Fighting for Rights 

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Fighting for Rights

CGA-Canada Chair Ron Colucci, FCGA, has been involved in the push for full professional equity in Ontario for nearly 20 years.

FROM: NOV-DEC 2007 ISSUE | BY PEGGY HOMAN

Winding west from the foot of Toronto’s Yonge Street along the shore of Lake Ontario, you eventually drive through the picturesque area of Port Credit and into Clarkson – one of Mississauga’s most tree-lined and established neighbourhoods. And there on Lakeshore Road West, one of Clarkson’s main streets, is the office of public practitioner and CGA-Canada’s Chair for 2007-08, Ron Colucci, FCGA.

Colucci has a long history of involvement with CGA-Canada in many capacities over the last 12 years, including five years on the board. He served on the National Education Committee for six years, including two as Chair and was involved with the task forces that heralded the PACE examinations, the degree requirement, and most recently, the two practice analyses. At the provincial level he has served with CGA Ontario since 1992, and has completed his term as Past President and Chair.

Dedicated, hard working, and politically savvy, Colucci has a keen interest in politics and is actively involved both federally and provincially. His modest office serves as a nerve centre for local candidates’ campaign finance operations at times, and it is piled high with paper, binders, and documents outlining electoral finance bylaws and official procedures. Colucci has volunteered as the CFO for several candidates, and acted as both the official agent and the financial agent for a Mississauga South candidate.

“I come by it honestly, as my family was political and I always had an interest,” he says. In fact, Colucci’s undergraduate degree is an honours bachelor of arts in political science from Toronto’s York University. His first taste of politics came in the early 1990s, when he got to know a number of politicians during an intense lobbying phase for CGA Ontario. One of those politicians was Jim Flaherty, federal Minister of Finance, and the walls of Colucci’s office display several photos of him with Flaherty. “Back then Jim was the Attorney-General of Ontario and he strongly agreed that the issue of public accounting in Ontario needed to be looked at.”

The Fight for Equity

Colucci has been involved in the push for full professional equity in Ontario since those early days in the 1990s. He is quick to point out there were – and still are – many members working diligently to gain full practice rights for CGAs. “My involvement dates back to the Wolff and Daniels’ reports, and more recently, to Bills 213 and 94. I’m still involved today as we continue to have to lobby actively to ensure what we have isn’t taken away. Protecting our position as public accountants is critical, as we continue to see restricted access to public accounting services.”

The most crucial development in years was the passage of the new public accounting legislation in Ontario in 2004 (Bill 94) and with it, the reconstitution of the Public Accountants Council of Ontario (PAC) so that CGAs, CMAs, and CAs are now represented on the council. (In the past, all of the professional accountants on the PAC were CAs.) Colucci is one of CGA Ontario’s two appointees currently serving on the PAC; the other is Vern Krishna, FCGA. Unlike the former council, the new PAC comprises a majority of public members with no affiliation to the accounting profession.

While the appointment is prestigious, being on the council requires a lot of hard work. Colucci says that for six months in 2006-07 the work of the PAC was very intense, as the council met weekly to redefine itself. The first task was to establish specific, detailed standards for public accounting licensure in Ontario. Previously, the PAC granted licences and the standards were such that one had to be a CA, or meet extenuating circumstances. The new PAC retains a watchdog role over the accounting bodies, but it does not issue licences. Colucci says the PAC is expected to approve CGA Ontario as an authorized licensing body. As a result, CGAs will be eligible for public accounting licences if they can meet the requisite standards in experience, education, and examinations.

“Our members meet or exceed the education and examination standards without any difficulty. The difficulty is in meeting the experience standards as there are very few licensees in Ontario, so the challenge arises in qualifying licenced accountants,” explains Colucci. “CGAs working in large licenced CA firms will presumably meet the experience standards right away; the challenge arises for members who have been in practice for a number of years. What will we have to do to meet the new experience requirement? There are only going to be a few CGA firms that qualify early on and not everyone can go to work for them as there isn’t enough audit work. Also at issue is the fact that the barriers are higher for members with experience. Our older members are likely to ask when do I get my licence and is it worth making the shift?”

