CAs lauded for work at Free CA Tax Clinics

Top volunteers from Scarborough, Richmond Hill and Stoney Creek honoured

Toronto, Ontario (May 31, 2007) –The Institute of Chartered Accountants today honoured three of the 1,500 CAs and their Associates who took time during the busiest part of their working year to help less fortunate Ontarians do their taxes at free CA Tax Clinics across the province. During February and March of this year, volunteers at the CA Tax Clinics prepared over 10,000 tax returns in Ontario.

While all of the volunteers deserve praise, the Institute chose to honour three individuals for their devotion to helping others based on the number of clinics they attended. The top three volunteers and winners of the annual Tax Clinic Challenge are:

Arthur Lawrence, CA, a sole practitioner in York Region who lives in Richmond Hill. Over the past two years, he hosted many tax clinics in his own Richmond Hill office.
Ronald Sutherland, CA, who is retired. For many years he has taken time to volunteer his services at daytime clinics run by Scarborough’s West Hill Community Services.
Amanda Leupen is a CA Student at Hamilton’s Taylor Leibow LLP Chartered Accountants. A Stoney Creek resident, she has volunteered at several clinics in the Hamilton area.

All three winners were presented with a framed certificate and gift during a presentation at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario’s Council Chambers on May 31.

The Free CA Tax Clinics program is an ongoing collaboration between 200 community service groups that host the clinics, and the volunteer Chartered Accountants and CA students who complete the returns free of charge. Designed to serve low-income people by preparing tax returns, the Free CA Tax Clinics help them receive much-needed tax credits and refunds. Since the program was initiated, tens of thousands of Ontarians have benefited from the volunteer tax-time help of the CAs.

“Volunteers like Arthur, Ronald and Amanda are the backbone of the Free CA Tax Clinic Program,” said Donna Genova, CA Associate Director, Member Services at the Institute. “This program has been running successfully since 1969 because our members find it gratifying to be able to give something back to the communities where they live and work.”

About the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario:

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario is the qualifying and regulatory body of Ontario's more than 32,000 CAs and 4,000 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. Recognized internationally, the CA designation denotes financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight and leadership. The Institute website is: www.icao.on.ca and the student website is www.ca2b.biz.

For more information, please contact:

Perry Jensen
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario
69 Bloor St. East Toronto, Ontario M4W 1B3
416-969-4271 or 1-800-387-0735 ext. 271
pjensen@icao.on.ca