CAs welcome new landscape for audit and assurance services in Ontario

Bill 94 opens field for non-Chartered Accountants, if they can reach international standards

Toronto (November 1, 2005) – Ontario legislation which takes effect today will enable accountants with other designations to join Chartered Accountants (CAs) in the practice of public accounting – if they can prove they meet the same high standards CAs are required to meet today.

“The key is international recognition,” said Institute President and CEO Brian Hunt, FCA. “The current, high public accounting standards are recognized by our major trading partners, which is crucial for Ontario in a global economy. Maintaining those standards for public accounting is critical if we are to maintain our worldwide reputation as a safe place to invest and do business.

“The other accounting bodies must now show that they can build equivalent standards for public accounting so that the public interest and our economy are protected.”

The proclamation of Bill 94 caps a three-year effort by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario to ensure that the change protects the public interest. Hunt credited the McGuinty government with satisfying this requirement by granting access to public accounting licenses to Certified Management Accountants (CMAs) and Certified General Accountants (CGAs) only on the basis of the existing, internationally recognized public accounting standards of qualification and regulation that are demanded of CAs. These standards include:

Rigorous education, examination and practical experience requirements
The enforcement of exacting rules of professional conduct
Mandatory practice inspection and professional liability programs for public accounting work
Continuing professional development requirements, and
Comprehensive discipline mechanisms

Hunt said the new law will also enable the CA profession to broaden training opportunities for students in industry roles, where two-thirds of CAs currently work at senior levels such as CFOs and VPs Finance: “The profession’s ability to do this was constrained under the prior legislation, as it required all CAs to train in public accounting even if they did not go on to practice it.”

Public accounting is the business of expressing independent assurance on financial statements and other financial information of enterprises of all sizes, to ensure that the information truly reflects the enterprises’ financial condition. Large and small investors, financial institutions and other third parties then rely on that assurance to make informed investment and lending decisions.

“Many of those decisions involve investments in RSPs, mutual or pension funds – making the practice of public accounting relevant to nearly all Canadians,” Hunt stressed. “Now more than ever, this work must continue to be done the right way, by the right people with the right skills.”

The CA profession is committed to ensuring that public accounting standards remain high. A new Public Accountants Council (PAC) has been formed, comprised of four CAs, two CMAs, two CGAs and nine public representatives, including the Chair. The PAC will provide oversight to ensure that high standards continue to be the norm in Ontario. “The highest priority for our PAC members will be to safeguard today’s high standards and drive them higher still where appropriate,” Hunt said.

About the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario:

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario is the qualifying and regulatory body of Ontario's 31,000 CAs and 3,500 CA students. 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.The Institute website is: www.icao.on.ca

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For more information please contact:

Perry Jensen
Associate Director of Media Relations
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario
Direct: 416-969-4271
Toll free: 1-800-387-0735 ext. 271
E-mail: pjensen@icao.on.ca