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John Nagy, FCGA
Chair |
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Anthony Ariganello, FCGA
President and CEO |
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We are pleased to present the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada Annual Report for the fiscal year
2003-2004. The past year saw notable accomplishments in the areas of representation and recognition, the launch of several important projects that will benefit members and students alike, and some turmoil within the Canadian accounting world that hit close to home.
One particularly significant victory came in the public practice rights arena. As a result of CGA Ontario's hard work, the Ontario government has decided to replace its out-dated public accounting legislation with Bill 94, the Public Accounting Act, 2004, enabling qualified CGAs, CMAs, and CAs to obtain licenses to practice public accounting. We at CGA-Canada, along with our provincial counterparts in Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, still have work ahead of us to achieve the same objective there, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for provincial governments to deny CGAs the right to practice public accounting.
Another great success from 2003-2004 was our report on the state of defined benefit pension plans. Addressing the Pensions Dilemma in Canada, the first major report from the Association's new Research and Policy Development department, struck a chord with many Canadians and received coverage from more than 40 different media outlets.
Our efforts to gain recognition on the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) moved forward. The Association will be granted industry membership status for one provincial Affiliate, in addition to the right to inspect our own members in jurisdictions where CGAs audit public entities. This is a small step towards ensuring that all auditors are represented in the CPAB process. Members can count on CGA-Canada to continue to champion the issue of CPAB independence.
CGA's international presence grew during this time, in accordance with the International Vision Task Force Report goals of enhancing our visibility and program offerings outside Canada. At the same time, we were able to initiate a mutual recognition dialogue with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and grow the Program of Professional Studies in both Asia and the Caribbean.
Closer to home, CGA-Canada rolled out a new Learning Management System that facilitates online design and implementation of the competency-based, modular, interactive Program of Professional Studies. The system is officially known as edNET.
Over the course of the year, we were also witness to two proposed accounting mergers, one at the national level between CICA and CMA-Canada and a second between Quebec CGAs, CMAs, and CAs. The Quebec issue was resolved with the three designations announcing they were cancelling merger discussions. All of us at the Association are pleased CGA-Quebec will remain within the CGA family.
Things are less clear on the national front, but merger discussions are proceeding more slowly than CMA and CA announced. We will watch these developments with interest, but in the meantime will serve our members and students as we always have — with integrity, expertise, and excellence.
CGA-Canada has a responsibility to be proactive and address a broad range of issues facing Canadians today. We need to be vocal when it comes to trust and accountability in financial reporting, promote the case for responsible corporate governance, and advocate for changes to the regulatory environment. We need to become the voice in these discussions. The resource. The experts. Those are our goals for the coming year, and they are attainable ones.
Finally, we want to recognize the contributions of CGA volunteers. The Association could not have accomplished all it did in 2003-2004 without these people. Thank you to the Board and Committee members for their part in the successes we saw last year, and for the work we will undertake in 2004-2005. They, along with the CGA Affiliates, make so much possible.
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