NOTES & NEWS
Notes from the Chair
By Heather Banham, FCPA, FCGA
P
rofiled in our cover story this issue are the nine BC CPAs most recently elected to the
CPABC Fellowship and the newest recipients of our Early Achievement Award,
Distinguished Service Award, and Honorary CPA designation (see pages 16-25), all of
whom were celebrated at our Member Recognition Dinner on February 21. I t is a pleasure to
see excellence celebrated and watch as CPABC’s Member Recognition Program continues to
grow. I encourage all members to participate by considering worthy CPAs for nomination in
2018. Our member recognition committees rely on you to help them identify CPAs who’ve
made noteworthy contributions to the profession and the community. You’ll find the 2018
nomination forms at bccpa.ca/members/recognition-program.
In addition to celebrating exemplary CPAs, we’ve been busy with a number of government
relations and public affairs initiatives over the past few months, including the annual BC
Budget Lock-Up. CPABC was one of many representatives from the business community to
provide feedback on important government initiatives at the February 20 event, where our
commentary focused primarily on taxation and overall competitiveness. On February 23,
CPABC served as co-presenting sponsor of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade’s budget
address, where BC Premier John Horgan discussed his vision for the coming year and described
how his government proposes to fund vital services.
Providing meaningful commentary and information on the CPA profession is an ongoing
priority for CPABC’s board and executive—one that guides Lori Mathison, FCPA, FCGA, LLB,
CPABC’s president & CEO, in her various speaking engagements. Lori addressed the Vancouver
Chapter of Financial Executives International on February 28, and she will be a keynote
presenter at the Conference Board of Canada’s Western Business Outlook 2018: Vancouver
conference on April 10. If you’d like to attend the event, tickets are available at conferenceboard.ca.
CPABC also continues to support prominent community events that celebrate exceptional
individuals. We were a gold sponsor of the Influential Women in Business Awards, which took
place on March 8, and we will be co-presenting the BC CFO of the Year Awards with Business
in Vancouver in June.
An ongoing theme being addressed by CPABC and the broader business community at many
of these events is the challenge of managing disruptive change and the overall impact of this
change on business and the workforce. A key contributing factor to disruptive change is
globalization, and one effect of globalization is described in the feature story on pages 26-28,
which focuses on new European privacy regulations. CPAs are uniquely positioned to help their
organizations make strategic decisions, analyze change, and prepare for the future. Fittingly,
the theme for CPABC’s 2018 Spring Pacific Summit, which is being held in Vancouver from
May 30 to June 1, is “Masters of Change.” I encourage you to check out the selection of engaging
speakers (page 39).
Lastly, as we head into the spring and summer, know that there are a myriad of ways for you
to interact with other CPAs at professional and social events. I encourage you to get involved,
as there is so much to be gained from engaging with your peers.
Heather Banham, FCPA, FCGA
CPABC Chair
CPABC in Focus • March/April 2018 5