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BILL MERCER, FCGA BLAKE MERCER, FCGA Like Father, Like Son A Profile of Blake Mercer, FCGA CHAIR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, CGA ONTARIO Let’s get something out of the way, right from the start: Blake Mercer, FCGA, is the son of Bill Mercer, FCGA. Bill is a past president of CGA Ontario. Blake is the newly elected chair of the board of directors. Together they are partners in Mercer & Mercer, Certified General Accountants, in Milton, Ontario. One could argue that this is not particularly relevant to a profile of the incoming chair of the Association. But, on the other hand, the Mercers are the first father and son in the history of the Association to lead CGA Ontario in their respective years. So it’s tempting to draw parallels. Both are friendly, somewhat reserved men who exude professional competence. Each tends to speak in simple, direct sentences that rarely ramble on into paragraphs. Both love their sports; Bill plays golf, Blake plays baseball. In the 1980s, when the accounting profession was facing the challenges of computerization, Bill Mercer was asked to lead the 1980s task force that resulted in CGA Canada’s Program 90, a fully revised CGA program of professional studies that included the integration of computer technology. Today, with the accounting profession facing an altogether new challenge — the challenge of globalization — Blake Mercer is leading the Association during a time of profound international convergence in accounting standards and accountancy bodies. As the old proverb says: Like father, like son. 8 STATEMENTS AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011
TOWN HALL MEETINGS Blake Mercer is sitting in the boardroom of Mercer & Mercer in Milton. It’s mid-July and he has just completed the last of CGA Ontario’s town hall meetings on the future of the accounting profession. Over the course of the past few weeks he has led — together with CGA Ontario’s chief executive officer, Doug Brooks — six town halls, in Burlington, London, Ottawa, Sudbury, Mississauga and downtown Toronto. “I think the meetings spoke volumes about the Association” says Blake with measured enthusiasm. “We had a great turnout. The level of engagement was high. It was important as an Association that we sought the opinion of our membership. And it was important for me personally, as chair of the board, to listen and observe, to really hear what members had to say.” Mercer, who has a degree in political science from the University of Toronto, is known within the Association for his commitment to good governance. “The town hall meetings were an affirmation of the good governance of the board. Where we are as a board mirrors where the members are on this issue.” Adjusting his glasses, Mercer connects the dots between the Association and the accounting profession as a whole, which appears to be unifying across borders. As examples he cites IFRS and the globalization of accounting standards, the growing number of transborder partnerships between accountancy bodies, and the ever-increasing synergies between markets and capital around the world. “Look at the international financial events of the past few years,” says Mercer, leaning forward, “beginning with the market meltdown of 2008. The world of accounting and finance is converging. Whether you want to accept it or not, you ignore it at your own peril.” MILTON, ONTARIO The town of Milton, Ontario, is one of the fastest growing communities in Canada. Ever since the “Big Pipe” project was completed, in 2001, bringing water straight to the town from Lake Ontario, Milton’s population has risen annually, yet the town still boasts one of the highest average household income levels in the Greater Toronto Area. Perhaps because its big box stores have been relegated to Steeles Avenue and the James Snow Parkway, Milton’s Main Street retains its small town charm. Drive past the mom-and-pop shops, the restaurants, the post office and its tall clock tower, turn down Commercial Street, and soon you’ve entered a pretty little enclave of tree-lined streets and ranch-style homes. That white building on your left, the one that vaguely resembles a church, is where you’ll find Mercer & Mercer, Certified General Accountants. The firm traces its roots back to 1975, when Bill Mercer purchased a small practice and began his career as a professional practitioner. “I wanted to strike out on my own,” he says, mentioning that he spent a few years with the Canada Revenue Agency. “I’ve never regretted it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” In the terminology of the times, Bill was president of CGA Ontario’s board of governors in 1984-85 (the equivalent of “chair of The meetings spoke volumes about the Association. Where we are as a board mirrors where the members are on this issue. the board of directors” today). He is also a past president of CGA Canada. Dressed in a snappy suit and tie, he still manages to retain the air of a kindly country doctor who mixes practical advice with a friendly bedside manner. Though his focus is on the growing field of estate planning, typically assisting clients who have been with the firm for decades, he explains that “Blake runs no less than 75 per cent of the business now. We’re partners but Blake is the president.” MERCER & MERCER, CGAS “Mercer & Mercer is a typical small- to medium-sized practice,” explains Blake. “We have a mix of personal tax clients and corporate clients. We do about a thousand personal tax returns a year and have several hundred corporate clients, ranging from notice to readers, review engagements — which we do with a licensed AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 STATEMENTS 9
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