President John Larsen, FCA Excited to Lead the Team in 2007/2008
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
September 2007 President John Larsen, FCA Excited to lead the team in 2007/2008 On the Cover In this issue Why the ICABC presidency The AcSB wants you to weigh in on may be a perfect fi t for private enterprise GAAP John Larsen, FCA Member Recognition Dinner photos + Council 2007/2008 Paying dividends is no easy task + DHbalance.ca IMPORTANTIMPORTANT MEETINGSMEETINGS ININ MYMY BUSYBUSY SEASON...SEASON... REDISCOVER PUBLIC PRACTICE The D+H Group WorkLife Balance + Our industry is realizing that many professionals are leaving public accounting firms because of the DHbalance.ca lack of balance between work and home. We believe a successful career should be accompanied with well-deserved rewards in remuneration, career opportunities, and time to invest away from the 604 731 5881 workplace. D+H is a mid-sized firm where our staff enjoy the best of both worlds: exciting clients, [email protected] stimulating work, along with the freedom to enjoy both work and free time. Rediscover Public A B.C. Limited Liability Partnership of Corporations Practice and find your WorkLife Balance with D+H Group. contents On the Cover 4 Notes from the COO Federal government makes good on T3 promise Want to get 5 For the Profession President John Larsen, the word out? FCA, shares the latest on 8 changing standards and Advertise in Beyond Numbers! Meet your new CA qualifying experience criteria president Here’s why: “No man is an island” 6 Research Corner 83% of BC CAs surveyed read could be John Larsen, Introducing the next Beyond Numbers FCA’s personal credo—this generation in accounting research, and saluting a Beyond Numbers goes out to guy is all about the team legend in the fi eld more than 8,300 members, 18 Tax Traps & Tips more than 1,400 students, Paying dividends just 14 got more complicated and over 200 external Council 2007/2008 stakeholders—including 20 PD News Meet your reps on the other institutes, associations, Highlights from the fall ICABC Council PD program and professional organizations 16 22 Plugged In Beyond Numbers has won News for and about awards for both content Financial reporting members & students and design, including by private enterprises Movers and shakers An overview of the AcSB’s in the profession Blue Wave Awards of Merit ICABC hosts Ultimate from the International Invitation to Comment Frisbee Tournament and Discussion Paper Is your entity a Association of Business going concern? Communications – BC Branch 26 BC Check-Up update To place an ad in Member Recognition 34 Ethical Dilemmas Dinner When education turns to Beyond Numbers, contact our regulation – part 2 of 2 representatives at: Highlights from the 2007 event Advertising in Print Tel: 604-681-1811 28 710 – 938 Howe St. Nominate a peer for Vancouver, BC V6Z 1N9 Fellowship Fax: 604-681-0456 Procedures for the Email: nomination and election [email protected] of FCAs UPDATE: September 2007, No.465 Published eight times annually by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Federal government of British Columbia. Editor furthers efforts to speed T3 delivery Michelle McRae Design Blindfolio Design 604-761-9212 Advertising Advertising In Print Phone: 604-681-1811 Fax: 604-681-0456 Senior Director of External Affairs Lesley MacGregor Institute Council Notes from the COO John Larsen, FCA President Doug Murphy, CA It all started with your feedback during the 2006 Executive Tour. 1st Vice-President You told us there was a problem with the timeliness and accuracy of T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Returns. A survey of your colleagues confi rmed it. Karen Keilty, CA 2nd Vice-President We then enlisted other provincial institutes to conduct their own surveys, and almost 1,500 CA fi rms, representing over 1,000,000 personal taxpayers, Robert Wicks, CA, CFP weighed in. The results were clear: T3s were a problem across the country. Treasurer After your input helped put this topic on the profession’s national agenda, the Jack Arnold, CA T3 problem was brought to the attention of the federal government. In Lindalee Brougham, CA particular, the CICA asked the government to address the delay in the issuance Susan Burns Kyman Chan, CA of tax information for mutual funds and publicly traded trusts, including income Karen Christiansen, CA trusts. John Crawford, CA As I explained in the summer issue of Beyond Numbers, these efforts paid off: Ken Gelhorn, CA·IT Jill Guthrie, CA In the 2007 Federal Budget, the government included a section on T3s in which Al McNair it stated its expectation to release, “in the near future,” draft regulations that Peter Norwood, CA would create a more effi cient process for 2007 T3 slips. John Sims, FCA James Topham, CA I’m very pleased to say that the government has delivered on its promise: On Kenneth Tung July 4, 2007, the Department of Finance announced draft