Ali Pejman, CA - Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC

President’s Notes
By Chuck Chandler, FCA,
President, Chartered Accountants of BC
“Change has considerable psychological
impact on the human mind. To the
fearful it is threatening because it means
that things may get worse. To the hopeful
it is encouraging because things may get
better. To the confident it is inspiring
because the challenge exists to make
things better. – K. Whitney as quoted by
the Wall Street Journal.
Globalization – It’s as easy as XYZ
It’s amazing how much business has
been impacted by technology, especially
the Internet, over the past few years. And
the pace of change is increasing still. A
few years ago I would have thought that
global business meant big business.
Today, we are all very much connected to
events and transactions around the world.
As CAs, we’re in the front lines of this
change, whether it’s preparing financial
statements that include US GAAP for the
burgeoning US equity markets, or
establishing e-commerce for global
business transactions. In this issue of
Beyond Numbers, you will find profiles of
how technology has changed the life of
eight CAs in B.C. Even in my own firm of 22
people, we have 2 CPAs who have
attempted and passed the reciprocity
exams. A third has headed off to
California to pursue her dreams — part of
the “brain drain” that officially doesn’t
exist.
In keeping with these real life trends,
the CICA is working with other national
accounting organizations to develop a
global professional business designation
(as yet unnamed – “XYZ” for now). The
designation is intended to reflect all the
services that members currently provide
and all of the high-opportunity work that
the profession identified in the Vision
process. Benefits are intended to accrue to
designation holders, employers, and
buyers of services. Negotiations on the
specifics of the designation and entrance
requirements are ongoing. The CICA is
keeping the BC Institute abreast of the
changes, and we’ll keep our members
informed as events unfold.
Creating the Vision CA – Taking on
the Challenges of Business in the
New Millennium
At our last full Council meeting in
May, I asked our Council members what
was the most pressing issue facing our
profession. Virtually everyone put
attractiveness of the profession at or
near the top of the list. A survey of
recent literature and statistics points us
in the same direction. One major
executive recruiter commented that she
“fears the CA firms are losing out on
recruiting young people out of university
because so many do not want to
spend their entire articling period
auditing.” Interestingly, 80% of the
searches for senior personnel at this
recruiting firm are for CAs because of
their perceived integrity and the credibility.
The next issue of Beyond Numbers
will be dedicated to young CAs – the
challenges they face in becoming CAs, the
opportunities available to them when they
have their designation, and the ways the
B.C. Institute is responding to these issues.
The CICA’s 1996 Vision Report recognized
the issues, and the need for business
advisors who are forward thinking and
strategically motivated in a global
economy. The Education Re-Engineering
Task Force built recommended a framework
for competency based learning. That
would strengthen the link between CA
formal education and the candidate’s on
the job performance. A “core plus focus”
model was recommended to accommodate
the expanded training in other areas such
as IT and finance.
Together with our fellow western
provincial and territorial Institutes, the
BC Institute has embraced the ERTF
model and this Fall will be recruiting
students to our new CA School of Business.
This year, when recruiters speak to
students, they can offer them a professional
career that provides choice, the
ability to select a focus or specialization
down the road, and even the ability to
complete part of their training outside of
public practice.
Students who may have been
leaning towards an MBA or a finance
degree are now going to have to take a
hard look at the CA option as being the
best business degree available. Will it be
just as tough to get a CA? You bet. But
the rewards for people wishing to enter
our profession will be far more favourable.
I invite you to check out the new
CASB website at www.calearn.com.
My thanks and best wishes to past
president John Dawson FCA (chair of
CASB board) and Dr. Don Carter FCA
who, together with CASB board member
Tom Kirstein, CA and new board
member Roger Wolff (Dean of Business
at Uvic) are leading the way as BC’s
representatives on CASB.
More on Your New Council.
In my last column I welcomed three of
our four new council members. I neglected
to welcome Margaret Parkinson, CA. My
apologies! Margaret is a long-time volunteer
with the Institute and I’m looking
forward to working with her on Council.
My thanks to “the big guy”
As you saw in last month’s Beyond
Numbers, the Institute’s former Director
of Ethics, Brian Gardiner, CA has hung up
his Institute skates to pursue exciting
opportunities in the field of governance
and advocacy with HLB Cinnamon Jang
Willoughby. Welcome back to
timesheets there, big guy. You’ve left a
legacy of hard work that has kept our
profession in BC ahead of the rest in
public perceptions of maintaining high
standards of ethical and professional
conduct. Best wishes to you.
I encourage you to e-mail
president@ica.bc.ca with your comments
at any time.
September 2000 / Beyond Numbers 5