News from CGA-Canada
FROM:
MAY-JUNE 2006 ISSUE
New Strategic Plan Offers Vision of Growth
CGA-Canada's new strategic plan, released publicly on
March 13, is based on three key themes: we must deliver high value to our members, we must play a leading role in our profession, and we must protect the public trust.
Leveraging our Success and Opening the Door to Opportunity was developed by the Strategic Planning Committee, with input from a broad range of CGA stakeholders. The plan identifies six strategic goals for the Association to pursue over the next three to five years, including:
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Ensure full professional equity for CGAs
By working with our provincial affiliates to create an integrated strategy,
CGA-Canada will ensure that we achieve full professional equity. Professional equity adds value to the designation by opening up professional areas of practice which have been previously closed to the CGA designation. |
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Be the fastest-growing accounting designation
CGA-Canada will support the affiliates to continuously grow the CGA population in both absolute numbers and market share. Retaining our position as the fastest growing accounting designation will be of huge promotional value to
CGA-Canada and its members and, in executing this goal, quality will be a top priority. |
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Be a value provider to the profession and the public
CGA-Canada will provide members with products and services which address their needs. It will provide the profession with the best standards and related research, and the public with the best possible public policy input and advocacy on important issues. |
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Protect and enhance our leadership position in the delivery of education, certification, and continuing professional development
CGA-Canada must be a leader in addressing market needs while always being mindful of the changing needs and values of our members. By being proactive in shaping the changes that occur, we can ensure that
CGA-Canada is a key player in determining the direction the profession takes in the future. |
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Increase our visibility and achieve high brand recognition and value
CGA-Canada is committed to proactively and aggressively promoting the designation's brand recognition, particularly to business leaders and the general public. The key to achieving this strategic goal will be to actively seek out, establish, and develop strong relationships with key stakeholders who can provide
CGA-Canada with the opportunities necessary to achieve greater exposure. |
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6.
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Ensure the health of the Association
Sound organizational health is the key to the success of all of the strategies set out by
CGA-Canada. Establishing the financial and human resources required to achieve its mandate, while ensuring that governance, management tools, and working relationships are in place will be essential to making
CGA-Canada's plan a reality.
CGA-Canada seeks to be a model organization that others will emulate. |
"Through the implementation of this new strategic plan, we intend to ensure CGAs not only ride the wave, but influence the direction of that wave as we move ahead to the future," said
CGA-Canada Chair
Dany Girard, FCGA. "This strategy is all about setting a clear direction in a complex global environment."
CGA-Canada's leadership council, under the direction of President and CEO Anthony Ariganello, will develop a range of tactics to meet the identified goals. The complete strategic plan can be read at
www.cga-online.org/canada.
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Canada's Comptroller General Speaks to Board
The Comptroller General of Canada, Charles-Antoine
St-Jean, FCA, is looking to the CGA designation to play a key role in supporting his initiatives. This was the message he conveyed to the
CGA-Canada Board of Directors at its
March 11 meeting in Vancouver.
The comptroller general presented an update on the federal government's strategy to strengthen public sector financial reporting and improve the internal audit function, before taking questions from Board members.
"One of the challenges we face in the public sector is that we are subjected to a degree of scrutiny that is unimaginable in the private sector," said
St-Jean. "But there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, the more transparent we can be, the better. The more information we can make available to Canadians and to parliamentarians, the more we can improve its accountability."
The Office of the Comptroller General (OCG) was re-established by the federal government in 2004 with a mandate to strengthen comptrollership and oversight within the federal public service.
CGA-Canada is actively exploring opportunities to collaborate with the OCG to ensure that CGA is well positioned to be of high value in the implementation of the federal government's agenda.
St-Jean noted the strong contribution CGAs are already making to the public sector. "I was pleased to see that a number of the participants in our financial officer and internal audit recruitment and development program have their CGA designation," said
St-Jean. "In fact, out of 1,245 graduates of this program, 60 per cent have or are working towards an accounting designation. And of these, a full
44 per cent are CGAs. So, thank you very much for your support in professionalizing our financial management community."
The comptroller general spoke on four topics: the proposed chief financial officer model for government departments, strengthening and professionalizing the internal audit function, progress toward the goal of issuing annual audited consolidated financial statements, and recruitment and professional development of financial professionals within the public service.
St-Jean expressed a strong interest in executive programs that provide a fast-track approach for senior managers to obtain accounting designations.
CGA-Canada has added a new section to its website that provides information on opportunities for CGAs within the federal public service. In particular, it details the benefits of professional development partnerships such as the Association's MBA partnerships with Laurentian and Athabasca universities, and opportunities to earn a Certified Internal Auditor designation from the Institute of Internal Auditors. Visit
www.cga-online.org/canada.
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Former OSC Chair Addresses Fallout of Enron
One of the long-term impacts of the Enron scandal is that domestic policies for Canada and other countries are now being dictated internationally. This was the message of former Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) Chair
David Brown, who spoke at a
CGA-Canada Economic News Luncheon on March 15 at the National Press Club in Ottawa.
