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A New Chartered Accountants Act for Ontario
The Institute is pleased to advise members that Bill 158, the entirely new Accounting Professions Act, has now cleared first reading at the Ontario Legislature. If passed, the new Act would create the Chartered Accountants Act, 2009, and is the result of extensive and detailed consultations spanning many months between senior Institute staff and legal and other officials in the Ministry of the Attorney General.
The previous Chartered Accountants Act was introduced in 1956 and was in need of significant changes to better reflect the operating realities of the Institute and profession in the 21st century. It was widely felt that piecemeal amendments to the original Act were no longer adequate to this task, requiring the creation of completely new legislation.
If passed, the Chartered Accountants Act, 2009 would significantly enhance the Institute’s regulatory scope by:
- enhancing the Institute’s authority regarding settlement agreements in disciplinary cases that would provide for sanctions without an admission of guilt or a finding of professional misconduct
- strengthening the ability of the Discipline and Appeal Committees to award costs including those of investigations, prosecutions and appeals
- increasing penalties for the illegal use of the CA designation from the current $300 to $10,000
- providing the Institute with the authority to obtain court orders for custody of the records in possession or control of members who have died or disappeared, or have neglected or abandoned their practices without making provisions for the protection of client interests, and by
- removing inconsistencies between provisions of the current Act and the Statutory Power Procedures Act regarding hearings before tribunals
The Accounting Professions Act would also replace prior legislation governing the CMA and CGA associations in Ontario. We will notify members as and when the new legislation is enacted. For now, please view a comprehensive article in the May 2009 issue of the accounting industry publication The Bottom Line.
Bill 158, Accounting Professions Act, 2009