CPABC in Focus - May/June 2015 | Page 6

Notes & News Sponsorships & Events I n March and April 2015, CPABC sponsored or attended a number of industry events to promote the CPA designation. These included Business in Vancouver’s Influential Women in Business Awards (March 4—see bottom of page), the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Leaders of Tomorrow Accounting Speaker Series Event (March 12), and the BC Human Resources Management Association Conference and Tradeshow (April 28-29). To promote the profession at the post-secondary level, CPABC sponsored or attended a variety of events on and off campus, including the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Career Day, the UBC Me Inc. Conference, the Langara College Student Employment Day, the CPA Careers in Business Panel, a CPA networking event in Victoria, and career fairs for Thompson Rivers University, the College of New Caledonia & the University of Northern BC (NorthWorks event), the College of the Rockies, and BCIT. Upcoming events include the BC Chamber of Commerce Conference (May 24-26), the Government Finance Officers Association of BC’s Annual Conference (May 27-29), and Business in Vancouver’s 2015 BC CFO Awards (June 2). CPABC will also continue to co-lead the CPA & Beedie School of Business Student Leadership Development Program through June 2015. For more information on CPABC’s events, visit the News, Events & Publications section of bccpa.ca. On April 1, 2015, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Prince Edward Island was formally established with the proclamation of the Chartered Professional Accountants and Public Accounting Act by the Government of Prince Edward Island. As the new unified accounting body, CPA Prince Edward Island represents more than 600 members, candidates, and students. Members can now officially use the CPA designation in conjunction with their legacy designations. Honorary Member Wins BIV Award CPABC is proud to announce that Fiona Macfarlane, LLM, CA (Hon.), was one of six inspiring leaders chosen to receive a 2015 Influential Women in Business Award from Business in Vancouver (BIV) this past March. Fiona is the managing partner for EY in British Columbia and also serves as the firm’s Canadian chief inclusiveness officer, championing the benefits of workplace diversity—a topic she recently wrote about for CPABC in Focus (March/April 2015 cover story). She joined EY in 1987, after immigrating to Canada from her home country of South Africa. Fiona currently serves on the executive committee and board of governors of the Business Council of British Columbia, and on the boards of the University of British Columbia, Shawnigan Lake School, and the Immigrant Employment Council of BC. She received the CA (Hon.) designation from the ICABC in 2011 in recognition of her contributions to the accounting profession. CPABC president & CEO Richard Rees, CPA, FCA, with BIV award winner Fiona Macfarlane, LLM, CA (Hon.) at the gala held on March 4. CPABC was a gold sponsor of the event. Photo by Chung Chow for Business in Vancouver. 6  CPABC in Focus •May/June 2015 PetrovVadim/iStock/Thinkstock Congrats to Our Colleagues in PEI!