This past year CGA-Canada expanded its commitment to research, as directed by the Long-Range Strategic Plan approved by the Board in September 2002, with the creation of a new Research and Policy Development department.
The department will focus on three areas in particular: corporate and social governance, business ethics and accountability, and international accounting and auditing practices.
First Project from CGA Research Department is Major Success
An analysis of issues related to defined benefit pension plans in Canada was the first project launched under the Association's commitment to an enhanced research and policy development capacity (see " News from CGA-Canada", September – October 2003, CGA Magazine).
Addressing the Pensions Dilemma in Canada identifies challenges faced by corporate pension plans, addresses ways employers, regulators, and other stakeholders could more effectively meet those challenges, and suggests alternatives to improve the system, including a more transparent reporting system.
The report was a resounding success, with considerable interest from the media, business community, and general public; coverage of the report appeared in print publications, on television, and radio, with senior staff speaking to the media on behalf of the Association.
CGA-Canada's new Research and Policy Development department produced the report, and grew quickly during 2004 with the addition of a new vice-president and two in-house research analysts.
The department will continue to evolve and expects to draw extensively on existing resources throughout the organization and among CGA Affiliates, in order to develop research projects that allow the Association to make a meaningful contribution to public policy debates and the rapidly-changing accounting profession in Canada.
A Research Steering Committee comprised of CGA-Canada President and CEO Anthony Ariganello, FCGA, (Chair); Jim Dunphy, FCGA; Michel Guindon, FCGA; Gordon Ruth, FCGA; Bruce Hutton, FCGA; and Luc Provencher, FCGA, assisted in identifying research topics and in providing guidance to the department during its first year of operation.
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