer satisfaction and reputation. No assurance can be given that we will be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors and that the competitive pressures that we face will not result in reduced market share or negatively impact our financial performance.

Labour shortages or increases in wage and benefit costs

As a services company, our primary asset is the human capital that comprises our workforce. In particular, we rely on property managers, franchisees and other skilled staff to generate revenues. A shortage, or increase in wage and benefit costs, of this human capital could reduce our revenues and profitability.

The effects of changes in interest rates on our cost of borrowing

As at December 31, 2019, we had $607.4 million of debt at variable interest rates. As a result, changes in base rates such as LIBOR affect our interest expense as these base rates fluctuate. On our fixed rate debt, we have from time-to-time entered into fixed-for-floating interest rate swaps, where advantageous, to convert the fixed interest payments to floating. These swaps are intended to manage interest rate sensitivity and reduce overall interest costs.

A decline in our performance impacting our continued compliance with the financial covenants under our debt agreements, or our ability to negotiate a waiver of certain covenants with our lenders

A prolonged decline in our earnings performance could result in a non-compliance with one or more financial covenants under the Credit Agreement and/or Note Agreement. In addition, FirstService’s degree of leverage from time to time could have adverse consequences for FirstService, including: limiting our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisitions and associated contingent purchase consideration, and/or for general corporate purposes; restricting our flexibility and discretion to operate our business; limiting our ability to declare dividends on the Common Shares; having to dedicate a portion of our cash flows from operations to the payment of interest on our existing indebtedness and not having such cash flows available for other purposes, including operations, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other future business opportunities; exposing us to increased interest expense on borrowings; limiting our ability to adjust to changing market conditions; placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to its competitors that have less debt; making us vulnerable in a downturn in general economic conditions; and making us unable to make capital expenditures that are important to our growth and strategies. In the event that we are unable to make principal or interest payments on our indebtedness outstanding under the Credit Agreement or our other indebtedness as required, we could be in default and such indebtedness could be accelerated, and we may not be able to repay or refinance such indebtedness. Any such default and acceleration could require us to raise additional equity capital (resulting in dilution) or take on additional indebtedness, which could have more onerous terms than our existing indebtedness, or to sell assets or take other actions that could adversely affect our business. Furthermore, a lender, if unpaid, may exercise their secured creditor rights.

Unexpected increases in operating costs, such as insurance, workers’ compensation, health care and fuel prices

As a services company, the costs of providing services to our customers can fluctuate. Certain operating expenses are based on market rates which we cannot control and, absent an offsetting price increase in our services, have a direct impact on our operating margins.

Changes in the frequency or severity of insurance incidents relative to our historical experience

Adverse changes in claims experience could increase our insurance costs and/or increase the risk of being unable to renew insurance coverage at our operations. In each of our operating segments, we effectively self-insure certain risks, with a layer of third-party insurance for catastrophic claims. An increase in the frequency or severity of claims in these areas could materially affect our financial position and results of operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain insurance coverage on favourable economic terms in the future.

A decline in our ability to make acquisitions at reasonable prices and successfully integrate acquired operations, no assurance of future performance by acquired businesses and potential liabilities associated with acquisitions

As an acquisitive organization, we actively pursue acquisitions to expand our footprint and services offerings as well as supplement existing businesses. Not only does our acquisition strategy depend on the continued availability of suitable targets, it also depends on the ability to negotiate favorable terms and conditions. Another risk with acquisitions is the ability to integrate the acquired business into an existing service line.

In addition, historic and current performance of a business we acquire (such as Global Restoration) may not be indicative of success in future periods. A business we acquire may not perform as well as we anticipate or we may incur unanticipated costs and expenses relating to its operations. The future performance of a business we acquire may be influenced by unpredictable events, economic downturns, regulatory changes and other factors beyond the control of FirstService. There is no assurance that revenues generated from a business we acquire will increase in future years. As a result of any one or more of these factors, the operations and financial performance of a business we acquire may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect FirstService’s financial results.

In relation to acquisitions we make, often times the liabilities of the acquired business remained with the acquired legal entity or entities. There may be liabilities that FirstService fail to discover or are unable to quantify accurately or at all in a due diligence review of an acquisition conducted prior to completing the acquisition. Although FirstService has in the past in select circumstances buyer-side representation and warranty insurance in respect of an acquisition and has certain limited indemnification rights, these may be insufficient to satisfy any losses resulting from such liabilities.

