Accountability and Governance 

Reflections

Letter from the President and CEO

Accountability and Governance

FROM: SEP-OCT 2005 ISSUE

Over the past year I've been sharing my thoughts with business audiences on two key issues: the need for better corporate governance practices, and the continuous drive for clarity, transparency, and accountability in financial reporting to allow shareholders, business stakeholders, and the public at large to have confidence in such reporting. Indeed, these ideas have formed the cornerstone of my platform remarks as I addressed a variety of influential audiences, including the Vancouver Board of Trade and the Institute of Internal Auditors.

These concepts of accountability and good governance are also important to this year's John Leslie award recipient, John Williams, MP, FCGA, who is profiled in this issue. The John Leslie Award recognizes the achievements of exceptional CGAs, and Mr. Williams has proven himself truly exceptional in this regard.

Now in his fourth term as the Conservative party member of Parliament for the riding of Edmonton- St. Albert, Mr. Williams has been striving to build better government, through the creation of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).

He is the Chair of this international organization, which focuses on the promotion of accountability among parliamentarians around the world. As a global organization committed to good governance, GOPAC concentrates on ensuring governments are open, transparent, honest, and effective. GOPAC has received the support of international organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations. Mr. Williams is also Chair of the Canadian chapter of GOPAC — Canadian Parliamentarians Against Corruption.

And, Mr. Williams strongly believes that effective legislatures are crucial to democratic governance. These are truly ideas whose time has come. As we seek to create a greater sense of transparency and accountability within the private sector, so too, we expect the same within the public sector. A related initiative which is setting Canada on a positive course in this regard has been the creation of the office of the Comptroller General of Canada.

We at CGA-Canada recently met with the Comptroller General, Charles-AntoineSt-Jean, to explore how we can support his mandate to bring greater financial clarity and accountability into the public sector and to increase the skills and abilities of the financial managers who work for all Canadians, inside our national public sector organizations.

The accounting profession has a strong role to play in this evolution. As a leading accounting designation, CGA can bring forward the skills and abilities needed for government financial managers to succeed. In the coming year, we will be working closely with the Comptroller General and his team to provide new and innovative ways to make CGA the designation of choice within the public sector.

John Williams and Charles-AntoineSt-Jean may be working in different ways on this matter. But their ultimate goals are the same. And rest assured, CGA will be there to support the achievement of these worthy objectives, now and for the future. Canadians are counting on us and we will be there.

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