Q&A
Shelley: Our members can feel pride knowing that with a unified profession, we have
taken the very best from each of the three
legacy designations and created a new brand
in Canada that will be highly regarded here
and internationally, and recognized worldwide for excellence. The Canadian accounting
profession will be going forward with one
strong voice in our domestic marketplace and
at the international standards-setting table.
What challenges do you foresee in
the coming years for the profession?
Shelley: The biggest challenge facing us
right now is external. The economy here in
Canada, those of our major trading partners, and the overall global economy will
continue to present challenges, and all of our
members will need to respond to these issues
regardless of what area they work in—
whether it’s public practice, industry, or
government. We’re seeing a lot of pressure
on the audit side of the profession due to the
bank failures and recent financial crisis, and
this will continue to create challenges for
our profession for some time.
We will need to continue supporting our
membership through standards and regulatory changes that have resulted from the
economic issues that we’re facing globally.
As for the other things we’re working on
within the CPA profession—building the new
brand, developing the CPA education program, etc.—we’re moving forward on those
areas and can deal with them effectively. It’s
the bigger issues that we’ll need to refocus
our attention on moving forward.
Bob: The accounting profession is like any
other profession in the world: change is always
present. Therefore, we must be responsive to
the ever-changing market demands and be
the ones to lead and support new standards,
legislation, and accounting practices that
will help meet those demands. We must be
ahead of the curve in supporting the business
aspects of technology. Most importantly, we
have a duty of accountability to the public.
Within the CPA profession, unification
isn’t done yet. We’ve moved from vision to
34
CPABC in Focus • Nov/Dec 2013
“We’re at the point of
unification where we’re
ready to announce the
profession and our
leading-edge certification
to Canada and the world.”
reality, but there is still much work to be
done to finalize the unification of all parties
involved. We have a wide range of stakeholders—from members and students to
staff and employers, government, and the
public—and we need to ensure that we apprise
them of the status of our progress, while also
being responsive to their needs.
We also need to finalize the delivery of our
certification model. It’s been an immense
task consolidating the competencies and
course delivery of three designations into
one. Students in Western Canada started
the first module of the CPA Professional
Education Program in September, but we
still need to finalize the business model to
deliver all CPA education while continuously
updating, defining, and developing our
programs to ensure that they are the best
programs available.
We’re at the point of unification where
we’re ready to announce the profession and
our leading-edge certification to Canada and
the world. As you’ll have seen through our
advertising campaign launched in September,
it’s time to engage the business community,
government, employers, prospective students,
and educational institutions, and be proud
to share our successes with them.
Aside from the CPA Canada board,
what else have you been working on?
Bob: I’ve been told that retirement is an
opportunity for new beginnings, and since
I retired in February, I’ve definitely been
active in starting new projects on a number
of fronts. I’ve redeployed my “work” skills
as a consultant in a number of different
settings. It has been fun to see work from a
different perspective. Working with others
has allowed me to develop relationships and
achieve successes that are transferable to
other strategic decision-making boards.
This track record continues to open more
doors for me, and I’ve been offered governance roles that help me stay involved in
creating and monitoring strategic direction.
Most notably, I now serve as chair of the
Camosun College Foundation board and
the CMABC Scholarship Committee.
In addition, the merger of the accounting
profession has led to my involvement on
a number of interesting working groups,
including ones tasked with defining what
the CPA School of Business will look like for
delivery of the curriculum in Western Canada.
In the meantime, I’ve wound down some of
my existing roles—particularly as chair of a
couple of committees at CMA Canada, as
we’ve evolved to CPA Canada.
On a personal note, I’ve rediscovered
woodworking and becoming more physically
active... I plan to be around for some time
to watch the positive impact of the work
done by dedicated volunteers and staff in the
Canadian accounting profession!
Shelley: I’m a partner at Deloitte, and in
addition to my work with the profession,
I’ve always been active in my community,
volunteering with various organizations.
Giving back is incredibly important to me.
I’m a strong supporter of the United Way,
and contribute time to their leadership committees. And even though I’m now living in
BC, I’m still on the board of the Children’s
Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan, and
serve as a member of the Dean’s Advisory
Committee of Edwards School of Business
at the University of Saskatchewan.
I also enjoy spending time with my husband,
our children, and our new grandaughter,
who is four months old.