Over the past year, executives from Canada’s provincial and national accounting organizations have been discussing the creation of a new accounting designation that would unite accountants with CA, CMA and CGA designations.
While previous attempts at merging the profession have failed, executives of the various accounting regulatory groups gained a sense of urgency late last year when the Quebec government “invited” the professional organizations in that province to merge.
“The way I heard it was, it was an invitation you didn’t want to say no to,” said Richard Rees, CEO of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC. “The underlying message was, ‘You can figure out how to do this or we’ll do it for you.’”
In October, leaders of the three accounting organizations in Quebec presented their proposal to the provincial government, which plans to pass legislation in December to merge the designations.
By next spring, Quebec accountants would carry the chartered professional accountant (CPA) designation, while still being required to hold on to their original designations for at least 10 years. After that, accountants could choose to use only the CPA designation or continue using both it and their original designation indefinitely. New accounting graduates would carry only the CPA designation.
A similar process is being proposed across the country.
“One of the things we learned from the merger discussions in 2004 was that people are very proud of their designations,” said Rees, “and you don’t want to take away anybody’s designation.”
Accounting executives nationally agreed that merging the profession was better than having a fourth designation in Canada, which would further confuse the marketplace. About 20% of Canada’s accountants are in Quebec.
Colin Bennett, president of the Certified Management Accountants of BC, said a key element of the merger will be a new pre-certification program that would include the best elements of all three accounting programs.
The merger discussions have not been without controversy. While they started between CMAs and CGAs and later included CAs, the CGAs dropped out of them in the spring, only to return in the fall.
A blog post by Anthony Ariganello, president and CEO of CGA Canada, suggested one of the key issues was the 10-year period when accountants would be required to tag their old designations to the new one. Among his concerns was the potential to create more marketplace confusion for a decade by having four separate designations.
Gordon Ruth, CEO of CGA BC, said it’s in the best interests of the profession in Canada to have a consistent national organization and framework.
All the executives of the three accounting bodies in B.C. agree that a merged profession would bolster its international clout in an increasingly globalized and competitive landscape.
The national wings of the CAs, CMAs and CGAs participate in international discussions on accounting standards, but a united profession in Canada would create the world’s fifth largest accounting organization and give it much more clout in how international standards are developed.
“Currently, we are three fragmented organizations and none of them are recognized as the biggest in the world,” Bennett said. “So you have a limited voice.”
A survey by the CAs and CMAs found that business owners and executives would prefer a unified profession, which would simplify hiring and improve the quality of Canadian accountants.
But full unification in Canada could take years after the Quebec merger is completed next year.
Use of the CPA designation in other provinces will depend on when legislation is passed in each jurisdiction. Bennett suggested it could be until 2014 before legislation is tabled in B.C.
Rees said unification could also be an opportunity to eliminate some of the differences and inconsistencies in provincial legislation that make it difficult for accountants to practise in other provinces. •
