Ontario Chartered Accountants: The Next 125 Years

Uncomplicating business since 1879

TORONTO: November 11, 2004 -- The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario paused again today, following its Remembrance Day observances, to commemorate the 125^th Anniversary of the CA profession in this province.

“It was on this day in 1879 that leading business professionals gathered in Toronto to create ‘an Association of Accountants for the Dominion of Canada’,” noted Institute President and CEO Brian Hunt. “Throughout the century and-a-quarter that followed, CAs have stood at the intersection of key phases in Ontario’s development, ensuring that building and growing our province was done in the public interest, with accountability, transparency and foresight for future generations.” Hunt cited three key examples among many:

1907 Shareholder Protection: Passed by Queen’s Park in 1907, The Companies Act was widely seen as a world leader in defining the rights of shareholders. Whole sections of it, including requirements on financial information disclosure for shareholders, were the work of Ontario Chartered Accountants.

World War II: During the Second World War, the need for CAs greatly expanded due to growth in government activity and regulation to guide the war effort. Ontario CAs descended on Ottawa en masse to serve as civil servants across all branches of the government and military.

Preparing for Prosperity: In the immediate post-war era, Ontario’s CA profession foresaw the coming economic boom, and with it, the growing ranks of individual shareholders. This prompted a major effort to make financial statements understandable to average investors, leading to new and better standards of clarity in disclosure for public companies.

Hunt said that this history of innovation remains the hallmark of the CA profession even today: “We welcome the heightened scrutiny on the accounting profession in recent years. It has enabled us to demonstrate that increasing standards is not a reaction to the headlines, but a continual process at the heart of the CA profession.” Hunt noted that looking toward the future, the profession is evolving to maintain its leadership in accounting and financial services, with a new strategic plan to broaden CA competencies to confront the increasing complexities of the marketplace.*

“Tomorrow’s CA may be different than today’s,” Hunt said. “But certain things will never change: a commitment to ethics and integrity; internationally recognized high standards; and the guardianship of the public trust.”

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario is the regulatory body of Ontario’s 31,000 CAs. Since 1879, the Institute has protected the public interest through the CA profession’s high standards of qualification and the enforcement of its rules of professional conduct.

Seen below are photos from the 125th Anniversary staff celebration.