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FROM: SEP-OCT 2008 ISSUE
UPDATE
AGM Set for October 24
The CGA-Canada annual general meeting will be held Friday, October 24, 2008 at the Delta Centre-Ville Hotel in Montreal at 1:30 p.m. Financial statements and the 2007-08 annual report will be available for download from the CGA-Canada website by the end of September. The official notice of AGM and proposed bylaw amendments will be mailed to members under separate cover.
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Parliamentarians Salute CGA Centennial
Politicians and federal officials attended a reception at Ottawa’s Rideau Club on May 27 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of CGA-Canada. Gordon O’Connor, Minister of National Revenue, congratulated the association on behalf of the federal government.
Anthony Ariganello, CGA-Canada president and CEO, hosted the event and the five CGAs serving as members of Parliament – Mike Allen, Serge Cardin, Massimo Pacetti, Yasmin Ratansi, and John Williams – served as Honorary Patrons. A cross-section of MPs, senators, and senior government officials were in attendance.
The reception, held in conjunction with the association’s Summit on Skills and Learning, was one of the more high profile events of the association’s centennial and was supported by a targeted advertising campaign to raise awareness among the federal public sector and other key stakeholders of the association’s history. More on the CGA-Canada anniversary is available at cga.org/canada/100.
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Summit on Skills Addresses ‘Dearth of National Vision’
A national panel has offered 12 recommendations to policymakers for improving the “chronic fragmentation” and “dearth of national vision” when it comes to skills training in Canada. The recommendations are published in the report from the CGA-Canada Summit on Skills and Learning held in Ottawa in May. The report is available at cga.org/canada.
The summit brought together 80 informed participants from various sectors and regions of the country to examine issues raised in eight regional consultation sessions. Those issues included skills shortages, labour mobility, workplace training, retention of older workers, the engagement of Aboriginals and immigrants, and the challenges of managing intergenerational change.
The national summit featured speeches by Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Raymond Théberge, director general of the Council of Ministers of Education Canada, and David Walden, secretary-general, Canadian Commission for UNESCO. It also featured panel discussions on three key themes: changing workplace demographics and managerial capacity; refining the delivery mechanisms for bridging and training programs; and improving labour mobility and information networks.
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Treasury Board Appoints CGAs to Audit Committees
Three CGAs are among the appointees to federal Department and Agency Audit Committees (DAACs). David Rattray, FCGA, of Nepean, Ontario, is appointed to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada audit committee; Arn van Iersel, FCGA, of Saanichton, B.C., is appointed to the Environment Canada audit committee; and Chantal Bélanger, FCGA, of Blainville, Quebec, is appointed to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada audit committee.
DAACs were created under the Treasury Board Policy on Internal Audit, which came into force in 2006 and is part of the federal government’s efforts to ensure accountability of public funds in government departments and agencies.
DAAC appointments provide a unique opportunity for experienced and highly skilled individuals to make a contribution through public service. CGA-Canada encourages CGAs to seek opportunities to serve on government agencies, boards, and commissions to raise the profile of the designation within the public service, and to contribute CGA expertise where it is needed. More information is available at www.appointments-nominations.gc.ca and at www.tbs-sct.gc.ca.
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Practical Experience Agreement Signed with CRA
CGA-Canada has signed an agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) enabling CRA employees to pre-qualify their work experience as an integral component in obtaining the CGA designation.
The agreement, which was signed on May 27 in Ottawa by CGA-Canada president and CEO Anthony Ariganello and CRA Commissioner and CEO William Baker, sets out the terms, conditions, and processes that allow CRA employees enrolled in the CGA program to acquire and demonstrate the competencies they need to meet CGA’s experience standard for certification.
As a result, CRA is able to support its employees in their career paths and to develop an effective workforce for the agency, while continuing to provide the public with quality services. In addition, the agreement provides the CRA with the ability to attract, develop, and retain highly skilled professionals.
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Public Practice Manual Moves Online
The CGA-Canada Public Practice Manual, a critical resource for public practitioners, is now online. Much more than a new method of distribution, web technology enables the new PPM Online to provide significant service improvements to subscribers.
The most notable change is a topic-based structure, combined with a powerful search engine enabling practitioners to easily and quickly find relevant material. Other key advantages of PPM Online include continual updating of resources, and a real-time forum for communicating issues related to professional standards and practice management.
The manual assists CGA firms in the conduct of their professional engagements. It includes recommended standards of practice and advice, and is available by subscription on the CGA-Canada website.
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Report Advocates for Budget Transparency
Greater transparency around the federal budget process, particularly planned and so-called surprise surpluses, is recommended in a research report issued by CGA-Canada. The Federal Surplus: Surprise or Strategy was released in July, pointing out that Canada’s fiscal forecasting is far less accurate than that of other countries.
Canada has announced a surplus every year since 1997 and a surprise surplus 10 out of 11 years – those surprise surpluses totalling $85 billion. Since the use of surpluses falls outside the checks and balances on spending set out in the budget process, the government is able to spend surpluses with limited parliamentary debate or oversight. Although the federal government conceded two years ago that successive surprise surpluses had eroded the credibility of the budget process, there has been little change.
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Research Foundation Signs on to Ethical Code
The CGA-Canada Research Foundation is one of the initial signees to Imagine Canada’s Ethical Fundraising and Financial Accountability Code, a self-regulatory initiative that sets a framework for best practices in fundraising and financial reporting. See cga.org/canada.
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Laurentian Confers Posthumous MBA to Alberta CGA
Steven T. Sutton was posthumously awarded an MBA degree by Laurentian University after the Alberta CGA was killed in a tragic accident. A CGA since 1990, Sutton joined the Laurentian University MBA program in 2005 and was enrolled in the final course when the accident occurred on October 28, 2007. Sutton was CFO of A.D. Williams Engineering of Edmonton and heavily involved in the business community. The degree was presented to the Sutton family at their home in St. Albert on April 25.
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INTERNATIONAL
CGA Expertise Enhances Accounting Education in Central America
CGA-Canada is contributing expertise to a World Bank led project in El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama that is assisting universities to incorporate international standards and best practices into their accounting and business programs. CGA-Canada’s role involves analysis of existing curricula, recommendations for implementing new practices, and assistance with preparing seminars for university instructors.
The association has worked on similar projects for the World Bank in Azerbaijan. International consulting projects of this type help to grow the accounting profession, strengthen relations with international organizations, and provide an additional stream of revenue for CGA-Canada.
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CReCER Conference Promotes Economic Growth
A conference promoting development of the accounting and auditing professions in Latin America and the Caribbean has become an annual event with the second conference of Accounting and Accountability for Regional Economic Growth (known as CReCER, the abbreviation of its Spanish name) held in June in San Salvador, El Salvador.
CReCER is jointly sponsored by the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Its objective is “to create greater awareness of the importance of sound financial reporting and auditing for the development of a well-functioning market economy and of an efficient public sector, which in turn are the cornerstone for equitable and sustainable economic development.”
Sylvie Voghel, FCGA, was invited by IFAC to chair a panel discussion on how accounting practices can add value to small and medium sized enterprises. More information on the CReCER initiative is available at www.creceramericas.org.
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