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FROM: JUL-AUG 2009 ISSUE
UPDATE
Competency Framework Prepares CGAs for Leadership in Tough Times
CGA-Canada has completed an extensive practice analysis study resulting in a revised competency framework, which prepares CGAs for positions of leadership, responsibility, and trust in a continually evolving business environment. The framework ensures CGAs have the skills to steer business through good and tough economic times.
The framework is comprised of 130 competency statements in three categories – leadership, professionalism, and professional knowledge – which form the common core for all CGAs, regardless of career elective. The competencies and associated proficiency levels underpin the national education, examination, and practical experience requirements by which candidates are assessed in order to qualify for the designation.
Competencies are requirements for effective job performance and combine knowledge, skills, and professional values in a work environment. They are refined on a regular basis through a practice analysis study that involves a review by CGAs and a comprehensive survey of members to confirm that the competencies are contemporary and complete. The results guide the ongoing revisions of CGA courses, examinations, and practical experience requirements.
Detailed information about the revised framework is available at cga.org/canada/competency. Future articles will expand on the survey findings and show how the competency framework can apply to a CGA’s continuing professional development.
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Ad Campaign Highlights Big-Picture Insight
The first-ever Canada-wide multimedia advertising campaign to promote the CGA designation debuted March 31, emphasizing the skills and experience that CGAs bring to their employers and clients.
“As this campaign so skilfully captures, CGAs are astute accounting professionals. They see the numbers and what those numbers mean in terms of efficiency, productivity, and managing risk,” says Barbara Cameron, CGA-Canada’s vice-president of Public Affairs. “Certified General Accountants see the big picture and provide the valuable insight and leadership required to make key financial and business decisions.”
The strategy was developed jointly by CGA-Canada and the provincial and territorial CGA associations with a creative approach conceived by Grip Limited, a Toronto-based branding agency. The campaign includes television, radio, print, out-of-home advertising, social media, and web elements, although the exact mix will vary from province to province.
“There’s no doubt that business today needs highly qualified, broadly experienced accounting professionals like Certified General Accountants who have strength, credibility and vision,” says Harvey Carroll, president of Grip Limited.
CGA-Canada funded the development of creative elements as well as a national media buy to kick off the campaign. The advertising is also being implemented by most provincial affiliates in their own marketing efforts, extending the reach and impact of the campaign. One of the most visible elements of the campaign is the domination of Toronto’s Union Station. CGA Ontario purchased almost all available advertising space in the city’s central transportation station, including wall wraps, ads on stairways, escalators, pillars, turnstiles, and at track level, creating an inescapable impression on business travellers and commuters.
Some jurisdictions are opting to continue with established regional advertising campaigns until they have run their course. Campaign elements can be viewed at cga-more.org.
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Government Appoints Two CGAs
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has appointed William (Bill) Lovatt, a Manitoba FCGA, to the 10-member Advisory Committee on Financing, a committee established under the Economic Action Plan to ensure the availability of financing to Canadian businesses and consumers. The committee will play an important role in identifying areas where gaps in credit markets exist as the government’s Extraordinary Financing Framework is implemented. Lovatt is executive vice-president and CFO of Great-West Lifeco Inc, based in Winnipeg.
Rena Dhir, a Vancouver CGA, has been appointed to a three-year term on the Immigration and Refugee Board by Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. Dhir was controller for Software Productivity Center prior to her appointment to the board and is a prominent figure in Vancouver’s Indo-Canadian community.
CGA-Canada encourages qualified CGAs to seek opportunities to serve on government agencies, boards, and commissions as it helps to raise the profile of the designation within the public service, and contributes CGA expertise where it is needed. More information on Governor-in-Council appointments is available at www.appointments-nominations.gc.ca.
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INTERNATIONAL
CGA-Canada and CPA Ireland Sign Recognition Agreement
CGA-Canada and CPA Ireland announced the signing of a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) in June which outlines a process for members of either body to seek membership in the other and offers enhanced international mobility for members.
CPA Ireland has more than 5,000 members and students and is growing at approximately eight per cent per year. Like CGA-Canada, its members work in all sectors including public practice.
Both associations are founding members of the International Federation of Accountants and the Edinburgh Group, which led to opportunities for staff and volunteers from the two associations to meet and work together over the years. Like CGA-Canada, CPA Ireland was a strong early proponent of mandatory continuing professional development and is actively involved in international and regional accountancy bodies.
Entering into MRAs with substantially equivalent professional accounting bodies is one of the pillars of CGA-Canada’s international strategy and increases the visibility, brand recognition, and value of the CGA designation. More information about CPA Ireland and the terms of the MRA is available at cga.org/canada/alliances.
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CGA-Canada Hosts International Organizations
CGA-Canada played host to meetings of two international accountancy organizations in May: a meeting of the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) in Vancouver, and a meeting of the Fédération Internationale des experts-comptables Francophones (FIDEF) in Montreal.
In addition to the business meeting and social opportunities, the CAPA event included a panel discussion featuring three prominent CGA practitioners who shared how the current economic crisis is impacting their clients and their practices. The FIDEF meeting presented an opportunity for CGA-Canada’s director of Curriculum Planning to deliver a presentation to delegates about the CGA Program of Professional Studies and CGA certification requirements.
CAPA represents 34 accountancy organizations in 24 jurisdictions and is the largest regional accountancy body. FIDEF is comprised of accounting bodies from 32 countries in which French is commonly spoken in the accounting profession. CGA-Canada is an active member of both organizations and has representation on both boards.
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London Forum Debates the Future of Financial Regulation
Lax financial regulation and enforcement is cited by many as a leading cause of the current global financial problems and changes to the regulatory framework are being debated. To gain expert insight into the issue, CGA-Canada and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) co-hosted a roundtable discussion on the subject in London.
The roundtable brought together almost two dozen leading financial experts from Canadian and British companies and organizations on April 22 at Canada House. Following on the heels of the London Summit of the leaders of the G20 nations, the participants debated whether global governance should be reformed, how regulatory failures can be addressed to prevent future crises, whether there should be a global regulator, what can be learned from the Islamic Finance model, and how financial innovation can be managed without being stifled.
“The forum we held on the future of financial regulation is the latest project in our growing relationship with the ACCA,” says Anthony Ariganello, president and CEO of CGA-Canada. “The roundtable discussions provided our respective associations with guidance to support policy makers as they reform the framework of financial regulation.”
The two accounting associations signed a mutual recognition agreement in 2006, which opened the door to joint initiatives such as this.
“It is clear that the financial crisis and other issues such as climate change are too large for individual nations to tackle on their own,” says Richard Aitken-Davies, president of ACCA. “I am pleased that our two organizations, with our global perspective, are able to work together and make a contribution to the policy making process.”
CGA-Canada published a summary report of the roundtable to assist policymakers as they grapple with the challenges of regulatory reform. The paper can be read at cga.org/canada.
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