News from CGA-Canada
FROM: MAR-APR 2004 ISSUE
Open Memo to the Prime Minister
CGA-Canada is recommending that the federal government make a priority of addressing four finance related issues in the coming year. The issues are included in an open memorandum from CGA-Canada President and CEO Anthony Ariganello, CGA, to Prime MinisterPaul Martin that was sent to all Members of Parliament when they returned to Ottawa on February 2.
The four priorities are improved interprovincial trade, reform of Canada's institutions in order to strengthen public confidence, reform of the tax system, and improved government finances. The four points have been made previously by the Association in presentations to the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade, and Commerce, and the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.
The memo hails the creation of the Council of the Federation, established by Canada's Premiers, as an important initiative and encourages the federal government to work with the council on the resolution of domestic trade issues. "We believe the Council's priority to strengthen the economic union including enhancing internal trade, improving labour mobility, and harmonizing and streamlining regulation is a worthy goal," the Ariganello states in the memo.
On the issue of reform of Canada's institutions, the Association recommends that an independent institution, clearly separate from all professional accounting bodies, be vested with the responsibility of setting accounting standards. It also encourages Canada to move expeditiously toward the global harmonization of accounting standards.
On the subject of tax reform, the memo suggests that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance should hold discussions on the reform of the tax system with the goal of making the system fairer, simpler, and more responsive for businesses and individuals.
Regarding the issue of improved government finances, the memo advises the government to tighten accountability around public expenditures. It proposes that the new Cabinet Committee on Expenditure Review should promote the publication of information that will enable Canadians to judge whether spending is justified and aligned with government priorities.
The key priorities were also published in an advertisement in The Hill Times, a newspaper serving Parliament Hill. With so many new cabinet ministers and officials, CGA-Canada's government relations staff is busy establishing relationships and acquainting ministers with the Association and its goals. The Association hosted a "welcome back" social event February 18 at the Rideau Club for all MPs, providing an informal opportunity to raise its profile.
The open memo to the prime minister can be read on the CGA-Canada Web site at www.cga-canada.org.
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New Technology Platform Maintains CGA Program's Advantage
A new technology platform being developed for the creation and delivery of CGA-Canada's education program will ensure its position as the country's leading distance-based accounting program.
A pilot project to test the new online delivery technology, known as a Learning Management System (LMS), will be conducted in most regions in March 2004 using the Financial Accounting 1(FA1) course. CGA-Canada is adapting the LMS from a system developed by the Canadian Institute of Financial Planning (CIFP).
The LMS permits students to complete assignments online, tracks the students' progress and performance, and enables students to communicate with instructors, or with each other.
Also being developed is a Learning Content Management System (LCMS), which is used for the online development of course content. Testing of the LCMS is currently underway, with plans to implement the technology during the summer of 2004 to develop course materials for the 2005-06 academic year.
The LMS and LCMS will complete the evolution of the CGA education program to a fully online model, replacing the compact discs that are currently in use. The CGA program continues to be a leader in incorporating innovative technology, not only in its delivery, but in the course content as well. The distance-based format, made possible by this use of technology, is one of the advantages of the CGA program.
After evaluating several different technologies, CGA-Canada signed an agreement with the CIFP last year to purchase and modify the system it had developed. The CIFP has been successfully using this technology since May 2002 to deliver courses to its 25,000 members. Transition to the new technology at CGA-Canada is being phased in over a four-year period.
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New Research Department Launches First Major Project
An analysis of issues related to defined benefit pension plans in Canada will be the first major project under the Association's commitment to develop an enhanced research and policy development capacity (see "News from CGA", September-October 2003 , CGA Magazine). Specifically, the research will:
- Identify the challenges that corporate pension plans face;
- Address how employers, regulators, and other stakeholders can meet those challenges; and,
- Suggest alternatives to improve the system, including a more transparent accounting reporting system.
The Association's new Research and Policy Development department is starting to take shape as well. Rock Lefebvre, MBA, CGA, has been hired to manage the department and a research analyst is also being recruited to expand the team's capacity. The department will draw extensively on existing resources throughout the organization. The new department will develop research projects that allow the Association to make a meaningful contribution to public policy debates.
"I see the department's role being to keep our members current and apprised of business and professional trends, and to help the Association develop positions on issues impacting its members," says Lefebvre.
A Research Steering Committee has been established to assist in identifying research topics and to provide guidance to the department. Members of the steering group are CGA-Canada President and CEO Anthony Ariganello, CGA, (Chair); Jim Dunphy, FCGA; Michel Guindon, FCGA; Gordon Ruth, FCGA; Bruce Hutton, FCGA; and Luc Provencher, FCGA.
CGA-Canada and its provincial, territorial, and regional affiliates have always had a strong commitment to research, and CGA-Canada's new commitment will serve to strengthen this approach already underway. Specifically, CGA-Canada will be focusing on the many public policy issues that are affecting the rapidly-changing profession of accounting in Canada.
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Practice Analysis Results Presented Internationally
David Harrison, PhD, CGA-Canada's senior academic advisor, will present the findings of the Association's recent practice analysis survey to a conference of the Association of Business and Economics Research (ABER) to be held in Amsterdam in July.
ABER is a multi-disciplinary academic and professional organization. The conference will attract scholars and practitioners from various business-related fields for the purpose of promoting interdisciplinary research. Harrison will present Validating Competencies Underlying a Professional Accounting Credential, a paper co-written with David McPeak, MBA, MSc, CGA, the Association's director of assessment, and Sandra Greenberg, PhD, of Professional Examination Service.
Designing a practice analysis survey is a major undertaking and there has been interest at academic and professional conferences in hearing about CGA-Canada's successful experience. McPeak presented the same paper to the National Association of Competency Assurance in November. Similar presentations were made to the Canadian Academic Accounting Association and the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada in 2003.
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