NOTES & NEWS
Update on Financial Literacy Program
A
summer series of complimentary “train-the-trainer” sessions wrapped up in BC on
September 21, as Cairine Wilson, CPA Canada’s VP of corporate citizenship, and Joy
Thomas, FCPA, FCMA, CPA Canada’s executive VP, spoke before more than 35 members
at the Coast Inn of the North in Prince George. Wilson and Thomas were there to describe how
the profession is working to improve the financial literacy of Canadians at the grassroots level.
As detailed in the May/June 2015 issue of CPABC in Focus, CPA Canada’s Financial Literacy
Program gives members across Canada access to a wide range of educational resources developed
by the profession to teach Canadians about financial matters.
Earlier in the summer, CPA Canada hosted train-the-trainer sessions in Surrey, Vancouver, and
Kelowna. Each of these sessions was presented by Cairine Wilson and Li Zhang, CPA Canada’s
program manager. The first of two presentations held on June 25 took place at Eaglequest Coyote
Creek Golf Club in Surrey. A breakfast session organized by the CPABC Surrey/Langley/North
Delta Chapter, the event attracted more than 50 members. Speaking on behalf of the Chapter,
outgoing chair Khin Tan, CPA, CGA, welcomed Wilson and Zhang, as well as CPABC provincial
board member Tom Senft, CPA, CGA. The Surrey session was followed by a presentation in
downtown Vancouver, which was attended by more than 40 members, including CPABC provincial
board member Stanley Chang, CPA, CGA. This lunchtime presentation was held at the Vancouver
Club and marked the third time CPA Canada had delivered a train-the-trainer session in Vancouver.
The following day, Wilson and Zhang presented a session at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country
Club in Kelowna, which was attended by more than 30 members. The event was organized in
collaboration with the CPABC Okanagan Chapter and included a provincial update from
CPABC’s second vice-chair Heather Banham, FCPA, FCGA.
At the June presentations, area leaders were on hand to share their thoughts on volunteering
with the Financial Literacy Program. Mike Hazen, CPA, CGA, Bryan Sommer, CPA, CA, and
Jessica Spitz, CPA, CA, each attended a session and described their positive experiences
presenting at local schools and for community groups. These three members are among the more
than 800 BC members who are now trained and involved in the Financial Literacy Program.
To learn more about CPA Canada’s Financial Literacy Program, including how to get involved,
visit cpacanada.ca.
Cairine Wilson presenting in Kelowna in June.
L to R: Joy Thomas, FCPA, FCMA, CPA Canada’s executive VP, and Cairine
Wilson, CPA Canada’s VP of corporate citizenship, with Brian Young,
CPA, CMA, chair of the CPABC Prince George Chapter, at the Prince
George session in September.
10 CPABC in Focus • Nov/Dec 2015
Upcoming sessions:
Two train-the-trainer sessions are
coming up on December 2—one in
Burnaby and one in Coquitlam. To
register,