News from CGA-Canada
FROM: JAN-FEB 2007 ISSUE
National Newsletter Launched
Dialogue, a new CGA-Canada newsletter designed to build the profile of the CGA designation, debuted in November. The first issue featured articles about the growth of the accounting profession, ethics and accountability, the expectations gap faced by auditors, and the competency-based approach of the CGA program. Dialogue was distributed in English through Canadian Business magazine and in French through Les Affaires. Plans are to publish the newsletter twice a year.
[ TOP ]
Finance Minister Echoes CGA Recommendations
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s economic strategy, called Advantage Canada, proposes measures to improve Canada’s productivity and global competitiveness, the same theme CGA-Canada emphasized in its submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance on October 18.
“We welcome the government’s policy commitments. Mr. Flaherty’s plan to reduce taxes, streamline the regulatory environment, reduce the paper burden, and remove internal trade barriers could have been taken directly from CGA-Canada’spre-budget brief,” said Anthony Ariganello, CPA (Delaware), FCGA, president and CEO of CGA-Canada.
In its pre-budget submission, Canada’s Competitive Edge: Honing Growth and Productivity, CGA-Canada made recommendations on fuelling a competitive labour force, stimulating investment in research and development, creating a competitive tax system, simplifying the regulatory burden, and bolstering Canada’s Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT).
The recommendations were developed by CGA-Canada’s Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee and presented as part of the government’s pre-budget consultation process. The complete submission can be read at www.cga-online.org/canada.
[ TOP ]
CGA Ads Go Wireless
CGA-Canada ads can now be seen on a brand new advertising medium — bbTV, the first video player available for the newest generation of BlackBerry devices. CGA-Canada is sponsoring the Financial News Wrap on bbTV, an advertising campaign that puts the CGA brand before a very desirable audience of business executives and politicians.
[ TOP ]
CGA Luncheons Tackle Issues
Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, and the Auditor General are among the high-profile speakers featured in the 2006-07 season of CGA-Canada’s Economic News Luncheons.
Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart kicked off the season, speaking on the impact of Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) as well as the challenges of protecting privacy in an age of global terrorism.
On October 31, a panel of speakers addressed the findings of research into the impact of regulation on small and medium-sized entities. The report, Tackling Compliance: Small Business and Regulation in Canada, received media coverage in major newspapers such as the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen, the Calgary Herald, and the Edmonton Journal, as well as on ROB-TV.
CGA-Canada’s Economic News Luncheons provide a forum for leading figures in Canadian politics, industry, and finance to speak out on issues that affect CGAs and the public at large. They are held at the National Press Club in Ottawa. Information on all Economic News Luncheon presentations is available at www.cga-online.org/canada in the Media Centre under Events.
[ TOP ]
Students Receive CGA Funding
Two CGAs pursuing doctoral studies in accounting will receive funding from the CGA-Canada Doctoral Funding program. Shelley Lukasewich of the School of Business at the University of Alberta and Gulraze Wakil of Kent State University in Ohio each receive $10,000 to pursue their studies and research.
Lukasewich is investigating the evolution of corporate reporting, and specifically non-GAAP reporting, with an emphasis on income trusts. Wakil is working on a study of dividend taxes and implied cost of equity capital in Canada.
Wakil is a member of CGA Ontario, while Lukasewich is a member of both CGA Alberta and CGA Saskatchewan. CGA-Canada’s Doctoral Funding program provides up to $10,000 a year for a maximum of three years to CGAs interested in pursuing a PhD in accounting and auditing-related fields. Eligibility criteria are at www.cga-online.org/canada.
[ TOP ]
2005-06 Award Winners
CGA-Canada congratulates all the recipients of the CGA-Canada student awards. These awards recognize outstanding academic achievement by students and recently certified CGAs in the 2005-06 academic year.
