Reflections
Letter from the President and CEO
International Relations
FROM:
JUL-AUG 2005 ISSUE
CGA-Canada has a responsibility to ensure that our influence as accounting professionals isn't constrained by the borders of our own country, or even our own continent. In order to guarantee the global relevance of our designation and play an influential role in the development of accounting, auditing, and other professional standards, the Association must form strong ties with other accounting bodies around the world.
We have to build the bridges that are necessary to facilitate the flow of information, ideas, and professional expertise from Canada outward to the rest of the world. This in turn will also allow us to bring home the knowledge and information that will make our designation even stronger.
At the Association level, CGA-Canada is a member of the Confederation of Asia and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) and an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC). A number of CGAs also provide their individual expertise — as well as this Association's perspective — to other international bodies.
Pierre Barnès, FCGA, is currently serving as the Director and First Vice-Chair of the Interamerican Accounting Association (IAA), and will be assuming the position of President in October of this year. This group has representation from 33 accounting organizations in 23 countries.
Both Sylvie Voghel, FCGA, and Dale Gislason, FCGA, have worked with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) for some time now. Sylvie sits on the IFAC Board of Directors, and is one of two Canadians on the
21-member board. Dale is one of 11 members of the Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Permanent Task Force. IFAC is a key player in the international accounting scene, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in 119 countries.
These appointments raise the profile of the CGA designation, both within these organizations and the international accounting community. They also serve to underscore our commitment to professional standards that will promote transparency, accountability, and credibility within the business world.
The combination of several important elements — membership; representation on key boards, committees, and working groups; alliances and partnerships; contributions to accounting, auditing, and the further development of professional standards, as well as building mutual recognition agreements with accounting organizations in other regions — puts CGA front and centre on the global accounting stage, right where we should be.
Reaching out and becoming part of this international community broadens the scope of our knowledge, our influence among our peers, and our mandate to act as the voice for CGAs and the public at large. It ensures we are relevant today, and will continue to be relevant well into the future.
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