Changes in laws, regulations and government policies at the federal, state/provincial or local level may adversely impact our businesses

Changes in laws and regulation at the different jurisdictional levels can have a direct effect on our operations. It is difficult to predict the future impact of a change in legislative and regulatory requirements affecting our businesses. The laws and regulations applicable to our businesses will likely change in the future and affect our operations and financial performance. In addition, if we were to fail to comply with any applicable law or regulation, we could be subject to substantial fines or damages, be involved in litigation, suffer losses to our reputation and suffer the loss of licenses or penalties that may affect how our business is operated, which, in turn, would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks related to liability for employee acts or omissions, or installation/system failure, in our fire protection businesses

The nature of the fire protection services we provide exposes us to the risks that we may be held liable for employee acts or omissions or installation/system failures. In an attempt to reduce this risk, our installation, service and/or maintenance agreements and other contracts contain provisions limiting our liability in such circumstances, and we typically maintain liability insurance to mitigate such risk. However, in the event of litigation, it is possible that contract limitations may be deemed not applicable or unenforceable, that our insurance coverage is not adequate, or that insurance carriers deny coverage of our claims. As a result, such employee acts or omissions or installation/system failures could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks arising from any regulatory review and litigation

While management is not currently aware of any formal regulatory reviews or investigations, the commencement of any such reviews or investigations may result in the diversion of significant management attention and resources and, if securities or other regulators determine that a violation of securities or other laws may have occurred, or has occurred, the Company or its officers and directors may receive notices regarding potential enforcement action or prosecution and could be subject to civil or criminal penalties or other remedies. For example, the Company or its officers could be required to pay substantial damages, fines or other penalties, the regulators could seek an injunction against the Company or seek to ban an officer or director of the Company from acting as such, any of which actions would have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Risks associated with intellectual property and other proprietary rights that are material to our business

Our ability to compete effectively depends in part on our rights to service marks, trademarks, trade names and other intellectual property rights we own or license. We have not sought to register every one of our marks in every jurisdiction in which they are used. Furthermore, because of the differences in foreign trademark, patent and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws, we may not receive the same protection in other jurisdictions as we would in Canada or the United States. If we are unable to protect our proprietary information and brand names, we could suffer a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights and protect our proprietary information, or to defend against claims by third parties that our products or services infringe their intellectual property rights. Any litigation or claims brought by or against us could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources. A successful claim of trademark, patent or other intellectual property infringement against us, or any other successful challenge to the use of our intellectual property, could subject us to damages or prevent us from providing certain services under our recognized brand names, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Disruptions or security failures in our information technology systems

Our information technology systems facilitate our ability to monitor, operate and control our operations. While we have disaster recovery plans in place, any disruption in these plans or the failure of our information technology systems to operate as expected could, depending on the magnitude of the problem, adversely affect our operating results by limiting, among other things, our capacity to monitor, operate and control our operations effectively. In addition, because our systems contain information about individuals and businesses, our failure to maintain the security of the data we hold, whether the result of our own error or the malfeasance or errors of others, could harm our reputation or give rise to legal liabilities relating to violations of privacy laws or otherwise, which may lead to lower revenues, increased costs and other material adverse effects on our results of operations.

Political conditions, including any outbreak or escalation of terrorism or hostilities and the impact thereof on our business

Political events and situations can have an effect on the Company’s operations. Events could occur that may hamper our ability to manage operations, extract cash and implement FirstService policies in certain regions.

Risks relating to our Common Shares

Volatility of market price of the Common Shares

The market price of the Common Shares may be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the following:

The volatility may affect the ability of holders of Common Shares to sell the Common Shares at an advantageous price.

Financial markets have, at times, experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have particularly affected the market prices of securities of companies and that have, in many cases, been unrelated to the operating performance, underlying asset values or prospects of such companies. Accordingly, the market price of the Common Shares may decline even if our operating results, underlying asset values or prospects have not changed. Additionally, these factors, as well as other related factors, may cause decreases in asset values that are deemed to be other than temporary, which may result in impairment losses. As well, certain institutional investors may base their investment decisions on consideration of our environmental, governance and social practices and performance against such institutions’ respective investment guidelines and criteria, and failure to meet such criteria may result in a limited or no investment in the Common Shares by those institutions, which could adversely affect the trading price of the Common Shares. There can be no assurance that fluctuations in price and volume will not occur. If such increased levels of volatility and market turmoil occur, our operations could be adversely impacted and the trading price of the Common Shares may be adversely affected.

A decline in our performance impacting our ability to pay dividends on Common Shares

Although we intend to make cash dividends to shareholders in accordance with our existing dividend policy, these dividends are not assured. Future dividends on the Common Shares will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, general business conditions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. Additionally, under the Credit Agreement and the Note Agreement, we are not permitted to pay dividends, whether in cash or in specie, in the circumstances of an event of default thereunder occurring and continuing or an event of default occurring as a consequence thereof. The market value of the Common Shares may deteriorate if we are unable to pay dividends pursuant to our existing dividend policy in the future.