The ENCON Group Inc. Insurance Public Practice Award, valued at $5,000, is granted to a newly certified CGA graduating from the public practice career option who achieves the highest average mark on the Financial Accounting 4, Auditing 2, and Taxation 2 examinations. This year’s recipient is Sajitha Radhakrishnan of Toronto, Ontario. Radhakrishnan is a tax auditor with the Canada Revenue Agency and is currently part of a project team implementing the Real Time Quality Assurance Pilot at the Toronto North Tax Services office. “I chose the CGA Program of Professional Studies mainly because of its reputation for quality, integrity, and high standard of professional ethics, not to mention the association’s commitment to promoting the highest standards of achievement,” said Radhakrishnan.
The Porter Hétu International Award is presented to a newly certified CGA graduating from the public practice career option who obtains the highest final course mark in Auditing 2. The recipient of the Porter Hétu International Award this year is Nancy Turgeon of Longueuil, Quebec. Turgeon is currently senior rulings officer at the Canada Revenue Agency in Ottawa. “With the prestigious CGA designation, my competencies are highly valued and recognized,” said Turgeon.
The Carswell Taxation Award, which is granted to the student who earns the highest mark in Taxation 2 on the first attempt, is shared this year by two students who achieved identical scores. Yixue Wang of Toronto, Ontario, is an accountant at a Toronto accounting firm. Blandine Nganso, a student of the Ordre des CGA du Québec, is currently a junior auditor for Ernst & Young in Paris, France.
Awards of Excellence are presented to the highest academic achievers in each level of the CGA Program of Professional Studies. Jin Feng of Toronto, Ontario, is the winner of the professional level award for Professional Applications and Competence Evaluations (PACE). “The CGA designation is highly respected, which bears the mark of professional competence and integrity,” said Feng, a senior finance associate at Sears Canada Inc. “It offers unlimited advancement and potential for my future career.”
The Level 4 Award of Excellence winner is Rong Cao of Mississauga, Ontario. Cao is an accountant in a computer integration company. “Interest in numbers and several years of software developing experience have led me into accounting,” said Cao. “I believe CGA can provide the expertise and experience I need to succeed in my career.”
Lynn Patricia Dollar of Hamilton, Ontario, is the winner of the Level 3 Award of Excellence. The flexibility of the CGA program’s online course delivery was an important consideration for Dollar when she decided to move into accounting following a 15-year career as a medical laboratory technologist. “I chose to pursue the CGA designation because it is well respected in the accounting industry,” she said.
Sherri-Lyn Scott, of McCreary, Manitoba, the recipient of the Level 2 Award of Excellence, was attracted to the CGA program by its relevance to her job as well as the business opportunities it may lead to in agriculture. “The convenience of the CGA program has allowed me to remain in my rural setting,” said Scott. “I currently work full-time on my family’s large horse and cattle ranch where bookkeeping is one of my many duties.”
The Level 1 Award of Excellence goes to Ana Karina Paterson, of Prince George, British Columbia. “My position as the junior accountant for a lumber manufacturer has provided me with a tremendous opportunity to work through the entire accounting cycle and to prepare a wide variety of management reports,” said Paterson. “My goal is to step beyond recording and compiling information to ultimately making strategic company decisions as a key member of the management team.”
[ TOP ]
Top Ten Recognition Award
CGA-Canada’s Top Ten Recognition Award honours newly certified members who rank highest across the country. The top performer this year is Sajitha Radhakrishnan, who also won the ENCON Group Inc. Insurance Public Practice Award.
Jin Feng, winner of the Professional Level Award of Excellence, is the second place Top Ten recipient. In third place is Alan Tung of Vancouver, British Columbia.
The other Top Ten award recipients are:
- Benjamin Jacob Liva of Maple Ridge, British Columbia
- Amy Shen of Etobicoke, Ontario
- Surinder Bola of Brampton, Ontario
- Rajalakshmi Atmanathan of Toronto, Ontario
- Rebecca Anne Duncan of Don Mills, Ontario
- Andrea L. Driscoll of Ottawa, Ontario
- Agnieszka Zebrowska of Victoria, British Columbia
[ TOP ]