CM Autumn Template - Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario

(From page 3)
From the LCO announcement:
The Ontario Business Corporations Act provides for
joint and several liability for professionals, such as
actuaries and lawyers, who make, for example,
misrepresentations in filings under the Act. Thus the
professional could be liable for all damage resulting
from misrepresentations, regardless of the degree of
fault, if the other defendants are not available or able
to satisfy the damages awarded. The purpose of the
LCO’s project is to consider whether the BCA should
be amended to bring in greater alignment with the
Ontario Securities Act, federal legislation and trends in
the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia to
provide for proportionate liability, capped liability, a
variant of these approaches or other approach to
minimizing the impact of the joint and several liability
principle.
We intend to be a forceful, constructive presence at the
LCO stakeholder consultation that kicks off this longawaited
study and at every step thereafter. I’ll keep you
posted.
CA continuity at the PAC
I am also pleased to report that Colleen Gibb, FCA, Ralph
Neville, FCA, Erik Peters, FCA, and Michael Walke, CA, our
profession’s representatives on the Public Accountants
Council, have each been reappointed to a second term.
These distinguished CAs have helped guide the PAC from
the outset, through its establishment under legislation, to
the design and implementation of standards of qualification
and regulation that all Ontario accounting bodies
designated under the Public Accounting Act are required
to meet in order to license their members. We owe them a
debt of gratitude, and are thankful for the continuity and
institutional expertise they will bring to their renewed roles
within this critical public interest organization.
Private company GAAP: your voices have been heard
Finally, I am very pleased to note that at its September
meeting, the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB)
considered and approved – subject to final drafting and
balloting – the Exposure Draft, Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles for Private Enterprises. This
incorporated many of the key recommendations made by
the Small Practices Advisory Committee, as well as by the
members who participated in the consultation sessions
sponsored by the Institute, and the many other stakeholders
who provided comments from across the country. The AcSB
intends to issue the standards late in the fourth quarter of
2009, with early adoption permitted for 2009 calendar yearends.
For those who do not want to early adopt, these
standards will be effective for fiscal years beginning on or
after January 1, 2011. Specific changes to the Exposure
Draft that have been approved by the AcSB are highlighted
in this issue’s Member Services News.
If you would like to comment on these or any other matters,
please contact me at the Institute. My e-mail is
gmills@icao.on.ca.
Rod Barr, FCA, Appointed
Institute President and CEO
In early September, Rod Barr,
FCA, was appointed by
Council as the Institute’s new
President and CEO.
Rod has had a distinguished
career with Deloitte & Touche
LLP, having held many varied
positions with the firm in
Toronto, Hamilton, New York,
Vancouver, London and
Wilton, Connecticut. From
1996 until his retirement in
2008, he was the firm’s National Securities partner.
Rod has had a long history of service to the CA profession,
with a particular focus in the areas of student education
and securities-related matters. He was elected as a
member of the Institute’s Council from 1999 until 2006,
culminating with his service as the 2004-2006 Chair. From
2006 until 2009, he was one of the Ontario representatives
on the CICA Board of Directors.
In addition, Rod has been a member of the Council of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC, a member of the
Board of Governors of the BC School of Accountancy,
Chair of the Inter-provincial Education Group, and a
member and Chair of the CICA Board of Examiners. He
served on the Securities Regulatory Advisory Group for the
rewrite of the CICA Handbook sections on securitiesrelated
engagements from 1998 until 2009.
Rod was elected a Fellow of the Institute in 1988. He holds
a BA from the University of Waterloo and is the 2007
recipient of its Faculty of Arts Alumni Achievement Award.
In making the announcement, Institute Chair Gerry Mills,
FCA, noted that Rod is very well acquainted with the
Council’s strategic priorities and has a keen interest in the
issues facing the CA profession.
Gerry Mills added: “Rod Barr will provide the profession
with outstanding leadership. Throughout his long career at
Deloitte & Touche LLP, and through his many volunteer
contributions to the profession, including terms on our
Council and in the role of its Chair, Rod has continually
demonstrated a commitment to excellence and to
maintaining the reputation and prestige of the Chartered
Accountant designation.”
CheckMark • Autumn 2009
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