CA Innovation

1879	Founding of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario
1883	Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario incorporated by an act of the provincial legislature. Institute given power to: Determine who should be members and under what conditions they should be admitted Discipline members for professional misconduct
1907	Shareholder protection passed by Queen’s Park in 1907 The Companies Act widely seen as a world leader in defining the rights of shareholders. Whole sections of the Act (including requirements on financial information disclosure for shareholders) were done by Ontario CAs
1921	Queen’s University Arts Faculty Dean and Economics Professor O.D. Skelton developed training program for CA students Institute no longer administered education program Institute established course content and set examinations
1922	Skelton toured England on faculty recruitment drive, acquiring C. A. Ashley and R.G.H. Smails, who led the field of accounting education in Ontario and beyond
1938	Ontario CA Kris Mapp developed plan for a uniform final examination for all Canadian Chartered Accounting students All provincial institutes adopted the proposal and first UFE was written the following year
1950	Public Accountancy Act enacted The Act created The Public Accountants Council responsible for administering the licensing provisions Institute designated as a qualifying body for licensing under the Act
1956	New Chartered Accountants Act adopted
1962	Merger between Chartered Accountants and Certified Public Accountants (CPAAO) Emergence of single standard of training, qualification and discipline
1972	“The 1972 Proposal”: university degree became a requirement of the CA qualification process
1980	Mandatory practice inspection of members and firms engaged in accounting and auditing services
1988	Public representatives appointed to Discipline and Appeal Committees
1989	Mandatory objectivity standards for review engagements in Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) Handbook
1990-1991	Rules of Professional Conduct harmonized across Canada
1991	Professional Conduct Committee given authority to seek interim suspension of any member who puts public at risk
1995	Public representatives added to the Institute’s Governing Council and Professional Conduct Committee.
1996	Discipline and Appeal Committees given authority to order newspaper publication of disciplinary expulsions
1997	Independent Reviewer of Complaints created to review any decision of the Professional Conduct Committee upon request from a complainant.
1999	CA profession’s National Public Interest and Integrity Committee created
2000	Independent Accounting Oversight Council (AcSOC) formed Amendments made to The Chartered Accountants Act: Provision for the disciplining of firms Voting participation of four public representatives appointed by the government to the Institute’s Governing Council CA profession’s Conflict of Interest Task Force recommended new, tougher conflict of interest rules
2001	New Fraud Standard issued in CICA Handbook: auditor’s responsibility to consider fraud and error in the audit of financial statements Accounting Standards Board put in place new CICA Handbook standards on business combinations and stock options requiring these activities to be fairly and clearly reflected on the balance sheet
2002	Subcommittee of the Accounting Oversight Council (AcSOC) formed to determine which accounting standards may have been circumvented in the Enron case, called for new standards for Special Purpose Entities and Guarantees New harmonized rules of professional conduct relating to conflict of interest adopted by all provincial CA institutes Institute responded to report on independent review of Ontario’s oversight and discipline system conducted by Thomas Allen, by implementing a number of reforms, including a proposed Rule of Professional Conduct 206 to guard against extreme interpretation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) Auditor Independence: Public Interest and Integrity Committee developed revised rules of professional conduct for the CA profession that would strengthen auditor independence and objectivity Institute, together with other PICAs, the CICA and other regulatory bodies, created the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) to oversee the auditing of publicly traded companies
2003	Rule 204 and new Rule 206 approved Rule 204 sets the Canadian CA profession’s new independence standards Rule 206 articulates the requirements of members responsible for the preparation of financial statements or who serve on boards of directors and audit committees, to comply with professional standards
2004	The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario celebrates 125 years of protecting the public interest and the CA designation's preeminence in the market for senior-level finance and accounting services The University of Toronto's Joseph L. Rotman School of Management Accounting Program becomes the first to be accredited by the Institute under an innovative program bringing the profession into partnership with the university Following extensive consultation with the Institute, the Ontario government tables Bill 94, a new Public Accounting Act, enabling other accounting designations to practise public accounting alongside CAs, if they can meet qualification and ongoing governance standards of equivalent rigour to those CAs must meet
2005	The Brock University and Wilfrid Laurier University Accounting Programs are accredited by the Institute The Public Accounting Act is proclaimed with the advent of a new Public Accountants Council (PAC) comprised of four CAs, two CMAs and two CGAs, augmented by a majority of independent public representatives
2006	The new PAC submits proposed stringent new qualification and governance standards for public accounting to the Ontario government. The Attorney General approves the new standards as submitted. For the first time in its history, the Institute is granted public accounting licensing authority by the PAC. It remains the only Ontario accounting body so empowered. Brock University partnered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario on the innovative CA/Brock Institute on International Issues in Accounting
2007	The Institute led efforts towards the implementation of full-shield Limited Liability Partnerships in Ontario. It provided much needed protection to audit firm partners and enhanced the province's international competitiveness The Institute provided leadership and funding in establishing the CA-Queen's Centre for Governance at Kingston's Queen's University The Institute approved the expansion of CA experience criteria. Effective September 1, 2007, the Institute and its counterparts across Canada recognized qualifying experience in approved CA Training Offices (CATOs) in areas in addition to audit and assurance, as well as in carefully selected corporations and government departments with approved CA training programs. Within a year, such prestigious organizations as Manulife, The Royal Bank, Telus, Great West Life, Sobeys, J.D. Irving, Nexus and the Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador would sign on as CATOs, with more to follow.
2008	Ontario's CAs take their advocacy efforts to a new level with the CAs for Change campaign, which focuses on three important issues: The need for legal liability reform; access to work in their field for internationally trained finance and accounting professionals; and nationally consistent, internationally recognized standards for qualification and conduct for public accountants. In the interest of promoting timely and accurate financial statements, the Voluntary Sector Reporting Awards (VSRAs) program was launched by Queen’s School of Business, PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada LLP (PwC) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.
2009	The Institute mounts a public and stakeholder education campaign on the risk of a "race to the bottom" in inter-provincial trade agreements. The issue is highlighted by proposed changes to the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), which would grant automatic credentials recognition for professionals seeking to move from one province to another, regardless of the differences in professional standards in each province. In November, the Government of Ontario would address these concerns by filing a “legitimate Objective exception” under the AIT, to ensure that out-of-province accountants would need to meet the requirements of Ontario’s unique system of legislated qualification standards to obtain a public accounting license in this province. The Institute, working closely with the Government of Ontario, begins to develop an entirely new Chartered Accountants Act to update and enhance its regulatory powers.
2010	In May, the Institute secures passage of a new Accounting Professions Act, 2010, which incorporates the new CA Act with modernized regulatory powers (see above), together with new and updated Acts governing CGAs and CMAs in Ontario.