amendments to the Praveen Vohora, CA Income Tax Act and the Income Tax Regulations designed to reduce delays in Chief Executive Offi cer the preparation and issuance of T3 information slips (relating to distributions Richard Rees, FCA of publicly traded trusts) and T5013 information slips (relating to allocations of Beyond Numbers is printed in British Columbia and publicly traded partnerships). mailed eight times annually to more than 8,300 According to the Finance Department, the draft amendments to the Income chartered accountants and more than 1,400 CA students in public practice, industry, education, and government Tax Act would provide authority for regulations requiring publicly traded trusts service throughout BC, Canada, and other countries. and partnerships to disclose information that enables investment managers to Beyond Numbers’ editorial and business offi ces prepare the tax information slips they’re required to issue to investors. This are located at: disclosure would be made through a posting of the required information on the Suite 500, One Bentall Centre, 505 Burrard St., Box 22 Vancouver, BC V7X 1M4 website of CDS Innovations Inc. (a subsidiary of the Canadian Depository for Securities Limited), a website designed to provide this type of information to Phone: 604-681-3264 Toll-free in BC: 1-800-663-2677 investment managers. Fax: 604-681-1523 Of course, the proof will be in the pudding, but hopefully we will see a Internet: www.ica.bc.ca signifi cant improvement in the 2008 tax season. Opinions expressed are not necessarily In the meantime, if there are other issues you believe the profession should endorsed by the Institute. address, please let us know. Beyond Numbers supports the CA profession in BC by sharing news from the Institute and news about members, by sharing viewpoints on issues of specifi c — Jan Sampson, FCA interest to members, and by promoting member involvement in Institute activities. Publications Mail Agreement No: 40062742 4 ica.bc.ca Sept. ’07 For the Profession Sensitive to the magnitude of these changes, We join the other provincial institutes across we are working with the CICA to ensure that Canada in supporting and approving these changes, members understand them and are aware of the which will ensure that the CA designation con- resources and learning opportunities available. tinues to be fully portable within Canada and The CICA has convened a working group to Bermuda. In turn, by joining other leading CA report to the Council of Senior Executives on accounting bodies around the world in offering the steps that need to be taken to ensure a expanded training opportunities, the Canadian smooth transition to both IFRS and ISA. CA profession is positioning itself favourably The profession also faces a crossroads with re- with its international counterparts. Changing Standards gard to fi nancial reporting by private enterprises. In most Canadian jurisdictions, CA students In May 2007, the AcSB issued an Invitation to will be recruited into the new training positions and Qualifying Comment and Discussion Paper on this issue, beginning in the fall of 2007, for employment Experience outlining three possible approaches (see our Fea- starting in 2008. In BC, we anticipate that only ture Story on page 16). The AcSB is currently a few applications for such training positions will Requirements seeking input from stakeholders, and I urge you be completed for approval by the fall of 2007, Take Centre-Stage to submit your comments to the Board before but we expect to approve a signifi cant number of the deadline of October 31, 2007. employers and positions by the fall of 2008. By John Larsen, FCA Information on this issue, and on IFRS, is This is an exciting move for the profession that President available on the CICA Implementation Support will help us facilitate access to students. Firms Gateway at http://cpd.cica.ca/ssg/About.cfm. are telling us they plan to train students in per- Greetings! We will continue to update you on new deve- formance measurement, with an emphasis on I hope you all took a well-deserved vacation this lopments, including roundtable discussions being taxation, business advisory services, or other summer and enjoyed some time away with family organized by the Institute. areas, and a number of leading corporations with and friends. large numbers of CA staff members have already In July, I had the pleasure of attending my Members approve expansion of CA expressed interest in becoming CA Training third Council retreat. I was reminded of the qualifying experience criteria Offi ces. commitment to, and passion for, our profession I’m delighted to announce that ICABC members For more information on how your fi rm or shared by my colleagues on Council, and I was approved the expansion of the CA qualifying company can hire CA students in these expanded greatly impressed by the diversity of experience experience criteria on June 14, 2007.