"The Enron collapse, with the corroboration of the subsequent scandals (Global Crossing, Adelphi, and WorldCom), awoke the world to some serious systemic problems in the financial markets," said Brown. "And this was the catalyst that began the migration of policy-making upward from the national to the international level."
He explained that immediately after the Enron collapse, international bodies such as the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) undertook measures to strengthen standards and oversight in an effort to rebuild public trust. These measures have helped speed the global harmonization of regulatory standards, but have also restricted the ability of domestic policy-makers to respond to issues with localized solutions.
"I believe that Canada must seize every opportunity to influence this global policy agenda. And the good news is that we are welcome participants with the global
heavy-weights; able to punch well above our weight in the international ring," said Brown. He pointed out that Canadians, including CGAs, are playing active and prominent roles in various international organizations, including IFAC.
He concluded his remarks by challenging CGAs to continue to contribute to the process of change and to promote the public interest. Brown's entire speech is available on the
CGA-Canada website at
www.cga-online.org/canada under Events in the Media Centre.
CGA-Canada's Economic News Luncheons provide a forum for leading figures in Canadian politics, industry, and finance to speak out on a wide range of issues that affect CGAs and the public at large.
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Anthony Ariganello to Address Financial Executives International
A range of interconnected issues under the theme Building Bridges will be addressed at the 2006 North American Conference of Financial Executives International (FEI) Canada.
CGA-Canada is a sponsor of the conference, which runs from
May 31 to
June 2 in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
The conference features a strong lineup of speakers, including
CGA-Canada President and CEO
Anthony Ariganello who will participate in a panel session titled From CFO to CEO. The session will examine how the mandates and competencies of the CFO and CEO are changing, and explore the challenges of transitioning into the top job.
Other highlights include: Michael Cherkasky, president and CEO of Marsh & McLennan, on managing in the wake of crisis, recovery, and compliance; Claude Mongeau, executive VP and CFO of Canadian National Railway, on the strategic CFO of today; Jim Firestone, president of Xerox
North America, on Xerox's emphasis on corporate social responsibility; and
Ellis Jacob, Cineplex Galaxy president and CEO, on acquiring your largest competitor.
"This year's FEI North American conference rates up there with the best in terms of program content, quality of speakers, location, spousal program, and networking opportunities," says Fred Burke, FCGA, program chair of the conference organizing committee. "We have lined up very talented speakers for the numerous panels and keynotes. The range of topics is highly relevant to CGAs in senior financial positions."
CGA-Canada will have a booth at the conference, which takes place at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort. The conference also features a gala dinner at Peller Estates, golfing, and other social events. More information is available at
www.feicanada.org.
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Report Exposes Risks in Income Trusts
CGA-Canada's latest research report, released on
March 28, explores the challenges, risks, and tax implications of one of Canada's increasingly popular investment vehicles, income trusts.
The report,
Demystifying Income Trusts, points out that most of the income trust's cash is distributed to unitholders and not invested in research and development. As a result, the growth and sustainability of the trust may be curtailed. As well, when compared to bonds, cash distributions received from an income trust are neither guaranteed nor fixed.
Another challenge concerns the reliability of "distributable cash." Although income trusts follow GAAP, distributable cash is a
non-GAAP financial measure. The report concludes that Canadian provincial and territorial securities regulators would be well served to introduce a mechanism which reconciles distributable cash to GAAP reporting.
Income trusts are popular because of their high yields. However a high rate of return comes with a high degree of risk. One measure that would help investors to assess the risk of income trusts and make knowledgeable comparisons would be for income trusts to be rated by independent rating agencies. Given the complexity of the market,
CGA-Canada strongly supports the rating agency process since rating agencies provide the rare independent opinion of a professional body on the sustainability of income trust distributions.
Demystifying Income Trusts attracted national media interest on its release and the issues raised in the report will be explored further in a future issue of
CGA Magazine.
Demystifying Income Trusts can be downloaded from the
CGA-Canada Web site at
www.cga-online.org/canada.
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CGA Barbados Hosts International Conference
CGA Barbados welcomed CGAs from throughout the Caribbean region and Canada to its first International Conference,
February 23 to 25. The event featured professional development seminars, social events, and opportunities for CGAs to build relationships.
"Though we may live and work in different parts of the world, the challenges facing our profession are common to us all," said
CGA-Canada Chair
Dany Girard, FCGA, in his opening address to the conference. Girard commented on how the Caribbean Single Market and Economy initiative is a good example of the challenges and opportunities presented by globalization.
Everett Colby, FCGA, Chair of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, presented a session on detecting and preventing financial statement fraud, and
Dawn McGeachy,
CGA-Canada's public practice associate, discussed quality controls in professional practices. Other speakers at the conference included Barbados Senator Rudy Grant.
Perhaps the highlight for most conference attendees was the plantation dinner show on the Friday evening, an event that highlighted Barbadian culture and cuisine.
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