News from the profession

A summary of current CICA projects and initiatives

Dynamic, colourful logo symbolizes value provided by Canada’s CAs

At the forefront of change, Canada’s CAs are CEOs, CFOs and strategic leaders in all areas of business and public accounting practice. CAs have long evolved from the days of green eyeshades.

Now it is time for the CA profession to exchange its old green logo for a look that better reflects its current beliefs, attitudes and values.

Beginning in June, the CA profession will replace the graphic symbol that has represented it since 1991 with a new, more modern, colourful and dynamic logo. The new design reflects the confidence, leadership and value provided by the more than 71,000 CAs and 9,500 students in Canada and Bermuda who make up the profession’s membership.

“Canada’s CAs play leadership roles in all segments of Canadian businesses and are shaping the best accounting practices around the world,” said Kevin Dancey, FCA, president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. “This new dynamic logo and signature unifies our profession and graphically symbolizes the value provided by CAs all across Canada and Bermuda.”

Creating a new face for Canada’s CAs is part of the profession’s current branding program. As you will read in the article provided by our design firm, Gottschalk+Ash International, the logo and the brand are closely aligned.

The branding program was launched last fall and is aimed at shifting perception away from inaccurate stereotypes and increasing recognition of the value CAs provide to individuals, businesses and our capital markets and economy. Using advertising, media and stakeholder relations, the profession is building awareness and understanding that CAs provide business insight, strategic thinking and leadership in addition to the financial expertise for which they are known.

Research studies with members, Canadian business leaders and the general public indicate the branding program is succeeding in increasing awareness of the CA profession and its value. With awareness of the unique attributes of the CA profession on the rise, the profession believes it can augment the perception shift by introducing a more dynamic and modern logo that more closely signifies the multidimensional value provided by CAs today.

The new logo was tested with members and the business community before the design was finalized. Focus groups were conducted in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax asking members and business leaders about the new logo. The results showed that both members and the business community believe the new design more closely reflects the professionalism and attributes of the profession than did the old image.

“The new design was also selected for its flexibility and ability to meet the evolving needs of the profession,” said Daniel McMahon, chair of the National Branding Committee. “The design adapts well for use by the CICA and the provincial and Bermuda institutes with both their legal names and the moniker ‘Chartered Accountants of’ plus the individual jurisdiction. It also works for many other applications.”
As part of the move to the new look, a guidance framework for using the new logo has been created so it can be applied to existing and new programs and services in a way that will consistently reflect the brand image. This new system has guidelines that will enable the profession to maintain its consistent look on every application imaginable — from golf shirts and business cards to corporate signage and sponsorship recognition.

In making the change to the new logo, the branding committee was focused on ensuring the conversion is efficient and cost effective. To do this, the conversion will take place over the summer. The new and old logos will actually co-exist for a short period. It is anticipated that the new symbol will be fully in place by fall.

Members will see a lot of change over the next few months as each of the profession’s programs, products and services adopt the new look. One of the first experiences members will have with the new logo will be the arrival of a new CA pin in the mail. While there will be special recognition items designed by the provincial institutes for their FCAs, these new logo pins will be provided to all CAs working in Canada. The pins signify that Canada’s CAs are a unified group of professionals with the same high-quality training and expertise. The CA pins symbolize the distinction of CAs and the value they provide regardless of what type of work they do. As such, the new pins help reinforce the unity of the CA profession.

CAs in Canada and Bermuda will also be able to use the new logo as part of the identity of their own practices. Complete information as to the policy for use and how the new logo may be downloaded and used by members will be posted on the provincial institutes’ and CICA’s websites in June.

Maintaining the proper sizing, colour and use of the CA logo is a critical part of the profession’s ability to maintain and enhance its brand equity. Members who wish to use the logo will be required to adhere to the standards for its use in the same manner as CICA and provincial institute staff. Expert resources are available to ensure the profession’s logo standards are understood and maintained. Each institute has appointed a branding officer to make sure our brand, logo and overall reputation evolves in a positive way, consistent with the evolution of our profession.

New logo enhances CA brand

By Stephen Candib
Gottschalk+Ash International

The new CA brand identity works on a variety of visually symbolic levels designed to reinforce the positioning of the CA brand.

