News from CGA-Canada
UPDATE
INTERNATIONAL
FROM: NOV-DEC 2007 ISSUE
UPDATE
CGAs Call for Tax Reform
In its annual pre-budget submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, CGA-Canada put forward a four-point plan to address productivity and tax fairness. Central to the plan is a proposal to appoint an independent panel of experts to undertake a comprehensive review of Canada’s tax policy.
The time is right for real reform of Canada’s taxation policy,” says Anthony Ariganello, CPA (DE), FCGA, president and CEO of CGA-Canada. “Rather than continuing to tinker with our complex tax system, Canada needs a simple, transparent, and fair taxation system with internationally competitive rates.”
CGA-Canada urges the government to lower personal income tax rates for all tax brackets, increase personal income tax thresholds, and accelerate and deepen reductions in corporate taxes in the 2008 federal budget. The complete plan, Paving the Way to Prosperity: It’s Time for Real Tax Reform, can be read at www.cga.org/canada.
The submission calls on the government to capitalize on Canada’s knowledge advantage through specific measures to ensure Canadians have the financial resources necessary to pursue post-secondary education. The plan also calls for the government to support entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises by improving the regulatory and taxation environment for Canadian businesses.
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Don’t Tell Me What You Know...
CGA-Canada presented a case study of its revised certification model at a recent international conference of the Association of Business and Economics Research (ABER), a multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to broadening the expertise of academics and practitioners by promoting access to research.
The paper, titled Don’t Tell Me What You Know, Show Me What You Can Do: Bridging the Gap between Education and Professional Practice, describes the process developed to update and revise the CGA Program of Professional Studies to incorporate the results of the 2003 practice analysis survey. That survey identified the core competencies required of newly certified CGAs. The certification model was then revised to ensure that competencies are assessed at appropriate points.
The CGA Program of Professional Studies has been competency-based since 1986, making CGA-Canada a leader in developing and implementing competency-based education. The paper can be read at www.cga.org/canada.
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Association Acquires New Headquarters
CGA-Canada has purchased a new 43,000 square foot office building in suburban Vancouver to serve as the national head office. Operations will be moved to the new building by the summer of 2008, in time for the association to celebrate its centennial in the first building it has ever owned.
The decision to purchase a building was prompted by the expiration of the lease on the current office at 1188 West Georgia Street and the rising cost of office space in downtown Vancouver. The purchase ensures the health of the association by reducing costs while simultaneously providing a real asset for the future. CGA-Canada is subletting a portion of the building to another tenant.
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Funding Awarded to CGA Researchers
Three grants were recently made through CGA-Canada’s Doctoral Funding Program, which provides up to $10,000 a year for a maximum of three years to CGAs pursuing a PhD in accounting and auditing related fields. A research grant was awarded to Luanne Currie, CGA, of the School of Business at the University of Alberta. Currie is researching absence culture in the workplace and how it translates to operational and financial performance.
Funding was renewed for last year’s two recipients, Shelley Lukasewich, CGA, also of the School of Business at the University of Alberta, and Gulraze Wakil, CGA, of Kent State University in Ohio. Lukasewich is investigating the evolution of non-GAAP corporate reporting – from guidance to standards to law – for publicly traded Canadian entities. Wakil, a member of CGA Ontario, is working on a study of dividend taxes and the implied cost of equity capital in Canada.
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FCGA Named to Federal Committee
Everett Colby, FCGA, has been appointed to a new public/private sector advisory committee established by the federal Department of Finance on money laundering and terrorist financing. Colby, a public practitioner in Ontario, is the former chair of CGA-Canada’s Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee and appeared several times before the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce to present CGA-Canada submissions on the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. The committee’s mandate is to improve cooperation between the public and private sectors on this issue, as recommended by the Auditor General. It will meet twice per year to advise the government and serve as a discussion forum among various stakeholders.
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INTERNATIONAL
Poirier Appointed to CAPA Board
Jackie Poirier, past chair of CGA-Canada, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Commonwealth of Asian-Pacific Accountants (CAPA). CGA-Canada is a member of CAPA, which is the largest of four regional accountancy organizations recognized by the International Federation of Accountants. It has 33 member bodies from 23 jurisdictions, spanning a region from Canada to Pakistan. Its mission is to provide leadership in the development, enhancement, and coordination of the accounting profession in the Asia-Pacific region. CAPA also promotes the harmonization of standards.
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XBRL Conference in Vancouver
Accountants, regulators, financial services companies, auditors, financial analysts, and software vendors will be meeting in Vancouver December 3-6 to take part in the 16th XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) International Conference. Participants will discuss global adoption and implementation of XBRL for reporting, and how interactive data improves the quality and accessibility of business information.
Keynote speakers include Christopher Cox, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; Robert Herz, chairman of the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board; Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics; and Mary Knox, research director of investment services, Gartner Research.
CGA-Canada joined XBRL Canada in 2001, and in 2005, was the first Canadian accounting association to publish its financial statements using XBRL.
The conference is co-hosted by XBRL Canada, XBRL International, and XBRL U.S. Visit: http://conference.xbrl.org.
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2007-08 Board of Directors
British Columbia
Patrick (Pat) Keller, FCGA
Moe Jones, FCGA
Gordon Clissold, FCGA
Alberta
James Gaa, FCGA
Laura Leigh White, FCGA
Saskatchewan
Tony Ducie, FCGA
Manitoba
Greg M. Kuzminski, FCGA
Ontario
Ron Colucci, FCGA
Bruce Hutton, FCGA
Rod Goetz, FCGA
Joyce Evans, FCGA
Kim Sacchetta, FCGA
Québec
Michel P. Laliberté, FCGA
Pierre Samson, FCGA
Danielle Hébert, FCGA
Nova Scotia
Jackie Poirier, FCGA
John McCulloch, FCGA
New Brunswick
Terry LeBlanc, FCGA
P. E. I.
Paula Gallant, CGA
Nfld. & Labrador
Claude Howell, CGA
N.W.T.-Nunavut
Kent D. Ferguson, FCGA
Yukon
Robert Fendrick, CGA
International
Raymond Yeung, FCGA
Marcel Murrell Jr., FCGA
Secretary
Anthony Ariganello, CPA (Delaware), FCGA
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