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FROM: MAY-JUN 2008 ISSUE
UPDATE
Call for Open Trade in Services
Canada should have open internal trade principles, recognize the rights and obligations of professional bodies to set their own standards, and introduce consultation mechanisms and transparency provisions within international trade agreements. Those were the views put forward by CGA-Canada in a submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology.
Drawing on its experience with lengthy dispute resolution processes under the Agreement on Internal Trade, CGA-Canada urged the federal government to exercise its power to regulate trade and commerce. The association called on the government to legislate a set of open trade principles based on the premise of a free and open market, and to establish a standing internal trade tribunal for resolving disputes.
Carole Presseault, vice-president, Government and Regulatory Affairs, told the committee that CGAs in all jurisdictions conform to the same high standards of education, ethics, and practice, enabling the full mobility of members. She also drew the committee’s attention to a recent Competition Bureau report, which cautioned that the maintenance of high standards does not require imposing one accounting body’s standards on others, and that doing so may limit competition. She urged the committee to ensure that federal legislation recognizes competition in the accounting marketplace, and the right and obligation of each professional accounting body to set its own standards.
The submission was made on February 7 as part of the committee’s review of Canada’s service sector and can be read at cga.org/canada.
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Competition Panel Receives CGA Views
CGA-Canada made a submission to the Competition Policy Review Panel recommending measures for tax competitiveness, efficient and effective regulation, and for repositioning Canada as a destination for talent, innovation, and investment.
The association’s recommendations draw on CGA-Canada’s research reports on Canada’s fading productivity and regulatory burden, as well as CGA-Canada’s pre-budget recommendations. The association noted that “the current competitiveness challenge facing the nation is one area where collaborative work between both [public and private] sectors is essential for sustainable improvement.”
The panel is mandated to review Canada’s competition and investment policies and to recommend how to enhance competitiveness and productivity.
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CGA Anniversary Celebrated in Quebec
A portrait of CGA-Canada founder John Leslie now hangs at a historic Montreal business club. The portrait was unveiled at a CGA centennial anniversary cocktail event at the Mount Stephen Club by Quebec finance minister Monique Jérôme-Forget and Pierre Samson, president of the Ordre des CGA du Québec and member of the CGA-Canada board.
The portrait is one of three commissioned by the Ordre des CGA du Québec, painted by artists Irène Chartrand and Jacqueline Samson. In addition to Samson and the minister, speakers included Ron Colucci, chair of CGA-Canada, Anthony Ariganello, president and CEO of CGA-Canada, and Danielle Blanchard, CEO of the Ordre des CGA du Québec.
CGA-Canada, or the Canadian Accountants’ Association as it was first known, was founded by Leslie with E.B. Manning and F.A. Cousins in Montreal in 1908. All were accountants at the Canadian Pacific Railway at the time, with Leslie eventually becoming the CPR’s vice-president of finance and treasurer. The Mount Stephen Club is the former home of George Stephen, the CPR’s first president.
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CGA/ACCA Hold Conferences on IFRS
CGA-Canada is partnering with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants on a series of conferences to prepare business leaders for the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards. The two-day conferences are being held in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Moncton, and are CGA-Canada’s latest partnership with the ACCA since a mutual recognition agreement was signed by the two associations in 2006.
“In this ever changing and complex global business environment, it is critical that leaders have an understanding of what IFRS will mean for their organizations,” says Anthony Ariganello, CPA (DE), FCGA, president and CEO of CGA-Canada. “We are pleased to partner with the ACCA to help prepare Canadian business for IFRS.”
The Accounting Standards Board announced in 2006 that Canada would transition from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to IFRS for public entities. In February, the AcSB confirmed that the transition would take effect by 2011. More information is available at cga.org/canada.
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Culture Critical to Good Governance
Effective corporate governance is as much the result of corporate culture as regulatory oversight. That was the message delivered by Rock Lefebvre, vice-president, Research and Standards, who was one of nine experts featured in an online roundtable discussion on governance.
Supported by CGA-Canada research, Lefebvre explained that successful governance stems from transparency, probity, and equity. “Taken together, these things help reduce risk, improve accountability, and maintain the public trust,” said Lefebvre.
The webcast was one of a series of “Peer-to-Peer” roundtables presented by Direct Engagement. Other panelists included James Baillie of Torys LLP, RBC vice-president Carole McNamara, Queens University business professor Steve Salterio, Institute of Corporate Directors president Beverly Lynn Topping, and Globe and Mail columnist Janet McFarland.
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Tax Cut Questioned
CGA-Canada recently released a paper examining the impacts of cuts to the federal goods and services tax. The paper demonstrates that taxing consumption is one of the most economically effective methods of generating government revenues. It also shows that higher long-run gains in economic well-being can be obtained through cuts to other forms of taxes, such as capital taxes, labour taxes, and income taxes; a GST cut is the least efficient option for reducing Canadians’ tax burden.
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INTERNATIONAL
CGA-Canada Developing IFAC Guide for SMPs
CGA-Canada is developing a quality control guide for small and medium accounting practices (SMPs) after being selected by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). The guide will assist SMPs to comply with international standards and enhance the expertise, competence, and efficiency of professional accountants working in public practice by helping SMPs to understand and implement the International Standard on Quality Control 1.
“CGA-Canada is pleased to support the adoption and convergence of international standards by contributing in this way,” said Anthony Ariganello, CPA (DE), FCGA, president and chief executive officer of CGA-Canada.
The guide will be made available to IFAC members as well as to students, policy makers, researchers, international development agencies, and academics. It is expected to be issued later this year.
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