The brand identity comprises three elements: the CA symbol, the CA wordmark and the jurisdiction/institute, which have been designed to work together as well as function as part of a broader identity system.

When the three elements are used together, with a jurisdiction or institute name, they are referred to as a signature, and there are a wide variety of consistent-looking signatures across the brand system. When the symbol and the word-mark are used together, they are called the logo.

The symbol has been designed to suggest a variety of things. It is multicoloured, which is intended to suggest the multidimensional nature of the CA designation. The colours are bright, bold and contemporary. The wordmark is in uppercase black type — authoritative, bold, sober and strong — which is designed to balance with the bright colours in the symbol.

The sans-serif Gotham typeface (which we are demonstrating by using it in this article) has been chosen to be modern, unadorned and based on classical type proportions so it will function well for many years without looking too trendy or dated.It has also been chosen to stand out among the many other typefaces that are widely used. It is fairly open and highly legible.

The symbol is simple enough to allow viewers to immediately recognize it and abstract enough to allow viewers to read meaning into it.

When the symbol is looked at by itself, the green at the lower left suggests an arrow, and the complete symbol also suggests a larger arrow, especially when the symbol is seen in small-sized applications.

When the green component is combined with the white negative spaces between the gold, blue and silver squares, the symbol also suggests a plus sign as well as a Cartesian grid.

The upper right placement of the symbol suggests an arrow pointing forward and upward.

When seen in combination with the wordmark, the placement of the symbol in the upper right corner of the signature implies the upper right corner of a box, and the complete symbol also suggests the upper right corner of a larger box as well as a grid of multicoloured boxes.

These elements combined result in a logo that works well in small and large sizes, in full colour as well as one- or two-colour versions, as defined by the limitations of the media in which it is expressed.

New economic report based on business insight of CA leaders

A new report from the CICA draws on the strategic thinking and business insight of CAs who hold leadership positions in industry to provide a quarterly snapshot of the state of Canada’s economy

CICA, in collaboration with the Royal Bank of Canada, recently launched the CICA RBC Business Monitor Report, a quarterly economic survey that provides a clear picture of how financial professionals believe the economy will unfold in the coming year. This report provides valuable information for members, government and the business community — in fact, anyone with an interest in the Canadian economy.

To obtain data for the report covering Q2 2007, CICA contacted more than 2,000 CAs holding key roles in industry, including CEOs, COOs, CFOs and presidents. The e-mail survey asked members to rate their level of economic optimism for their own businesses as well as for the Canadian and provincial economies. It also asked respondents to quantify anticipated changes for their businesses in key performance indicators such as revenue and sales, as well as expected changes in input costs, prices, budgets, investment and financing.

Other sections of the survey focused on the extent to which their companies are challenged by issues like staff turnover and corporate taxes. In addition, members were asked how they would divide any government financial surplus and how government could improve economic productivity. Results of the Q2 study will be posted in June in the Business Monitor section of the CICA website and preparations are already underway for the next quarter survey. Invitations will be sent to approximately 2,200 members during July. Members receiving an invitation are strongly urged to take part to help ensure the report presents an accurate picture of the Canadian economy.

CA Compensation Survey coming soon

Every two years, CICA and the provincial institutes/ordre conduct a profession-wide compensation survey. The survey results are a valuable tool for members to benchmark their salaries against other members in their region and are used to promote the profession to students across Canada. Members are encouraged to respond to the survey to ensure the report presents an accurate portrayal of CA compensation levels in Canada.

Beginning mid-June, most members will receive an e-mail invitation to participate in the survey from CICA’s research provider, iTracks. Participants will receive an advance copy of the results in August. The complete results of the study will be available to all members by mid-September.

The CA Compensation Survey is hosted on a secure site and all information entered is kept strictly confidential. Results will be reported in aggregate form only.

If you have questions regarding the survey, please contact Paul Long, manager, marketing and marketing research at paul.long@cica.ca.

Results of the 2005 CA Compensation Survey can be found at www.casource.com/employerGlobal/initArticleSearchAction.do?id=3&catId=11.