Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) has been established as a non-for-profit association starting January 1, 2013. This brings us one step closer to a unified accounting profession in Canada. The following is the message sent to Chartered Accountants members on January 4, 2012 by the Presidents of Chartered Accountants and Certified Management Accountants of Canada.
"Dear Member,
We are pleased to announce that Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) has been established under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, effective January 1, 2013. As Canada’s newest national accounting body, CPA Canada will support provincial accounting bodies that have unified, and all those that will unify, under the banner of Chartered Professional Accountant.
The 16-member Board of Directors for the new organization has been established under co-chairs Shelley Brown, FCA and Cassandra Dorrington, FCMA. The membership of the board reflects a cross section of perspectives based on regional representation, representation of the legacy designations participating in unification and public input. The Board of Directors will hold its first meeting on January 15, 2013.
Composition of the CPA Canada Board
Western Region
Barb Carle-Thiesson, FCA
Catherine Emrick, FCGA
Douglas Tkach, FCA
Rod Wiley, FCMA
Ontario
Colleen Gibb, FCPA, FCA
Gerald Mills, FCPA, FCA
Quebec
Jacques Côté, FCPA, FCMA
Stephan Robitaille, FCPA, FCGA
Michel Théroux, FCPA, FCA
Atlantic
Tom Conyers, FCPA, FCA
Dorothy Rice, FCMA
Director at Large
Bob Strachan, FCMA
Public Directors
Jonathan Levin
Marcel Vienneau
Co-Chairs
Shelley Brown, FCA
Cassandra Dorrington, FCMA
One of the first priorities for CPA Canada is the development of the new CPA certification program that will be in place for delivery in parts of Canada by fall 2013, with the first CPA exams offered in the fall of 2015. Another top priority is the integration of CICA and CMA Canada’s operations and employees into CPA Canada.
While CICA and CMA Canada are the two initial members of CPA Canada, they will be joined by provincial bodies (and their members) as they complete their process to become a CPA body and submit applications to join CPA Canada.
Currently, accounting bodies representing over 80% of Canada’s professional accountants are committed to unification of the profession or have already merged under the CPA. Unification has been complete in Quebec for some time and in November 2012, all CAs in Ontario were also issued the CPA designation. As a result, an estimated two of every five professional accountants in Canada are now CPAs.
CPA Canada will work to serve its members by establishing the CPA designation as the pre-eminent, internationally recognized Canadian accounting designation and business credential that best protects and serves the public interest.
Sincerely,
Kevin Dancey, FCPA, FCA
President and CEO
The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
Joy Thomas, FCMA
President and CEO
CMA Canada"
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