Potential dilution

We are authorized to issue an unlimited number of Common Shares for consideration and terms and conditions as established by our board of directors, in many cases, without any requirement for explicit shareholder approval, and shareholders have no pre-emptive rights in connection with such further issuances. We may issue additional Common Shares in share offerings (including through the sale of securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares) and pursuant to the exercise of options under our Option Plan. We cannot predict the size of future issuances of Common Shares or the effect that future issuances and sales of Common Shares will have on the market price of the Common Shares. Issuances of a substantial number of additional Common Shares, or the perception that such issuances could occur, may adversely affect prevailing market prices for the Common Shares. With any additional issuance of Common Shares, holders of Common Shares will suffer dilution and we may experience dilution in our earnings per share.

Foreign private issuer

We are a “foreign private issuer”, as such term is defined in Rule 405 under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and are permitted, under a multijurisdictional disclosure system adopted by the United States and Canada, to prepare our disclosure documents filed under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“U.S. Exchange Act”), in accordance with Canadian disclosure requirements. Under the U.S. Exchange Act, we are subject to reporting obligations that, in certain respects, are less detailed and less frequent than those of U.S. domestic reporting companies. As a result, we do not file the same reports that a U.S. domestic issuer would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), although we are required to file or furnish to the SEC the continuous disclosure documents that we are required to file in Canada under Canadian securities laws. In addition, our officers, directors, and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short swing profit liability provisions of Section 16 of the U.S. Exchange Act. Therefore, our shareholders may not know on as timely a basis when our officers, directors and principal shareholders purchase or sell shares, as the reporting deadlines under the corresponding Canadian insider reporting requirements are generally longer.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the rules and regulations under the U.S. Exchange Act related to the furnishing and content of proxy statements. We are also exempt from Regulation FD, which prohibits issuers from making selective disclosures of material non-public information. While we will comply with the corresponding requirements relating to proxy statements and disclosure of material non-public information under Canadian securities laws, these requirements differ from those under the U.S. Exchange Act and Regulation FD, and shareholders should not expect to receive the same information at the same time as such information is provided by U.S. domestic companies.

In addition, as a foreign private issuer, we have the option to follow certain Canadian corporate governance practices, except to the extent that such laws would be contrary to U.S. securities laws, and provided that we disclose the requirements we are not following and describe the Canadian practices we follow instead. We currently rely on this exemption with respect to requirements regarding the quorum for any meeting of our shareholders, the requirement to obtain shareholder approval prior to an issuance of securities in certain circumstances and certain responsibilities of the Executive Compensation Committee of our board of directors. We may in the future elect to follow home country practices in Canada with regard to other matters. As a result, our shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of U.S. domestic companies that are subject to all corporate governance requirements.

Interest of management and others in material transactions

Except as described below or elsewhere in this AIF, no director of FirstService, executive officer of FirstService, or person or company that beneficially owns, or controls or directs more than 10% of any class or series of voting securities of FirstService, or any associate or affiliate of any of the foregoing persons, has or has had any material interest in any transaction within the last three years, or during the current year, that has materially affected or is reasonably expected to materially affect FirstService or any of its subsidiaries.

Material contracts

The only contracts that can reasonably be regarded as material to us, other than contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business, are as follows:

Copies of the above material contracts are available on FirstService’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Cease trade orders, bankruptcies, penalties or sanctions

To the best of the knowledge of the Company:

except for Michael Stein, who served as a director of a privately held United Kingdom-registered company from February 2012 to January 2019 and, on March 21, 2019, the company voluntarily appointed an administrator under the United Kingdom insolvency act (Insolvency Act 1986).

Conflicts of interest

Certain directors and officers of the Company are engaged in and will continue to engage in activities outside the Company, and as a result, certain directors and officers of the Company may become subject to conflicts of interest. The Business Corporations Act (Ontario) provides that in the event that a director or officer has an interest in a contract or proposed contract or agreement, the director or officer shall disclose his or her interest in such contract or agreement and, in the case of directors, shall refrain from voting on any matter in respect of such contract or agreement unless otherwise provided under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario). To the extent that conflicts of interest arise, such conflicts will be resolved in accordance with the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario).

As at the date hereof, the Company is not aware of any existing or potential material conflicts of interest between the Company and a director or officer of the Company.

