News from the profession

A summary of current CICA projects and initiatives

Members say CA advantage ad campaign is on the right track

By Daniel McMahon, FCA

Last September, the CA profession kicked off its new branding program with a high-profile advertising campaign developed to remind the public about the distinct advantages CAs bring to business. Appearing in a variety of venues — television, magazines, airport billboards, elevator screens and the Internet — the campaign is part of a comprehensive branding program designed to shift perceptions about the CA profession by raising awareness that “CAs do so much more” than auditing, tax and financial reporting.

The branding program was identified as a key initiative in the 2004 Strategic Crossroads Plan. The campaign, which will run over the next several years, is a substantial element of the branding program. Its design is based on in-depth research.

In focus groups leading up to the branding launch, members agreed that while the CA brand is very strong, the value that CAs contribute to organizations needs to be better understood by Canada’s business community. To achieve this, CICA and the PICA/Ordre developed the new campaign along with plans that will result over time in enhanced media coverage, Internet communications and sponsorships. Each stage will be measured through member and other research to determine its success.

In December 2006, the branding committee conducted an online survey of more than 700 members to gauge awareness of the advertising and the branding initiative after the first three months of the campaign. The survey also measured member satisfaction with the approach and assessed member support for continued brand advertising.

More than 93% of members surveyed indicated they had seen the ads promoting the CA profession and 84% said that they found the central message of the campaign, “get the CA advantage,” was effectively conveyed. While more than 60% had a positive impression of all three television ads, the soccer ad was the one most frequently recalled. By comparison, recall of ads for other designations dropped during this same period.

CAs also indicated that they were satisfied with the performance of the PICA/Ordre and the CICA in promoting the profession. More than 60% of members gave a “good” or “very good” rating to the CICA’s promotional efforts over the past year and nine out of 10 said that the institutes should continue promoting the profession in the future.

Maintaining the focus on research-based decision-making, the branding committee will survey members, managers, owners, professionals, executives and the public to assist in the planning for the next phase of the campaign, which will be launched in fall 2007.

New standard practices for investigative and forensic accounting

CICA’s Alliance for Excellence in Investigative and Forensic Accounting (IFA Alliance) recently released new standard practices for investigative and forensic accounting engagements that will protect the public by ensuring consistency to a standard of practice.

The standard practices will ensure that all CAs conducting investigative and forensic accounting (IFA) engagements conform to performance criteria that will be enforced through the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Provincial Institutes/Ordre of Chartered Accountants.

“CAs are among the most trusted business advisers, in part because they follow technical standards in accounting and assurance and specific Rules of Professional Conduct,” said IFA Alliance chair Gary Moulton, CA•IFA. “These new standard practices bring an additional level of reliability to the work of CAs who are providing investigative and forensic accounting services.”

Standard practices for IFA engagements relate to the IFA practitioners’ professional skills, the performance of their engagements and the preparation of their reports. Commencing March 1, 2007, these standard practices must be followed by all CAs who perform IFA engagements.

“As primary users of IFA services, litigation lawyers will be particularly interested in these standard practices,” said IFA Standards Committee chair Ivor Gottschalk, CA•IFA. “They will enhance the usefulness of expert evidence given by IFA practitioners and could well become a basis for evaluating expert testimony in this area.”

Standard Practices for Investigative and Forensic Accounting Engagements may be downloaded in pdf format from www.cica.ca/ifa.

Young Presidents’ Organization learns about the CA advantage

CICA president and CEO Kevin Dancey, FCA, recently joined some of North America’s most recognized management consultants, authors and thought leaders when he addressed more than 250 members of the Young Presidents’ Organization at YPO’s Upper Canada Leadership Summit in Toronto.

YPO is a premier international education and networking organization made up of more than 10,000 young corporate decision-makers from 80 countries. An exclusive peer network, YPO connects its members so they can exchange ideas, pursue learning and share strategies to achieve personal and professional growth and success.

CICA was the gold sponsor for the YPO summit, which was also webcast to YPO members internationally during two one-day sessions.

The first day of the event was held in November and featured moderator Vern Harnish, founder and CEO of Gazelles Inc. and author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and special guests Seth Godin and Pat Lencioni, authors of a series of best-selling books on management.

Dancey spoke during the day, highlighting critical changes underway in financial reporting that will directly affect senior management and the businesses they operate.

“Best management teams are a mixture of vision, skill and commitment,” said Dancey. “Whether leading the team or supporting it, CAs play a critical role in helping organizations build the value and wealth that fuels Canada’s growing economy. We are proud to sponsor an event that fosters an exchange of ideas and understanding among so many of today’s most successful business leaders.”

Day two of the summit was dedicated to innovation and moderated by CBC broadcaster Evan Solomon. The event featured six members of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (www.CIAR.ca), whose revolutionary thinking is redefining the leading edge in the fields of economics, genetics, brain development and the workings of Earth’s inner core. CICA’s vice-president, knowledge development Bill Swirsky, FCA, also demonstrated innovative thinking occurring in the accounting field by providing an overview of new measurement concepts aimed at improving the ability of organizations to capture value and performance in their MD&A reporting.

“We are delighted that CICA helped make this event possible,” said Evan Chrapko, CA•IT, YPO Leadership Summit Day chair and a member of the CIAR board of directors. “CAs bring to organizations the financial expertise and business insight that is critical to success. The summit was a great opportunity for YPO members to find out why, in a world of many other so-called qualifications, the CA clearly stands out as Canada’s premier accounting designation.”