From Industry to Public Practice

Although Colucci has been a sole practitioner for nearly 20 years, he started out in industry working for Mississauga-based Playtex Canada’s Women’s Apparel operations. “It was a great job for a young, single guy,” he laughs. Armed with an MBA from the University of Toronto at age 24, Colucci says he thought he had all the education he needed and was ready to take on the world. “It was my first job out of university and as soon as I started, my boss asked me which accounting designation I’d be completing.”

Two of his co-workers were studying to become CGAs and they encouraged him to enroll. “I appreciated the flexibility of the program because a month later I was promoted and transferred to Nova Scotia, yet could continue to do my courses by correspondence.” Another promotion brought him back to Toronto a year and a half later, where he completed his last two courses to become a CGA in 1979.

For years I worked in industry as a controller or treasurer – those types of positions. My involvement with the association began one day when I needed some help with something and called CGA Ontario to discover they had all kinds of information and support for members. The staff was so helpful; they were just dying to help members. Until I made that call, I simply wasn’t aware of what was available.”

Colucci says that when he decided to go into business for himself, he relied on CGA Ontario even more. “I started out in the unfinished basement of my home using an XT loaded with CanTax and SuperCalc in a DOS environment. My wife Gayle set it up for me as she is the computer expert in our family of four. It had a storage capacity of 20 megabytes - and that was considered a big deal! Until then I was still doing budgets on Columnar pads and each time the numbers changed, I had to start over with a fresh sheet of green paper,” he smiles, lauding the productivity gains made possible by the Internet and modern spreadsheet programs.

About 18 months into his home-based business venture, Colucci joined forces with Bill Brown, CGA, who had an office just north of Clarkson in Streetsville. The two were associated, but didn’t form a partnership, which is typical of small practitioners in Ontario. “Bill basically mentored me and showed me how he did his work. If it hadn’t been for him, I don’t know if I would’ve carried on to establish my own successful business.” The two worked together for seven or eight years until Brown retired in 1999. That’s when Colucci opened the Clarkson office he still works out of today.

His clients are typically owner-managed small businesses in a range of industries, and he still serves the first client he ever had. “As my clients’ businesses grow, they require review engagements – and that becomes an issue for them and an issue for me, so I have an arrangement with one of the few CGA licencees in Ontario.”

Top Priority: New Governance Model

When asked about the most important priority in the year ahead, Colucci does not hesitate. “We are facing a number of serious challenges, not the least of which will be the implementation of the new governance model, which needs to be done in a pragmatic, constructive way with all of our affiliates contributing and feeling valued. I am committed to seeing this come to fruition.”

While CGA-Canada is a year away from full implementation of the new model, there is a great deal of detail to work through to prepare for the transition. Colucci explains that we will have two different bodies: a board of directors to handle the business side of things, and a council to deal with strategic and policy issues. “One of the biggest changes is that the new Board will function without an executive committee, so we need to develop new processes and a new committee structure,” he says.

Colucci is up for the challenge and eager to get started. He is respected as honest, forthright, and professional; a team player who knows how to build constructive relationships. And with his years of volunteer experience, he has gained a healthy perspective on dealing with difficult situations.

“I’ve experienced adversity and learned how to deal with it personally, so I feel very confident taking on the role of Chair. I know that I will likely face adversity in the year ahead, but I am comfortable with that and confident in my ability to deal with it positively.”

A positive approach may help him make significant headway on another issue he cites as a high priority. “Our brand strategy has been at issue for a number of years. We need to harmonize our branding efforts and have cooperation from all the regions; we simply have to make progress on this front,” he emphasizes.

Another challenge in the months ahead will be the move of CGA-Canada’s headquarters from its long-standing home in downtown Vancouver to a new building in Burnaby. “The move is a huge logistical challenge, but it allows us to take advantage of new technology and custom fit the space to our needs. This will translate into productivity gains for our membership,” says Colucci.

We have the opportunity to reinvigorate ourselves, which is important as our association is coming of age, both nationally and internationally. Our international partnerships need to be strengthened and expanded, as I believe that CGA-Canada can be the lynchpin of a strong and growing international network of professional accountants, creating opportunities for members. We are on the verge of accomplishing great things.”

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