Experts

The Company’s independent registered public accounting firm is PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, who has issued an integrated audit report dated February 20, 2020 in respect of the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 and on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as at December 31, 2019. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has advised that they are independent with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and within the meaning of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the SEC. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee is comprised of three members who are each “independent” and “financially literate” as required by Multilateral Instrument 52-110 Audit Committees (the “Audit Committee Rule”). The members of the Audit Committee are Bernard I. Ghert (Chair – 2019 and prior), Michael Stein and Joan Eloise Sproul (Chair – Present). The Audit Committee has the resources and the authority to discharge its responsibilities, including the authority to engage, at the expense of FirstService, outside consultants, independent legal counsel and other advisors as it determines necessary to carry out its duties, without seeking approval of our board of directors or management. The Audit Committee also has the authority to conduct any investigation necessary and appropriate to fulfilling its responsibilities, and has direct access to communicate with the external auditors, legal counsel and officers and employees of FirstService. The Audit Committee meets at least four times annually, or more frequently as circumstances dictate.

The Audit Committee reviews the annual and interim financial statements intended for circulation among shareholders and reports upon these to our board of directors prior to their approval by the full board. The Audit Committee is also responsible for reviewing the integrity of FirstService’s financial reporting process, both internal and external, and any major issues as to the adequacy of the internal controls and any special audit procedures adopted in light of any material control deficiencies. The Audit Committee communicates directly with FirstService’s external auditors in order to discuss audit and related matters whenever appropriate. In addition, our board of directors may refer to the Audit Committee such matters and questions relating to the financial position of FirstService and its subsidiaries. All reports made to FirstService’s ethics hotline are reviewed by the Chair of the Audit Committee and then by the entire Audit Committee at its next meeting. Our board of directors has adopted an Audit Committee mandate, a copy of which is annexed as Exhibit “A” to this AIF. The Audit Committee mandate is also published on the Company’s website (www.firstservice.com).

The education and related experience of each of the members of the Audit Committee that is relevant to the performance by such members of their responsibilities on such committee is described below.

Joan Eloise Sproul (Chair – Present) – Ms. Sproul was most recently the Executive Vice President, Finance (CFO) & Chief Administrative Officer of the Sinai Health System in Toronto, Canada, which is comprised of Mount Sinai Hospital, Bridgepoint Active Healthcare and Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute. In addition to serving more than 20 years in various finance and corporate-related roles at Mount Sinai Hospital, she previously held a number of senior financial positions in the hospitality industry. Ms. Sproul serves on the Board of Directors for The Centre for Phenogenomics, a state-of-the-art national research facility owned and operated by Sinai Health and the Hospital for Sick Children. Ms. Sproul was named to the list of Canada's Most Powerful Women, Women's Executive Network, 2013. Ms. Sproul holds a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation, having qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1981 and began her career at Ernst & Whinney. Ms. Sproul holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto.

Bernard I. Ghert (Chair – 2019 and prior) –

Mr. Ghert was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited from 1981 to 1987 and President of Stelworth Investments Inc. from 1987 to 1992. Mr. Ghert has been a director of many organizations in the private and public sectors, including Cadillac Fairview, Stelworth, CT Financial and Canada Trust, Wellington Insurance and the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. Mr. Ghert has served as Director of the Managers of several Middlefield Funds, President of the Canadian Institute of Public Real Estate Companies and was a former member of the Advisory Board of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. Mr. Ghert currently is Chairman of the Independent Review Committee of Middlefield Fund Management Limited, President of the B.I. Ghert Family Foundation, President of Coppi Holdings Ltd., a Director Emeritus on Sinai Health System’s Board, Co-Chair on Sinai Health System’s Audit and Risk Management Committee and Past Chair of the Mount Sinai Hospital Board of Directors. Mr. Ghert holds a Master of Business Administration degree.

Michael Stein – Mr. Stein is the founder, Chairman and CEO of the MPI Group, a property development and investment group with a track record in incubating, investing in, and managing successful companies. Between 1978 and 1987, Mr. Stein held progressively senior positions with the Mortgage Insurance Company of Canada, ultimately holding the position of Executive Vice-President responsible for operations. Mr. Stein is a founder of CAPREIT, Canada’s first TSX listed apartment REIT, where he continues to serve as chairman. He currently serves as a director of McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE/TSX), a trustee of European Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX-V), chairman of Cliffside Capital Ltd. (TSX-V) and previously served as a director of Goldcorp Inc. Mr. Stein is a graduate engineer and has an MBA in finance and international business from Columbia University.

The Audit Committee Rule requires the Company to disclose whether its Audit Committee has adopted specific policies and procedures for the engagement of non-audit services and to prepare a summary of these policies and procedures. The Audit Committee is responsible for the selection, nomination, compensation, retention, termination and oversight of the work of the external auditors engaged for the purpose of issuing an auditor’s report or performing other audit, review or attest services for FirstService and, in such regard, recommend to our board of directors the external auditors to be nominated for approval by FirstService shareholders. The Audit Committee will also consider, assess and report to our board of directors with regard to the independence and performance of the external auditors. The Audit Committee has adopted a pre-approval policy pursuant to which the Company may not engage the Company’s external auditor to carry out certain non-audit services that are deemed inconsistent with the independence of auditors under U.S. and Canadian applicable laws. The Audit Committee must pre-approve all audit engagements and the provision by the external auditors of all non-audit services, including fees and terms for all audit engagements and non-audit engagements.

In addition to performing the audit of the Company’s annual consolidated financial statements, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP provided other services to the Company and they billed the Company the following fees during 2019:

Notes:

Additional information

Additional information, including the directors’ and officers’ remuneration and indebtedness, principal holders of the Company’s securities and options to purchase securities, where applicable, is contained in the Meeting Circular.

Copies of publicly filed documents of the Company, including those incorporated herein by reference, can be found through the SEDAR web site at www.sedar.com and also via EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Additional financial information is provided in the Company’s consolidated financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019.

EXHIBIT “A”

AUDIT COMMITTEE MANDATE

Purpose

The Audit Committee (the “Committee”) is appointed by and shall assist the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of FirstService Corporation (the “Company”) in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities in the following principal areas: (i) accounting policies and practices, (ii) the financial reporting process, (iii) financial statements provided by the Company to the public, (iv) risk management including systems of internal accounting and financial controls, (v) appointing, overseeing and evaluating the work of the external auditors, and (vi) compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

In addition to the responsibilities specifically enumerated in this Mandate, the Board may refer to the Committee such matters and questions relating to the financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries as the Board may from time to time see fit.

Membership

The Committee shall consist of at least three directors appointed annually by the Board and shall be selected based upon the following, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations:

Chair and Secretary

The Chair of the Audit Committee shall be selected by the Board. If the Chair is not present, the members of the Committee may designate a Chair for the meeting by majority vote of the members present. The Secretary of the Company shall be the Secretary of the Audit Committee, provided that if the Secretary is not present, the Chair of the meeting may appoint a secretary for the meeting with the consent of the other Committee members who are present.

Meetings

The times and locations of meetings of the Committee and the calling of such meetings, shall be determined from time to time by the Chair of the Committee, in consultation with management when necessary, provided that there shall be a minimum of four meetings per year. The Committee shall have sufficient notice in order to prepare for each meeting. Notice of each meeting shall also be given to the external auditors of the Company, and meetings shall be convened whenever requested by the external auditors or any member of the Committee in accordance with applicable law.

Meeting Agendas

Agendas for meetings of the Audit Committee shall be developed by the Chair of the Committee in consultation with management and the corporate secretary, and shall be circulated to the Committee members prior to any meetings.

Resources and Authority

The Committee shall have the resources and the authority to discharge its responsibilities, including the authority to engage, at the expense of the Company, outside consultants, independent legal counsel and other advisors as it determines necessary to carry out its duties, without seeking approval of the Board or management.

The Committee shall have the authority to conduct any investigation necessary and appropriate to fulfilling its responsibilities, and has direct access to communicate with the external auditors, legal counsel, and officers and employees of the Company.

The members of the Committee have the right, for the purpose of performing their duties, to inspect the books and records of the Company and to discuss such accounts and records and any matters relating to the financial position, risk management and internal controls of the Company with the officers and external auditors of the Company.

Responsibilities

The Company’s management is responsible for preparing the Company’s financial statements while the external auditors are responsible for auditing those financial statements. The Committee is responsible for overseeing the conduct of those activities by the Company’s management and external auditors, and overseeing the activities of any internal audit initiatives. The Company’s external auditors are accountable to the Committee as representatives of the Company’s shareholders.

It is recognized that members of the Committee are not full-time employees of the Company and do not represent themselves to be accountants or auditors by profession or experts in the fields of accounting or auditing or the preparation of financial statements. It is not the duty or responsibility of the Committee or its members to conduct “field work” or other types of auditing or accounting reviews or procedures. Each member of the Committee shall be entitled to rely on (i) the integrity of those persons and organizations within and outside the Company from whom it receives information, and (ii) the accuracy of the financial and other information provided to the Committee by such persons or organizations absent actual knowledge to the contrary.

The specific responsibilities of the Committee are as follows: