MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER · April 2, 2013, CMA British Columbia and Institute of Chartered...

SPRING 2013

MOVINGFORWARDTOGETHER

WHAT WILL THE MERGER MEAN FOR YOU?

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF BOARD SERVICE

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Certified ManageMent aCCountants | British ColuMBia

Cover Photo: istoCkPhoto

Y Departments4 Letter from the Editor

5 Message from your President & Chair

6 News and notes the latest CMa events, CPld opportunities

and some recommended reading for CMas

16 CMA spotlight Carolyn rogers, CMa

30 Member update Members on the move, new faces and

members in memoriam

12

VancouVer | calgary

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Cover Photo: istoCkPhoto

IN THIS ISSUE

Y Features12 A new kind of angel a private-public partnership examined By Karen Chan, CMA Candidate

14 Visioning a new future What you can expect to see over the coming year

as CMa BC and iCaBC merge operations By Vinetta Peek, CMA (Hon.), CMA

18 The basics of board governance By Brian Friedrich, Laura Friedrich and Marc Kampschuur

20 Valuenomics Creating value for everyone through social impact bonds By Bernard Achampong, CMA

23 Excel tips and tricks: Dashboarding in Excel

how to convey information without overloading your audience By Ken Puls, CMA

27 Basia Ruta introducing B.C.’s first auditor general for local government By Michelle McRae

32 Get on board how board service can help you and your community By Ann Wicks, CMA Candidate

Y Departments4 Letter from the Editor

5 Message from your President & Chair

6 News and notes the latest CMa events, CPld opportunities

and some recommended reading for CMas

16 CMA spotlight Carolyn rogers, CMa

30 Member update Members on the move, new faces and

members in memoriam

232012

16ACCOUNTING MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

sPring 2013 CMA UPDATE 3

VancouVer | calgary

Angus One.indd 1 3/22/11 10:17:12 AM p02-03_Contents.indd 3 13-04-12 9:05 AM


MESSAGE FROM YOUR PRESIDENT & CHAIR

y the time this issue of Update reaches you, an important milestone in the unification of the accounting designations in B.C. will have already taken place. On April 2, 2013, CMA British Columbia and Institute of

Chartered Accountants of British Columbia (ICABC) created a “virtual joint venture.” This unincorporated joint venture allows our two organizations to begin integrating operations and seconding staff to the new Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia organization.

Our respective teams have been working together for many months on national and provincial committees and workgroups. A lot of the work has been taking place behind the scenes, but over the coming months, you’ll see the tangible evidence of this significant effort – including more integrated services and communications with members. We are committed to ensuring that the benefits of both organizations accrue to members.

In March 2013, the first joint board meeting of the CMA British Columbia Board of Directors and the ICABC Council approved the transition and integrated operations plan that will be our roadmap for the coming year. For more details on what this means to you, turn to page 14 for an update on the unification.

Another significant development that took place this February was that the Certified General Accountants of British Columbia (CGA-BC) reentered the merger discussions. We welcome their return, and are encouraged by the progress of discussions and the results of their recent member survey.

We have already started the registration process for the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP), which launches here in B.C. in September 2013. Registration for the initial modules of the CPA Prerequisite Education Program (CPA PREP) will open shortly, and we’ve received a record-high number of inquiries from interested prospects. This preparatory program is modeled after the legacy CMA Accelerated Program.

CMA British Columbia will continue to run our legacy programs through to the last national board report in 2015. This will include the completion of the current Accelerated Program, which will lead into the final intakes of the Strategic Leadership Program in September 2013 and January 2014. We will also be running our last Executive CMA Program commencing September 2013.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who nominated a fellow B.C. member for the prestigious FCMA designation or Life Membership. Nominations are now being reviewed, and will be announced later this summer.

We look forward to seeing many of you at our seventh annual CMA BC Leadership Conference – taking place May 30 and 31 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The event is almost sold out

B

4 CMA UPDATE spring 2013

olunteering on boards is a rewarding experience that I encourage all CMA members and students to embrace. I have had the pleasure of serving on several boards, all of which, admittedly, had their challenges – acting as treasurer and having to learn debits and credits again, or as the technology

chair experiencing the perils of the delete button when updating the website. But despite such humbling moments, I believe we each have expertise to contribute and, at the same time, we can learn from other board members who often come from different industries and backgrounds. This belief is shared by many and is further explored in this issue’s article “Get On Board” by Ann Wicks, a candidate in the CMA Executive Program.

On the other side, for those who need advice on how to set up a board for optimal effectiveness, Laura and Brian Friedrich and Marc Kampschuur have written a great piece on board governance principles. Laura and Marc will be presenting on this topic

at the upcoming 7th Annual Leadership Conference on May 30 and 31, 2013, so be sure to sign up soon.

In this issue of Update, we also explore innovative partnerships. Canada is regarded as a leader in the growing trend towards public-private partnerships, particularly for infrastructure projects. Current CMA student Karen Chan’s article explores one such successful venture undertaken by Nanaimo Bioenergy (page 12), while Bernard Achampong, CMA examines social impact bonds (page 20). We have also included two profiles of female business leaders whom you will no doubt hear more about in the coming years: Basia Ruta, CA, B.C.’s very first Auditor General for Local Government; and Carolyn Rogers, CMA, CEO of the Financial Institutions Commission.

Another strong female leader featured in this issue is none other than Vinetta Peek, CMA (Hon.), CMA. Our fearless

President and CEO provides an update on the merger and a timeline for integrating our membership services. With that in mind, this will be our second to last issue of CMA BC Update; but fear not, you will still hear from us in the form of a new joint magazine we’re launching with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia starting in September 2013.

Diane Chung, CMAVice president, Marketing and new Business [email protected]

Vspring 2013

EDitoriAl AnD BusinEss offiCEsuite 1000, 900 West hastings st.,

Vancouver, BC, V6C 0C4 phone: 604-687-5891 | toll-free: 1-800-663-9646

fax: 604-687-6688Email: [email protected] | Website: www.cmabc.com

We welcome your feedback.

Copyright CMa British Columbia 2013. publications Mail agreement no: 40065475.

please return undeliverable copies to address above.

● ● ●

ExECutiVE BoArDChAir pat Kennedy, CMa, fCMa

PAst ChAir stephen lee, CMa, fCMa

first ViCE ChAir tammy towill, CMa, fCMa

sEConD ViCE ChAir simon philp, CMa, fCMa

trEAsurEr Mark Kennedy, CMa, fCMa

sECrEtAry Vinetta peek, CMa (hon.), CMa

DirECtors-At-lArgEJeff Champion, CMa, fCMa,

gerald dragomir, CMa, fCMa, elaine eccleston, CMa, fCMa,

timothy edwards, CMa, fCMa, dave hallinan, CMa,

diane Kerley, CMa, Bernard Magnan, CMa, fCMa,

Bruce Mclennan, CMa, fCMa, lyndon peterson, CMa

lAy rEPrEsEntAtiVEsChamkaur Cheema, Maxine dehart, John hunter, stephen Quinn

ExECutiVE stAffPrEsiDEnt AnD CEo Vinetta peek, CMa (hon.), CMa

ViCE PrEsiDEnt, ProgrAMs Bob gautama, CMa

ViCE PrEsiDEnt, MArKEting AnD nEW BusinEss DEVEloPMEnt diane Chung, CMa

ViCE PrEsiDEnt, oPErAtions rick lightheart, CMa, fCMa

uPDAtE stAffEDitor – ViCE PrEsiDEnt, MArKEting AnD nEW BusinEss DEVEloPMEnt

diane Chung, CMa

AssoCiAtE EDitor – CoMMuniCAtions sPECiAlist erin McinnisuPDAtE EDitoriAl tAsK forCE: david andru, CMa,

Karen Chan, CMa Candidate, don Mclellan, CMa,

don nilson, CMa, fCMa, Jeffrey sparling, CMa,

ann Wicks, CMa Candidate

Canada Wide Media, 4th floor, 4180 lougheed highway,Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6a7

phone: 604-299-7311 | fax: 604-299-9188● ● ●

EDitoriAl CoorDinAtor Matt CurrieArt DirECtor edwin pabellon

ADVErtising sAlEs Michael rochfortProDuCtion MAnAgEr/Print Kirsty senior

ProDuCtion MAnAgEr/stuDio Kristina BorysProDuCtion CoorDinAtor Kathleen almeida

DirECtor of ProDuCtion Kim MclaneADVErtising ProDuCtion allison griffioen, Chris sherwood

sEnior iMAging tEChniCiAn debbie lynn CraigElECtroniC iMAging Mandy lau, laura Michaels

ElECtroniC ProDuCtion ina Bowerbank● ● ●

ChAirMAn & CEo peter legge, o.B.C., lld (hon.)

PrEsiDEnt gary daviesViCE PrEsiDEnt sPECiAlty sAlEs rebecca legge

sEnior ViCE PrEsiDEnt EDitoriAl AnD CustoM PuBlishing Kathleen freimondViCE PrEsiDEnt EDitoriAl tom gierasimczuk

ViCE PrEsiDEnt finAnCE farnaz riahi, Ca

A notE to rEADErsUpdate is published four times a year by the Certified Management

accountants society of British Columbia and is mailed to 5,000 CMas, 1,000 CMa students and industry partners throughout the province.

opinions expressed are not necessarily endorsed by CMa British Columbia. ®/™ registered trademarks/trademarks are owned by the society of

Management accountants of Canada. used under license.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

p04-05_Eds+PresMessage.indd 4 13-04-12 9:07 AM

spring 2013 CMA UPDATE 5Certified ManageMent aCCountants | British ColuMBia

MESSAGE FROM YOUR PRESIDENT & CHAIR

y the time this issue of Update reaches you, an important milestone in the unifi cation of the accounting designations in B.C. will have already taken place. On April 2, 2013, CMA British Columbia and Institute of

Chartered Accountants of British Columbia (ICABC) created a “virtual joint venture.” Th is unincorporated joint venture allows our two organizations to begin integrating operations and seconding staff to the new Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia organization.

Our respective teams have been working together for many months on national and provincial committees and workgroups. A lot of the work has been taking place behind the scenes, but over the coming months, you’ll see the tangible evidence of this significant effort – including more integrated services and communications with members. We are committed to ensuring that the benefi ts of both organizations accrue to members.

In March 2013, the fi rst joint board meeting of the CMA British Columbia Board of Directors and the ICABC Council approved the transition and integrated operations plan that will be our roadmap for the coming year. For more details on what this means to you, turn to page 14 for an update on the unifi cation.

Another signifi cant development that took place this February was that the Certifi ed General Accountants of British Columbia (CGA-BC) reentered the merger discussions. We welcome their return, and are encouraged by the progress of discussions and the results of their recent member survey.

We have already started the registration process for the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP), which launches here in B.C. in September 2013. Registration for the initial modules of the CPA Prerequisite Education Program (CPA PREP) will open shortly, and we’ve received a record-high number of inquiries from interested prospects. Th is preparatory program is modeled after the legacy CMA Accelerated Program.

CMA British Columbia will continue to run our legacy programs through to the last national board report in 2015. Th is will include the completion of the current Accelerated Program, which will lead into the fi nal intakes of the Strategic Leadership Program in September 2013 and January 2014. We will also be running our last Executive CMA Program commencing September 2013.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who nominated a fellow B.C. member for the prestigious FCMA designation or Life Membership. Nominations are now being reviewed, and will be announced later this summer.

We look forward to seeing many of you at our seventh annual CMA BC Leadership Conference – taking place May 30 and 31 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Th e event is almost sold out

once again, even though we dramatically increased the capacity. So please register soon to take advantage of this opportunity for professional development and networking.

Best regards,

CPA Canada unveiled the new logo on April 1. you will start to see it on

advertising and member communications over the summer, with the full brand launch planned for september 2013.

B

Pat KennedyCMa, fCMaChair, CMa British ColumbiaBoard of [email protected]

Vinetta PeekCMa (hon.), CMapresident and CeoCMa British [email protected]

spring 2013

EDitoriAl AnD BusinEss offiCEsuite 1000, 900 West hastings st.,

Vancouver, BC, V6C 0C4phone: 604-687-5891 | toll-free: 1-800-663-9646

fax: 604-687-6688Email: [email protected] | Website: www.cmabc.com

We welcome your feedback.

Copyright CMa British Columbia 2013.publications Mail agreement no: 40065475.

please return undeliverable copies to address above.

● ● ●

ExECutiVE BoArDChAir pat Kennedy, CMa, fCMa

PAst ChAir stephen lee, CMa, fCMa

first ViCE ChAir tammy towill, CMa, fCMa

sEConD ViCE ChAir simon philp, CMa, fCMa

trEAsurEr Mark Kennedy, CMa, fCMa

sECrEtAry Vinetta peek, CMa (hon.), CMa

DirECtors-At-lArgEJeff Champion, CMa, fCMa,

gerald dragomir, CMa, fCMa, elaine eccleston, CMa, fCMa,

timothy edwards, CMa, fCMa, dave hallinan, CMa,

diane Kerley, CMa, Bernard Magnan, CMa, fCMa,

Bruce Mclennan, CMa, fCMa, lyndon peterson, CMa

lAy rEPrEsEntAtiVEsChamkaur Cheema, Maxine dehart, John hunter, stephen Quinn

ExECutiVE stAffPrEsiDEnt AnD CEo Vinetta peek, CMa (hon.), CMa

ViCE PrEsiDEnt, ProgrAMs Bob gautama, CMa

ViCE PrEsiDEnt, MArKEting AnD nEW BusinEss DEVEloPMEnt diane Chung, CMa

ViCE PrEsiDEnt, oPErAtions rick lightheart, CMa, fCMa

uPDAtE stAffEDitor – ViCE PrEsiDEnt, MArKEting AnD nEW BusinEss DEVEloPMEnt

diane Chung, CMa

AssoCiAtE EDitor – CoMMuniCAtions sPECiAlist erin McinnisuPDAtE EDitoriAl tAsK forCE: david andru, CMa,

Karen Chan, CMa Candidate, don Mclellan, CMa,

don nilson, CMa, fCMa, Jeff rey sparling, CMa,

ann Wicks, CMa Candidate

Canada Wide Media, 4th floor, 4180 lougheed highway,Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6a7

phone: 604-299-7311 | fax: 604-299-9188● ● ●

EDitoriAl CoorDinAtor Matt CurrieArt DirECtor edwin pabellon

ADVErtising sAlEs Michael rochfortProDuCtion MAnAgEr/Print Kirsty senior

ProDuCtion MAnAgEr/stuDio Kristina BorysProDuCtion CoorDinAtor Kathleen almeida

DirECtor of ProDuCtion Kim MclaneADVErtising ProDuCtion allison griffi oen, Chris sherwood

sEnior iMAging tEChniCiAn debbie lynn CraigElECtroniC iMAging Mandy lau, laura Michaels

ElECtroniC ProDuCtion ina Bowerbank● ● ●

ChAirMAn & CEo peter legge, o.B.C., lld (hon.)

PrEsiDEnt gary daviesViCE PrEsiDEnt sPECiAlty sAlEs rebecca legge

sEnior ViCE PrEsiDEnt EDitoriAl AnD CustoM PuBlishing Kathleen freimondViCE PrEsiDEnt EDitoriAl tom gierasimczuk

ViCE PrEsiDEnt finAnCE farnaz riahi, Ca

A notE to rEADErsUpdate is published four times a year by the Certifi ed Management

accountants society of British Columbia and is mailed to 5,000 CMas, 1,000 CMa students and industry partners throughout the province.

opinions expressed are not necessarily endorsed by CMa British Columbia.®/™ registered trademarks/trademarks are owned by the society of

Management accountants of Canada. used under license.

p04-05_Eds+PresMessage.indd 5 13-04-12 9:07 AM


NEWS & NOTES

Certified ManageMent aCCountants | British ColuMBia6 CMA UPDATE spring 2013

NEWS & NOTES

CMA Events

recent Afternoon With a CMA event at the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, located just west of Victoria,

allowed 27 students from the University of Victoria, Camosun College and Royal Roads University to meet with three CMAs at their workplace.

Michael Morrison (Chief of Staff, CFB Esquimalt), Albert Anderson (Controller of Fleet Maintenance Facility, Cape Breton) and Aidan Neill (Regional Departmental Accounting Officer, Maritime Forces Pacific) enlightened students on how the CMA designation helped them in

CMA Innovation Centre – Service Innovation on the Fly

Afternoon With a CMA – Department of National Defence

A “I arranged the Afternoon With a CMA at the Navy Base to explore, with the students, the incredibly rich variety of

work and careers that are available for CMAs. Aidan, Albert and I are all CMAs that work for the same organization but

do completely different work.”■ ■ ■

Michael Morrison, CMA

their careers and how it applies to each of their jobs. Speakers also described the importance of financial resource management in large organizations such as the Department of National Defence

and the Canadian Forces. The students were then taken on an exciting tour of the naval base and were able to see some of the Navy’s Pacific surface fleet and the fleet maintenance facility.

On February 26, in partnership with the CMA Innovation Centre at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, students and members of CMA BC attended a special presentation by Professor Leyland Pitt, exploring the tenets of improv theatre and how they can be applied in service situations. Missed the event? Check out the presentation slides at cmabcblog.com.

p06-p11_News&Notes.indd 6 13-04-12 9:08 AM


NEWS & NOTES


NEWS & NOTES

CMA Events

CMA Innovation Centre – Service Innovation on the Fly

Business Career Expo 2013Th is year, CMA BC and ICABC jointly sponsored the 2013 Business Career Expo on March 8, to represent and promote the new CPA designation to university students. More than 1,000 students from the Beedie School of Business at SFU, the Sauder School of Business at UBC and the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at UVic attended the career expo.

Afternoon With a CMA – Department of National Defence

and the Canadian Forces. Th e students were then taken on an exciting tour of the naval base and were able to see some of the Navy’s Pacifi c surface fl eet and the fl eet maintenance facility.

On February 26, in partnership with the CMA Innovation Centre at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, students and members of CMA BC attended a special presentation by Professor Leyland Pitt, exploring the tenets of improv theatre and how they can be applied in service situations. Missed the event? Check out the presentation slides at cmabcblog.com.


NEWS & NOTES


NEWS & NOTES

CPLD Opportunities

ChC helicopter is a leader in enabling customers to go further, do more and come home safely, including oil and gas companies, government search-and-rescue agencies and organizations requiring helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul services through the heli-one division. the company is headquartered near Vancouver and operates more than 240 aircraft in 30 countries around the world.

tacit Management Consulting is a Vancouver-based independent technology advisory firm focused on helping growing companies select the right enterprise software solutions and technology services. they use proven methodologies and

a flexible approach to help companies determine the best enterprise solutions.

the CMa BC elite employer program is a partnership with companies who employ, or are interested in adding, CMas and CMa Candidates to their team. Benefits of becoming an elite employer include preferred access to member networking events, exposure on cmabcjobs.com along with free entry-level job postings, and much more.

for more information on the elite employer program, contact shannon thompson, senior Marketing Manager, at 604.484.7023; 1.800.663.9646, ext.7023; or [email protected].

CMA Career NightCPLD Reporting Reminderdon’t forget to enter your Cpld learning credits (for the reporting period of July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013). With our online Cpld reporting, members can enter descriptions of the Cpld offerings they have completed on an ongoing basis throughout the year, as well as update prior years’ information for credits they may have missed reporting.

the minimum requirement for Cpld is 120 learning credits over a moving three-year period. a minimum of 20 learning credits must be completed and reported annually. all Cpld activities must serve to increase professional competency in the broad area defined as the CMa territory.

Visit www.cmabc-pd.com then click on “report Your pd Credits” to get started.

Register now for one of these upcoming professional development seminars, designed specifi cally with the needs of today’s strategic management accountant in mind:

Y Change Management, part of the Strategic Management Certificate ProgramMay 7, 2013, Vancouver | May 9, 2013, Victoria

Y Practice Management in Public AccountingMay 29, 2013, Vancouver

Y 2013 Leadership ConferenceMay 30 & 31, 2013, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

Congratulations to the first recipients of CMa British Columbia’s strategic Management Certificate. since the program launched in mid-2012, 20 CMa members and professional associates have completed all four modules. Visit cmabc-pd.com for more information on the program.

Bob Gautama, CMA, Vice President of Programs, presents the Strategic Management Certificate to members who completed all four modules.

New Elite EmployersCMa British Columbia welcomes CHC Helicopter and Tacit Management Consulting to the society’s elite employer program.

n March 20, an evening of fi ne dining and networking was held at Th e Rosewood Hotel

Georgia, where current business students met with CMAs and CMA Candidates from diff erent industries. Th roughout the night, CMAs and CMA Candidates rotated tables, giving students the opportunity to make connections with their future peers.

With CMA BC’s transition of its professional programs to the new CPA designation this fall, the CMA BC staff also had the opportunity to provide fourth year accounting students with information regarding the fi nal two intakes of the CMA Strategic Leadership Program.

O


NEWS & NOTES


NEWS & NOTES

a flexible approach to help companies determine the best enterprise solutions.

the CMa BC elite employer program is a partnership with companies who employ, or are interested in adding, CMas and CMa Candidates to their team. Benefits of becoming an elite employer include preferred access to member networking events, exposure on cmabcjobs.com along with free entry-level job postings, and much more.

for more information on the elite employer program, contact shannon thompson, senior Marketing Manager, at 604.484.7023; 1.800.663.9646, ext.7023; or [email protected].

CMA Career NightCPLD Reporting Reminderdon’t forget to enter your Cpld learning credits (for the reporting period of July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013). With our online Cpld reporting, members can enter descriptions of the Cpld offerings they have completed on an ongoing basis throughout the year, as well as update prior years’ information for credits they may have missed reporting.

the minimum requirement for Cpld is 120 learning credits over a moving three-year period. a minimum of 20 learning credits must be completed and reported annually. all Cpld activities must serve to increase professional competency in the broad area defined as the CMa territory.

Visit www.cmabc-pd.com then click on “report Your pd Credits” to get started.

n March 20, an evening of fine dining and networking was held at The Rosewood Hotel

Georgia, where current business students met with CMAs and CMA Candidates from different industries. Throughout the night, CMAs and CMA Candidates rotated tables, giving students the opportunity to make connections with their future peers.

With CMA BC’s transition of its professional programs to the new CPA designation this fall, the CMA BC staff also had the opportunity to provide fourth year accounting students with information regarding the final two intakes of the CMA Strategic Leadership Program.

O


Centre, Bottom: Minister of Finance Mike de Jong presents the budget to B.C. media.


NEWS & NOTES

n February 19, 2013, CMA British Columbia Board Chair Pat Kennedy,

FCMA and Tammy Towill, FCMA took part in the Government of British Columbia’s annual Budget Lock-up. After Minister of Finance Mike de Jong delivered the budget, Pat and Tammy analyzed the details and provided a strategic management perspective in a news release to the media.

OB.C. Budget Lock-up

NEWS & NOTES


In Painting with Numbers: Presenting Financials and Other Numbers so People Will Understand You, Randall Bolton

has compiled a comprehensive group of rules and concepts for more meaningful presentations of financial and numerical information. Bolton distills his experiences into a series of rules and guidelines for improving the representation of numbers in reports, Excel, graphs, PowerPoint and presentations. He also lists 18 things not to do when presenting numerical information. This is a great guide for

Lessons from the Board

ask not what you can do for your board of directors, but what being on a board of directors can do for you. We checked in with a few

CMas to find out, “What is the biggest lesson (personal or professional) you learned by sitting on a board of directors?”

Y Jack Wong, CMAChief Executive Officer, Real Estate Foundation of British ColumbiaTreasurer, Vancouver Police Foundation“i have learned that, above everything else, treating differing points of view with respect and empathy leads to collaborative problem solving and solutions. Board & Committee work is all about people.”

Y Sabine Roques, CMA CandidateBusiness Analyst, Sierra WirelessBoard Member, DanceHouse“Being part of the board of directors has been a great way to understand how a not-for-profit organization operates. during board meetings, all aspects of the organizations are discussed: from strategy, staffing issues, it systems investment to pr and fundraising. not-for-profit organizations often have to be creative to maximize their efficiency under scarce resources. those best practices can then be applied to the CMa’s own work organization.”

Y Joan Axford, CMA, FCMAConsultantDirector, Beacon Community Services; Trustee, BC Teachers Pension Plan“CMas benefit from volunteering in many ways, but most importantly it is a way to give back to our community and a way to meet others from different fields of endeavour. one of my community boards has directors with expertise in real estate, health, seniors care, human resources and legal services. these other board members are great mentors and i find that every board meeting is a professional development opportunity.”

AGM Notice & Dues ChangesCMa British Columbia has changed its fiscal year end to March 31, to align with our merger partners, the institute of Chartered accountants of British Columbia. as a result, this year’s annual general Meeting will be held on June 26, 2013, in downtown Vancouver. information about the 2013-14 Board of director nominations will be made available at www.cmabc.com.

dues notices for 2013-14 will be issued electronically to members in July 2013, with the annual dues pro-rated for nine months through to March 31, 2014. please ensure that your member profile at www.cmabc.com includes your updated email address.

Y In PrInt

What are CMAs reading and recommending?

Top: Pat Kennedy, Chair, CMA BC Board; Richard Rees, CEO, ICABC; Karen Christiansen, First Vice President, ICABC Council; and Tammy Towill, First Vice Chair, CMA BC Board, at the budget lock-up.


Centre, Bottom: Minister of Finance Mike de Jong presents the budget to B.C. media.


NEWS & NOTES

B.C. Budget Lock-up

NEWS & NOTES


In Painting with Numbers: Presenting Financials and Other Numbers so People Will Understand You, Randall Bolton

has compiled a comprehensive group of rules and concepts for more meaningful presentations of fi nancial and numerical information. Bolton distills his experiences into a series of rules and guidelines for improving the representation of numbers in reports, Excel, graphs, PowerPoint and presentations. He also lists 18 things not to do when presenting numerical information. Th is is a great guide for

improved reporting and professional development for all fi nancial and accounting professionals as it brings together a broad number of what should be standard practices.Y Review by Don McLellan, CMA

Cara Hale Alter’s book Th e Credibility Code: How to Project Confi dence and Competence when It Matters Most is one of

many fi ne resources on speaking and communicating. Th e author opines: “When we describe someone as articulate, we generally mean they express their thoughts well. But it is amazing how the

technical skill of clearly enunciating will help you come across as more articulate in the metaphoric sense.” One lesson: Say more … speak less. Many feel discomfort with silence; they think it conveys a gap – either in the knowledge of the speaker or in the connectedness of speaker and listener. Th e author says quite the opposite: “People who pause more in their conversations come across as more intelligent and better prepared.” And she’s right – a few seconds’ pause will seem interminable to the speaker, but not so for the listener. You actually are giving them time to catch up. Th ese highlights are a good start to being a better communicator.Y Review by Don Nilson, CMA, FCMA

AGM Notice & Dues ChangesCMa British Columbia has changed its fiscal year end to March 31, to align with our merger partners, the institute of Chartered accountants of British Columbia. as a result, this year’s annual general Meeting will be held on June 26, 2013, in downtown Vancouver. information about the 2013-14 Board of director nominations will be made available at www.cmabc.com.

dues notices for 2013-14 will be issued electronically to members in July 2013, with the annual dues pro-rated for nine months through to March 31, 2014. please ensure that your member profile at www.cmabc.com includes your updated email address.

Y In PrInt

What are CMAs reading and recommending?

Top: Pat Kennedy, Chair, CMA BC Board; Richard Rees, CEO, ICABC; Karen Christiansen, First Vice President, ICABC Council; and Tammy Towill, First Vice Chair, CMA BC Board, at the budget lock-up.


CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS | BRITISH COLUMBIA

nated as Nanaimo Bioenergy Centre (NBC) in 2010. NBC is owned and currently operated by Cedar Road Bioenergy under a Standing O� er energy supply/sales agreement with BC Hydro and RDN for 20 years.

UPDATE: The Nanaimo Bioenergy Centre was featured as a site tour at the recent 2013 Global Methane Expo in Vancouver. For those of us who missed the oppor-tunity, can you describe the facility?PAUL: We just started our Phase 2 expansion, which will be completed by October 2013. � e goal is to optimize energy e� ciency and to improve methane gas collection from the land� ll. Gas produced from land� ll tends to � uctuate depending on temperature, rainfall and other environmental conditions. However, the conversion process works best when there is a steady, continual stream of input. So we upgraded our facility with innovative add-on components such as a membrane gas holder unit to bu� er any interruptions in the gas collection system – this allows us to increase our net output e� ciency by 30 per cent. We also installed a new biogas cleaning system to allow us to investigate other revenue streams for di� erent utilization platforms such as transportation fuels or natural gas.

UPDATE: The funding mechanism for Phase 2 (equity) is di� erent from Phase 1 funding (loan). Was this a deliberate business decision?PAUL: Yes, we have free monthly cash � ow and we feel it is better to use it than to take on more debt. With the new gas holder, we anticipate that the facility can be operated more e� ciently during peak times to capture peak pricing rate. Presently, we are implementing a new thermal waste heat recovery system to capture and redistribute the high-grade exhaust heat from the generators to further maximize the electricity output. � is allows us to leverage expansion at a lower unit cost, which will bene� t all our stakeholders.PH

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One private company that wasn’t put o� by the idea is Cedar Road Bioenergy Inc., which recently leveraged over $1.6 million in grants, loans and equity investment from the province’s Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) fund and BC Bioenergy Network (BCBN) to fund its Nanaimo Bioenergy Centre (NBC). Update sat down with Paul Liddy, founder and Managing Director of Cedar Road, to discuss the NBC and the public-private arrangement that helped bring it to life.

UPDATE: Tell us about the Nanaimo Bioenergy Centre and its mission.PAUL: � e Nanaimo Bioenergy Centre is a for-pro� t, collaborative innovative platform to develop and demonstrate the viability of harvesting methane from land� ll gas and converting it into clean, usable energy. Our facility is located at the Nanaimo land� ll and the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) is one of our public partners. We also have a partnership agree-

ment with BCBN, which funded our facility expansion in a combination of investment loan/equity.

UPDATE: How did the project, and the private-public partnership behind it, come into being?PAUL: � ere is the project vision and then there is the partnership with public stakeholders. Public part-ners can be very supportive to the project vision but they tend to shy away from leading the project, as they have other pressing issues to deal with or they are engaged in many di� erent projects. In our case, Cedar Road Bioenergy entered into a royalty agree-ment with RDN in 2006 with a vision to convert waste methane gas from land� ll to electricity for sale to BC Hydro. With the support of an investment loan from BCBN, we commissioned our � rst two modular units in 2009 to generate 1.3 MW of electricity from biogas. In recognition and promotion of our local base and regional mandate, the name of the facility was desig-

CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS | BRITISH COLUMBIA12 CMA UPDATE SPRING 2013

Established in April 2008 with a $25 million grant from the B.C. government, BC Bioenergy Network is an industry-led association that acts as a catalyst for deploying near-term bioenergy technologies and organizing mission-driven research for the development and demonstration of new bioenergy technologies that are environmentally sustainable for the province of B.C. Since its inception, BCBN has undertaken progressive and strategic funding, capacity-building and networking activities to support innovative project deployments that take advantage of the province’s bioenergy opportunities, using waste streams in the agriculture, forest and municipal sectors. Learn more at www.bcbioenergy.ca.

A private-public partnership examined By KAREN CHAN, CMA CANDIDATE, M.A. SC., P.ENG.

he term “angel” originated on Broadway, where it was used to describe wealthy benefactors who funded theatrical productions. Modern angels take on various forms ranging from friends and family to venture capital to crowdfunding websites, and yes, even the Canadian government. But although the latter hands out roughly $24 billion per year in grants and

matching contributions, a successful partnership with the government may seem daunting to some.

T

A new kind of angel

p12-p13_Innovative P3s.indd 12 13-04-12 9:09 AM

SPRING 2013 CMA UPDATE 13CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS | BRITISH COLUMBIA

KAREN CHAN, M.A.SC., P.ENG. is a CMA candidate in the Strategic Leadership Program and a Professional Engineer in environmental services. She is a Manager with KPMG LLP SR&ED (Scientific Research and Experimental Development) Tax practice and a member of the Update Editorial Taskforce.

nated as Nanaimo Bioenergy Centre (NBC) in 2010. NBC is owned and currently operated by Cedar Road Bioenergy under a Standing O� er energy supply/sales agreement with BC Hydro and RDN for 20 years.

UPDATE: The Nanaimo Bioenergy Centre was featured as a site tour at the recent 2013 Global Methane Expo in Vancouver. For those of us who missed the oppor-tunity, can you describe the facility?PAUL: We just started our Phase 2 expansion, which will be completed by October 2013. � e goal is to optimize energy e� ciency and to improve methane gas collection from the land� ll. Gas produced from land� ll tends to � uctuate depending on temperature, rainfall and other environmental conditions. However, the conversion process works best when there is a steady, continual stream of input. So we upgraded our facility with innovative add-on components such as a membrane gas holder unit to bu� er any interruptions in the gas collection system – this allows us to increase our net output e� ciency by 30 per cent. We also installed a new biogas cleaning system to allow us to investigate other revenue streams for di� erent utilization platforms such as transportation fuels or natural gas.

UPDATE: The funding mechanism for Phase 2 (equity) is di� erent from Phase 1 funding (loan). Was this a deliberate business decision?PAUL: Yes, we have free monthly cash � ow and we feel it is better to use it than to take on more debt. With the new gas holder, we anticipate that the facility can be operated more e� ciently during peak times to capture peak pricing rate. Presently, we are implementing a new thermal waste heat recovery system to capture and redistribute the high-grade exhaust heat from the generators to further maximize the electricity output. � is allows us to leverage expansion at a lower unit cost, which will bene� t all our stakeholders.

UPDATE: In a 2012 study conducted by Globe Advisor on B.C.’s clean energy sector, private-public partnership and innovative demonstration projects are suggested as possible solutions to create job growth in a knowledge-based economy. What are some of the barriers to deploying knowledge-based innovation?PAUL: Innovation requires implementation. Unfor-tunately, our society has evolved to a point where universities teach theory and white-board innovation. � e practical application of knowledge to build and integrate technical elements into a functional process is lacking. � is requires us to search for skill sets that create synergy based on attitude and willingness to think and act in alliance. To sustain productivity, strategic partnership between design (idea genera-tion) and strong execution is important. Otherwise, as in many cases, the disconnect between the two can

become costly when rolling out an innovation process. My approach is to engage directly with the team from concept design to implementation and operation in order to build internal capacity.

UPDATE: Finally, what would you say is the most critical factor in implementing a successful private-public partnership?PAUL: To attract angel investors, a solid management team with leadership ability is a must. Same with private-public partnership – to make the partnership work, the private partner needs to provide the management leadership.

Creating long-term value and leveraging the strength of each partner is the key to any successful partnership. � e overriding di� erence in a private-public partnership is how results are being de� ned for the public partner and the private partner; and consequently, how operational decisions are being guided. A hallmark of CMA’s core competence is our ability to strategize and synergize across diverse stakeholders’ expectations – an ideal � t for facilitating a private-public partnership. ■PH

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ment with BCBN, which funded our facility expansion in a combination of investment loan/equity.

UPDATE: How did the project, and the private-public partnership behind it, come into being?PAUL: � ere is the project vision and then there is the partnership with public stakeholders. Public part-ners can be very supportive to the project vision but they tend to shy away from leading the project, as they have other pressing issues to deal with or they are engaged in many di� erent projects. In our case, Cedar Road Bioenergy entered into a royalty agree-ment with RDN in 2006 with a vision to convert waste methane gas from land� ll to electricity for sale to BC Hydro. With the support of an investment loan from BCBN, we commissioned our � rst two modular units in 2009 to generate 1.3 MW of electricity from biogas. In recognition and promotion of our local base and regional mandate, the name of the facility was desig-


Established in April 2008 with a $25 million grant from the B.C. government, BC Bioenergy Network is an industry-led association that acts as a catalyst for deploying near-term bioenergy technologies and organizing mission-driven research for the development and demonstration of new bioenergy technologies that are environmentally sustainable for the province of B.C. Since its inception, BCBN has undertaken progressive and strategic funding, capacity-building and networking activities to support innovative project deployments that take advantage of the province’s bioenergy opportunities, using waste streams in the agriculture, forest and municipal sectors. Learn more at www.bcbioenergy.ca.

A private-public partnership examined By KAREN CHAN, CMA CANDIDATE, M.A. SC., P.ENG.

he term “angel” originated on Broadway, where it was used to describe wealthy benefactors who funded theatrical productions. Modern angels take on various forms ranging from friends and family to venture capital to crowdfunding websites, and yes, even the Canadian government. But although the latter hands out roughly $24 billion per year in grants and

matching contributions, a successful partnership with the government may seem daunting to some.

A new kind of angel

p12-p13_Innovative P3s.indd 13 13-04-12 9:09 AM


Prerequisite Education Program (CPA PREP) set to debut in August 2013. Both programs are being developed nationally, and we are working with our regional part-ners to establish a western body to deliver the programs in the west. � e CPA PEP and CPA PREP programs will be delivered through existing education infrastruc-ture, until the regional body is in place. For further details on these two programs, visit www.bccpa.ca.

CMA BC will continue to run out the CMA legacy programs, to ensure that current students can complete their desig-nation without interruption.

Visioning a new futureWhat you can expect to see over the coming year as CMA BC and ICABC merge operations By VINETTA PEEK, CMA (HON.), CMA


T

Pat Kennedy, Chair, CMA BC Board and Gord Holloway, President, ICABC Council, share a laugh. The first combined meeting of the full ICABC Council and CMA BC Board was held on March 1, 2013.

■ � e integration of member services, including streamlined communica-tions and enhanced member bene� ts

A national profession� roughout the consultation process, CMA members consistently voiced that they supported the merger as part of a national initiative. � at remains our priority as well, and we are proud of the leadership role that members of both the CMA BC and ICABC executive have taken in many national committees.

Branding� e new CPA logo was o� -cially unveiled by CPA Canada on April 1. A full brand launch and national adver-tising campaign is planned for September 2013, but you’ll begin to see the CPA logo integrated into provincial communications and advertisements over the summer.

Recruiting and program deliverySince last fall, the CMA BC and ICABC recruitment teams have been working closely together to raise awareness of the new CPA education program among university students and the business community.

The CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) launches in September 2013, with the initial module of the CPA

The regional chapters will continue to be an important source of local events and professional development for members. We are currently investigating the alignment of the 10 CMA Chapters and six ICABC Association boundaries to allow for more coordinated activities in each region.

he uni� cation of the accounting profession in British Columbia took a giant step forward on April 1, 2013, with the creation of an unincorporated joint

venture between CMA British Columbia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia. Unanimously endorsed by the CMA BC Board of Directors and the ICABC Council at a combined meeting in early March, the joint venture allows us to begin to merge operations as CPABC prior to the provincial legislation being passed. Together, we will now start to implement the transition and uni� ed oper-ations plan that was approved by Board and Council.

The recent return of the Certified General Accountants of British Columbia to the negotiations is a positive develop-ment, and we welcome their input as we continue to work towards the shared goal of a uni� ed profession.

Over the next few months – as the tran-sition begins and integrated operations are rolled out – you can expect to see:

■ Continued representation of B.C.’s priorities and values at the national table

■ A strong provincial and national branding campaign and marketing initiatives

■ � e launch of the new CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) and CPA Prerequisite Education Program (CPA PREP)

p14-15_Unification.indd 14 13-04-12 9:10 AM


Prerequisite Education Program (CPA PREP) set to debut in August 2013. Both programs are being developed nationally, and we are working with our regional part-ners to establish a western body to deliver the programs in the west. � e CPA PEP and CPA PREP programs will be delivered through existing education infrastruc-ture, until the regional body is in place. For further details on these two programs, visit www.bccpa.ca.

CMA BC will continue to run out the CMA legacy programs, to ensure that current students can complete their desig-nation without interruption.

Member servicesAll existing CMA member bene� ts and services will continue during the transi-tion period. CMA BC and ICABC already o� er very similar bene� ts to members, but where there is a di� erence in type or coverage, we are exploring the opportunity to extend the bene� ts available through one legacy organization to both memberships – enhancing the value to all members.

Our Member Services team will continue to o� er Continuous Professional Learning and Development (CPLD) courses, and work closely with ICABC to identify new opportunities for profes-sional development.

Member communications are being enhanced and streamlined. CMA BC Update and ICABC’s Beyond Numbers are being combined into a new print magazine, set to debut this fall along with a new quarterly e-magazine and monthly online newsletter (replacing our E-News). We are also consoli-dating our many social media channels.

Regulatory responsibilities and the public trustUntil provincial CPA legislation is passed, both CMA BC and ICABC will continue to uphold the responsibilities of our respec-tive legacy Acts – protection of the public interest remains an ongoing priority.

In keeping with the original eight guiding principles of uni� cation (described in detail at www.cpacanada.ca), a harmo-nized regulatory framework is under development at the national level.

� ese are exciting times! We have the opportunity to de� ne what it means to be a Chartered Professional Accountant and create our vision of the future for our profession. � e transition to CPABC has begun, and we have already accomplished so much in a relatively short period of time. And now with CGA-BC’s return to discussions, we are moving full steam ahead together. � anks to the hard work of the CMA BC and ICABC teams – already working as one – and with the support of our members, I have no doubt that the best is yet to come as we continue to make history! ■

We welcome your feedback on the joint venture and our plans for the establishment of the CPA profes-sion. Questions or comments can be directed to me at [email protected].

Visioning a new future


Pat Kennedy, Chair, CMA BC Board and Gord Holloway, President, ICABC Council, share a laugh. The first combined meeting of the full ICABC Council and CMA BC Board was held on March 1, 2013.

■ � e integration of member services, including streamlined communica-tions and enhanced member bene� ts

A national profession� roughout the consultation process, CMA members consistently voiced that they supported the merger as part of a national initiative. � at remains our priority as well, and we are proud of the leadership role that members of both the CMA BC and ICABC executive have taken in many national committees.

Branding� e new CPA logo was o� -cially unveiled by CPA Canada on April 1. A full brand launch and national adver-tising campaign is planned for September 2013, but you’ll begin to see the CPA logo integrated into provincial communications and advertisements over the summer.

Recruiting and program deliverySince last fall, the CMA BC and ICABC recruitment teams have been working closely together to raise awareness of the new CPA education program among university students and the business community.

The CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) launches in September 2013, with the initial module of the CPA

VINETTA PEEK, CMA (HON.), CMA is President and Chief Executive Officer of CMA British Columbia.

Use of the CPA Designation in B.C.Until the provincial CPA legislation is enacted, CMA members in good standing should continue to use their CMA designation. In the meantime, we are exploring the possibility of members using the CPA designation prior to the legislation being passed.

p14-15_Unification.indd 15 13-04-12 9:10 AM


CMA SPOTLIGHT

services, as well as time working on the venture capital side of a small company. “Four years ago, we were heading into a difficult economic cycle and the government was interested in my experience in the private sector,” she recalls. She started as assistant deputy minister at the BC Public Service Agency before being asked to take on her current role at FICOM.

Working in the public sector presents unique challenges. “You’re often facing more complex decisions in the public sector because there are so many different stakeholders who sometimes aren’t even directly involved in the decision at hand,” she reveals. “So you

have to think twice removed about how something is going to impact people or organizations that

aren’t directly involved in the decision. It can be challenging.”

It’s not what many people think of when they think of public service – read most media stories and you know there are lots of preconceived ideas about the public sector. Rogers admits that her time in public service has opened her eyes: “I think it’s easy sometimes for the private sector to criticize the public sector,” she says. “They don’t realize the complexities of the decisions we have to make and what it takes to lead in that environment. I have met some of the smartest, hardest-working people, and I now have a huge appreciation for the people who work in public service.”

That work is often unheralded. With Rogers at its helm, the work FICOM does is mostly invisible to the general public, even though it has an impact on almost all British Columbians. Rogers considers FICOM to be successful when its customers – consumers of financial services – don’t know the organization exists. After all, financial regulation is about preventing problems: “We’re doing our job right if nobody knows we’re there!” she laughs.

With the global financial crisis falling primarily at the feet of regulators, it’s a challenging and engaging time to be

Carolyn Rogers, CMA

www.cmabcblog.com

CMA GRAd yeAR: 2002dAy job: Chief Executive Officer, Financial Institutions Commission of BC

alking into the office of the Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM), British Columbia’s

financial markets regulator, you expect talk of financial statements and regulation of markets. But you don’t expect to learn that the leader of the organization is a self-professed “huge sports fan,” who closely follows hockey and NFL football, skis, golfs, plays tennis and runs.

But that’s how Carolyn Rogers, CMA describes herself. She does all this while also keeping weighty matters of financial regulation top of mind in her role as Chief Executive Officer of FICOM.

Rogers came to her CMA designation by way of the MBA program at Queen’s University. She and her classmates were offered the opportunity to become certified by completing some additional

courses and challenging the exam. “We were almost at the end of our MBA, so it was a bit like getting to the end of a marathon and being told that you should sprint up that extra hill by taking a few extra classes and writing one more giant exam,” says Rogers. Still, she and a handful of other students decided to take it on.

The decision certainly paid off for Rogers, who now fills a handful of roles at FICOM. In addition to the top job as FICOM’s CEO, Rogers has a long list of other titles: Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Superintendent of Pensions, Superintendent of Real Estate, Registrar of Mortgage Brokers and CEO of the Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation (CUDIC).

Rogers made the shift to the public sector four years ago, after spending the early part of her career in financial

W

p16-17_Spotlight.indd 16 13-04-12 9:11 AM


CMA SPOTLIGHT

services, as well as time working on the venture capital side of a small company. “Four years ago, we were heading into a difficult economic cycle and the government was interested in my experience in the private sector,” she recalls. She started as assistant deputy minister at the BC Public Service Agency before being asked to take on her current role at FICOM.

Working in the public sector presents unique challenges. “You’re often facing more complex decisions in the public sector because there are so many different stakeholders who sometimes aren’t even directly involved in the decision at hand,” she reveals. “So you

have to think twice removed about how something is going to impact people or organizations that

aren’t directly involved in the decision. It can be challenging.”

It’s not what many people think of when they think of public service – read most media stories and you know there are lots of preconceived ideas about the public sector. Rogers admits that her time in public service has opened her eyes: “I think it’s easy sometimes for the private sector to criticize the public sector,” she says. “They don’t realize the complexities of the decisions we have to make and what it takes to lead in that environment. I have met some of the smartest, hardest-working people, and I now have a huge appreciation for the people who work in public service.”

That work is often unheralded. With Rogers at its helm, the work FICOM does is mostly invisible to the general public, even though it has an impact on almost all British Columbians. Rogers considers FICOM to be successful when its customers – consumers of financial services – don’t know the organization exists. After all, financial regulation is about preventing problems: “We’re doing our job right if nobody knows we’re there!” she laughs.

With the global financial crisis falling primarily at the feet of regulators, it’s a challenging and engaging time to be

leading an agency like FICOM. “We’re working at a time when everybody has been asked to up their game,” she says. “I like leading change and improvement. Most governments have looked at regulators and said they don’t want the kind of crisis that happened elsewhere to happen here, so we have to make sure we’re doing a good job.”

The CMA designation has proven invaluable at FICOM, both for Rogers and for the many others on her team

who share the designation or are working toward it – allowing them to understand the numbers in the context of the business. “I think when you’re trained as a CMA, you learn to ask questions. You spend less time worrying about whether the numbers are right than what the numbers are telling you,” Rogers explains. “Everybody here looks at the same numbers and approaches them with different questions, which allows us to get ahead of the numbers.” ■

www.cmabcblog.com

“We’re working at a time when everybody has been asked to up their game. I like leading change and improvement. Most governments have looked at regulators and said they don’t want the kind of crisis that happened elsewhere to happen

here, so we have to make sure we’re doing a good job.”

Have a university degree but lack the prerequisites to enter a professional accounting program?

www.sauder.ubc.ca/dap

BRIDGING THE GAP

Find out how UBC DAP can help you put your career aspirations into action.

p16-17_Spotlight.indd 17 13-04-12 9:12 AM

� ling requirements of the organization. � ese may include income tax � lings, EI, CPP, PST, GST/HST, charity and other information returns, WorkSafeBC requirements and any industry-speci� c or funding-related reporting. You are responsible for ensuring there are processes in place to meet these regulatory requirements, irrespective of who in the organization completes and � les the reports. You may be held personally liable for withholdings and/or penalties related to � ling requirements, regardless of the corporate form of the organization.

Of course, monitoring compliance isn’t the only purpose that a good board serves. � e other side of its role is to provide strategic direction and ensure that management has the resources to turn that strategic plan into operational performance. The collective expertise of the board serves to steer the organization to meet its mission and vision. � is is just as important as the compliance activities, but many boards � nd that, although they’d like to put greater e� ort toward strategic planning, their time is consumed by monitoring controls and compliance.

To overcome this, it’s important to make strategy a priority and allocate at least some portion of each meeting to these types of discussions. Establishing processes and procedures to meet compliance requirements can also free up more time to focus on strategic issues. In any event, keep in mind that it’s incumbent upon the board of directors to guide the development of the organization’s strategic plans and ensure that key performance indicators and � nancial objectives are monitored and achieved, focusing on accountability and transparency. � e competencies you bring as a CMA can be invaluable in these areas.

Optimizing EffectivenessEstablishing a cohesive and e� ective team is an ongoing process that starts with choosing members carefully and having a strong focus on succession planning to make sure that newcomers become active and capable contributors as soon as possible. Board members need to be chosen for the right reasons – they should have the expertise and experience to perform the role expected of them, and they should believe in, and want to contribute to, the success


The Basics of Board Governance

The ExpectationsDepending on the size and level of sophistication of the organization in question, the person asking you to join the board may or may not know what your responsibilities will be – but one way or another,

before agreeing you need to be clear on what the role entails.

Let’s start by looking at what’s expected of you legally. Public company boards

have detailed legislative regulation outlining their directors’ speci� c roles and responsibilities. For other orga-

nizations, the requirements are more principles-based. Essentially, the expecta-

tion is that board members will act in good faith in the best interest of the organization

they serve, and will undertake appropriate due diligence before making decisions.

In other words, it’s not expected that the board will always make the right

decision, but it is expected that board members will take all

appropriate steps to get the facts they need to make an informed decision.

There is always risk that a stakeholder won’t like the outcome of a decision and will question that an appropriate

level of due diligence was applied, but you can mitigate this risk by knowing who you are responsible to, what you are responsible for, and ensuring you have su� cient time and skill to ful� ll these expectations.

Before joining, you’ll also want to ask some frank questions about the organization, its history and major events or challenges it’s facing (for example, if they’re currently involved in a lawsuit, you will want to know up front), so that you can basically perform a SWOT analysis. As an added safeguard, ensure that you have appropriate Directors’ and O� cers’ (D&O) insurance coverage, in case something does go wrong despite your best e� orts.

Another significant factor to consider is the structure of the organization and the nature of the board’s role. Is the board operational in nature, or high-level and strategic? What are the expected time requirements and the term of the position? Which skills are well represented on the board and which skills need strengthening? Your duty of care includes a responsibility to not compromise the board by an untimely departure; thus, understanding the expected nature and term of your service is essential.

From CMA BC’s perspective, your service as a board member is also governed by the requirements of the Society’s By-Laws and Rules of Professional Conduct, regardless of whether the position is paid or voluntary. To that end, all board members are required to act with integrity, be objective and avoid con� icts of interest, which are central tenets in the codes of ethics of all professional accountants. Policies for identifying, disclosing and managing con� icts of interest are among the most important policies of any board, and they need to be e� ective in dealing with both real and perceived con� icts without adding undue bureaucracy.

Conformance and PerformancePerformance of your duties will, foremost, necessitate a comprehensive understanding of the reporting and

By BRIAN FRIEDRICH, M.ED., FCCA(UK), FCGA; LAURA FRIEDRICH, M.SC., FCCA(UK),

FCGA; and MARC KAMPSCHUUR, B.COMM ( HONS.), LLB, MET, CFE, CA


Y ACCOUNTING

Y STRATEGY

Y MANAGEMENT

ey, you’re an accountant – do you want to join our board as treasurer?” Many of us have heard these words at some point, and

whether they make you cringe or smile, it’s important to know the risks and rewards of saying “yes.”

“H

Peace of MindIf you’re insured through LMS Prolink’s CMA program, you are automatically covered for all volunteer services you provide, and also receive free D&O coverage if you serve on a non-profit board that doesn’t have a D&O policy. CMAs who are not insured with LMS Prolink can purchase coverage for volunteer services provided to a non-profit organization for $150 per year. For more information, visit www.lms.ca/cma.

ISTO

CKP

HO

TO

p18-19_Good Governance.indd 18 13-04-12 9:13 AM

� ling requirements of the organization. � ese may include income tax � lings, EI, CPP, PST, GST/HST, charity and other information returns, WorkSafeBC requirements and any industry-speci� c or funding-related reporting. You are responsible for ensuring there are processes in place to meet these regulatory requirements, irrespective of who in the organization completes and � les the reports. You may be held personally liable for withholdings and/or penalties related to � ling requirements, regardless of the corporate form of the organization.

Of course, monitoring compliance isn’t the only purpose that a good board serves. � e other side of its role is to provide strategic direction and ensure that management has the resources to turn that strategic plan into operational performance. The collective expertise of the board serves to steer the organization to meet its mission and vision. � is is just as important as the compliance activities, but many boards � nd that, although they’d like to put greater e� ort toward strategic planning, their time is consumed by monitoring controls and compliance.

To overcome this, it’s important to make strategy a priority and allocate at least some portion of each meeting to these types of discussions. Establishing processes and procedures to meet compliance requirements can also free up more time to focus on strategic issues. In any event, keep in mind that it’s incumbent upon the board of directors to guide the development of the organization’s strategic plans and ensure that key performance indicators and � nancial objectives are monitored and achieved, focusing on accountability and transparency. � e competencies you bring as a CMA can be invaluable in these areas.

Optimizing EffectivenessEstablishing a cohesive and e� ective team is an ongoing process that starts with choosing members carefully and having a strong focus on succession planning to make sure that newcomers become active and capable contributors as soon as possible. Board members need to be chosen for the right reasons – they should have the expertise and experience to perform the role expected of them, and they should believe in, and want to contribute to, the success

of the organization. It’s also imperative that they’re able and willing to commit the time that is needed to contribute e� ectively; the functioning of any board is severely diminished if the directors are uninformed and unprepared for meetings. Most importantly, board members need to be willing to ask the tough questions, and strong enough – in terms of both competence and resolve – to see an issue through to its resolution.

Fostering board diversity – in terms of gender, ethnic, regional and industry or sector representation – will help ensure that directors can fully understand the needs of their stakeholder groups. If all of the board members are very similar, they tend to approach problems the same way and generate a very consistent (read “narrow”) set of alternatives. As a result, they may overlook ideas, and settle on a decision without being challenged by other viewpoints. Being required to explain a decision to someone with a different perspective, background or thought process allows for assumptions to be challenged and for a broader array of solutions to be developed. Board members should also be open to obtaining outside expertise to round out the competencies and representation on the board, as needed.

Once the right group has been recruited, the next step is to ensure that all board members are adequately trained in governance principles and responsibilities. Many boards – especially those that are made up of volunteers – have di� culty recruiting members with extensive experience in this area. In these cases, governance training for new members, with regular refreshers, is a good idea.

Ultimately, maintaining board e� ectiveness requires that all members be engaged in their duties. � e best way to do this is to ensure that each member has a speci� c, well-de� ned role on a committee, task force or workgroup suited to their talents and expertise, and which they � nd rewarding. In this respect, it is helpful to identify which board members are responsible for speci� c “action items.” Rotating positions among members, subject to their skill sets, is a good way to keep engagement from fading and also contributes to succession planning. New members should be given roles that require less institutional knowledge, before rotating into more complex roles as they gain experience with the organization.

The DecisionAs an accounting professional, your � nancial expertise will be an asset for any board on which you choose to serve. On small boards in particular, the team will likely look to you to provide governance guidance. Board membership can be a real opportunity to lead and bring value to an organization that you believe in. Armed with an understanding of your role and how to thrive therein, you’re well equipped to take advantage. ■

BRIAN FRIEDRICH, M.ED., FCGA and LAURA FRIEDRICH, M.SC., FCGA are the principals of Friedrich & Friedrich Corporation, an accounting research, standards and education firm. The firm’s major projects focus on determining and implementing best practices in competency-based accounting education and experience assessment.

MARC KAMPSCHUUR is an educator with extensive course development and delivery experience. In addition to teaching accounting in the School of Business at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, he has contributed to the development of CMA’s Accelerated Program and has facilitation experience with CMA BC, CGA-BC and CASB in accreditation and professional development programs.


The Basics of Board Governance

level of due diligence was applied, but you can mitigate this risk by knowing who you are responsible to, what you are responsible for, and ensuring you have su� cient time and skill to ful� ll these expectations.

Before joining, you’ll also want to ask some frank questions about the organization, its history and major events or challenges it’s facing (for example, if they’re currently involved in a lawsuit, you will want to know up front), so that you can basically perform a SWOT analysis. As an added safeguard, ensure that you have appropriate Directors’ and O� cers’ (D&O) insurance coverage, in case something does go wrong despite your best e� orts.

Another significant factor to consider is the structure of the organization and the nature of the board’s role. Is the board operational in nature, or high-level and strategic? What are the expected time requirements and the term of the position? Which skills are well represented on the board and which skills need strengthening? Your duty of care includes a responsibility to not compromise the board by an untimely departure; thus, understanding the expected nature and term of your service is essential.

From CMA BC’s perspective, your service as a board member is also governed by the requirements of the Society’s By-Laws and Rules of Professional Conduct, regardless of whether the position is paid or voluntary. To that end, all board members are required to act with integrity, be objective and avoid con� icts of interest, which are central tenets in the codes of ethics of all professional accountants. Policies for identifying, disclosing and managing con� icts of interest are among the most important policies of any board, and they need to be e� ective in dealing with both real and perceived con� icts without adding undue bureaucracy.

Conformance and PerformancePerformance of your duties will, foremost, necessitate a comprehensive understanding of the reporting and


Peace of MindIf you’re insured through LMS Prolink’s CMA program, you are automatically covered for all volunteer services you provide, and also receive free D&O coverage if you serve on a non-profit board that doesn’t have a D&O policy. CMAs who are not insured with LMS Prolink can purchase coverage for volunteer services provided to a non-profit organization for $150 per year. For more information, visit www.lms.ca/cma.

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■ Service provider – delivers the program to the specified target population

■ Investor – provides upfront capital for program delivery

■ Government or other private investor – guarantees a rate of return for the investor if social outcomes are met

■ Intermediary/facilitator – manages contract; assesses impact of interven-tions; manages ongoing performance, e.g., acts as body where funds are � owed through

A case study of social impact bonds started the same year I sat in that Paris cafe. The Peterborough social impact bond – the first of these bonds – was launched about three years ago to reduce repeat o� enders in Peterborough, England, where approximately 60 per cent of prisoners re-offend within the year they are released, resulting in signi� cant social and community costs from crime, policing and incarceration. Approximately IS

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It’s 2013 and I’m sitting by my � re-place on a cold February night typing about a revolution. Valuenomics is about to change the public and private sector. Like the long list of “-nomics” such as genomics , infonomics , economics , reaganomics or freakonomics, value-nomics is a concept – one that seeks to ensure all parties achieve or receive value in any business deal or transaction. No one loses out; value can be measured and at tributed quantitatively or qualita-tively to everyone involved. In the public sector, the greatest potential for its appli-cation lies in social entrepreneurship and social impact bonds.

Across the pond, in Dickens’ “twin city” of London, lies the hotbed of social entrepreneurship – which can be de� ned as an approach to identifying and addressing social problems using market-based strategies and business models. It can be traced back as far as Florence Nightingale – founder of the � rst nursing school; however, the term is relatively new in literature and has only grown

ubiquitous in the last 25 years. Speci� c case studies are increasing across the globe, with the U.K. widely recognized as leader.

Social � nance is a concept within social entrepreneurship that has also entrenched itself in the U.K. Simply put, it involves managing money to deliver a social bene� t; an example is the use of social impact bonds in the public sector. The social impact bond is a contract between private investors and public sector organizations in which government pays for improved social outcomes. It allows funds to be

ValuenomicsCreating value for everyone through social impact bondsBy BERNARD ACHAMPONG, CMA

everal years ago, in a quaint area of Paris they call Marais, I was lounging in the terrace of an elegant cafe, a glass in hand, soaking in the Parisian sun. There was a lot to see – beautiful buildings, vibrant people, cars, bikes, pigeons ... And yet my eyes were fixated on a non-descript billboard

that read “Valeur pour tout le monde” – value for everyone. In the land of “Liberté” and “Égalité,” those five simple words took hold of my imagination.

Sraised from socially interested investors. This investment capital is used to fund service providers, and the government pays returns to investors based on a portion of the projected cost savings and the success of the intervention. In truth, though called a bond, the social impact bond mechanism is more closely related to a debenture that is contingent on revenue, or a performance bond.

The most likely investors for social impact bonds are socially motivated investors seeking minimal financial returns. � e conditions that are critical for social impact bond success include the presence of a high public cost of intervention combined with the poten-tial for signi� cant net bene� ts through a social service program intervention, i.e. quantifiable savings to government and measurable outcomes. Essentially, the savings associated with the outcome must be higher than the costs of delivering the outcome. � e four primary stakeholders in the social impact bond model are:

In British Columbia, the Downtown Eastside’s Potluck Café and Catering – which hires Downtown Eastside residents to provide thousands of free meals, while making profits by catering gigs for corporate clients – is a good case study in social entrepreneurship.

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■ Service provider – delivers the program to the specified target population

■ Investor – provides upfront capital for program delivery

■ Government or other private investor – guarantees a rate of return for the investor if social outcomes are met

■ Intermediary/facilitator – manages contract; assesses impact of interven-tions; manages ongoing performance, e.g., acts as body where funds are � owed through

A case study of social impact bonds started the same year I sat in that Paris cafe. The Peterborough social impact bond – the first of these bonds – was launched about three years ago to reduce repeat o� enders in Peterborough, England, where approximately 60 per cent of prisoners re-offend within the year they are released, resulting in signi� cant social and community costs from crime, policing and incarceration. Approximately

£5m was raised from 17 social investors to fund a program with 3,000 male, short-sentence prisoners leaving Peterborough prison. Experienced service providers were given the £5m to deliver programs that provided intensive support to prisoners and their families, both inside prison and after release, to help them resettle into the community. � e investors will receive a return if re-o� ending among the prison-leavers falls by 7.5 per cent or more compared to a control group of short-sentence prisoners in the U.K. Should the social impact bond deliver a drop in re-offending beyond 7.5 per cent, investors will receive an increasing return capped at a maximum of 13 per cent per year over an eight year period. For example, a 10 per cent reduction in re-offending would result in a 7.5 per cent annualized return. � ere is value for society and government per bene� ts if the program is successful. Likewise, investors bene� t if the program is successful as per agreed upon success indicators.

Valuenomics ensures all participants –

program users or clients, service providers, investors, government or other guarantors, and intermediaries or facilitators – maxi-mize their quantitative and qualitative value or bene� ts. Social entrepreneurship, social � nance or social impact bonds can be done without valuenomics; however, applica-tion of the valuenomics concept maximizes bene� ts for all and fosters increased utility and sustainability of social impact bonds.

Now let’s examine how the concept could be applied a bit closer to home – say, to address a social issue facing Aboriginal youth in Northern B.C., where unem-ployment among persons aged 20-30 is signi� cantly higher than anywhere else in the province. Once again, by applying valuenomics to a social impact bond, a program could be designed to reduce youth unemployment in the north by moving more young people into Northern B.C.’s thriving and sustainable oil, gas and mining industry. � e primary participants will be (illustrated per � gure 1):

■ Target population of Aboriginal youth aged 20-30 yearsIS

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raised from socially interested investors. This investment capital is used to fund service providers, and the government pays returns to investors based on a portion of the projected cost savings and the success of the intervention. In truth, though called a bond, the social impact bond mechanism is more closely related to a debenture that is contingent on revenue, or a performance bond.

The most likely investors for social impact bonds are socially motivated investors seeking minimal financial returns. � e conditions that are critical for social impact bond success include the presence of a high public cost of intervention combined with the poten-tial for signi� cant net bene� ts through a social service program intervention, i.e. quantifiable savings to government and measurable outcomes. Essentially, the savings associated with the outcome must be higher than the costs of delivering the outcome. � e four primary stakeholders in the social impact bond model are:



■ Aboriginal/First Nations and catchment area communities where we � nd the target population

■ Service providers (delivery agency and applicable sub-contractors) with relevant expertise (e.g. experience with a BladeRunners-type program) to deliver a program aimed at youth

■ Investor from the oil, gas and mining industry to fund or provide upfront investment through the social impact bond

■ Guarantor/payer, either from the federal or provincial government or a foundation, that enters into a contract with the investor and guar-antees a return only if the program is successful

■ Facilitator who connects all the participants, manages the contract and ongoing performance

Applying valuenomics means Aboriginal youth maximize bene� ts through sustainable employment and connections to their community. � e communi-ties they reside in gain quantitatively and qualitatively from tax revenue, consumer revenue and reduced crime and reliance on social assistance. � e non-pro� t service providers gain additional revenue, strategic expansion of services and synergies with existing services that generates cost e� ciencies and improved pro� tability. � e guarantors or payers such as govern-ment gain from tax in� ows, higher productivity and

spending, reduced government transfers and higher savings from unemployment transfers. Finally, the investor gains from reputation and image, portfolio diversi� cation and � nancial returns if the program is successful. The facilitator gains revenue from services provided; and the investor, payer, guarantor or government, and the oil, gas and mining sector gain from improved recruitment, hiring, training costs and a more skilled workforce.

A $4M investment could mean employment for approximately 500 newly trained workers in the oil, gas and mining sector in Northern B.C. � is could translate to approximately $19.5M annual income and a total of $4.12M in annual income taxes to both federal and provincial governments. � e $4M is paid for within two years. � e return to the private investor could be approximately $600K (based on a 15 per cent return) plus the original $4M investment if the program is successful. In short, optimum quantitative and qualitative value for all parties.

Valuenomics applied to social impact bonds maximizes benefits for everyone involved, while utilizing private investment for sustainable social good. Without question, it’s a concept primed to change how we deal with complex social issues – both at home and across the globe. Value for everyone, indeed. ■

BERNARD ACHAMPONG, CMA is a seasoned senior manager and proactive leader with broad experience in program development, design and implementation. He is passionate about making a difference in the provision of effective social programs nationally and globally.

Figure 1: Social Impact Bond (using valuenomics)

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SUB-CONTRACTOR

SIB FACILITATOR

COMMUNITY

IMPROVE SOCIAL OUTCOMES

PAYER/GUARANTOR

FINANCIAL RETURNS

CAPITAL INVESTMENT(WORKING CAPITAL)

WORKING CAPITAL

INTERVENTIONS

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

■ STRATEGIC VALUE PLANNING■ PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

■ FINANCIAL ANALYSIS■ SECURITY STRUCTURING

■ COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT■ SYSTEMS MODELLING

■ PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT■ PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT■ PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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Dashboardingin Excel

ver the past few years you’ve probably noticed that we are being driven to produce and consume information at an ever-increasing rate. The growing demand for quality, quantity, accuracy and timeliness of information is leading organizations large and small to capture every piece of data they can from every transaction and customer they deal

with – even if they don’t see an immediate need for it today – just so they won’t be caught flatfooted in the future. It’s called the “big data” movement, and it won’t be long before every organization’s database is packed with millions of rows of data.

OHow to convey information without overloading your audienceBy KEN PULS, CMA

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CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS | BRITISH COLUMBIA24 CMA UPDATE SPRING 2013 CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS | BRITISH COLUMBIA

The Data ChallengeNo matter if your data volume is large or small, we are left with two major challenges:

The first is that data is meaningless without context. Data is something that needs to be harnessed, manipulated, shaped and interpreted before it can be turned into something useful: information. To that end, software companies have been investing billions of dollars in Business Intelligence (BI) technologies in order to help their clients distill key information from the reams of data they have collected. � e implications are huge; the more you know about your customer, the better you can predict and therefore serve their needs. In addition, the faster you can predict what will happen, the faster you can act to avert issues that threaten your business. Gone are the days of managing your company through the rear view mirror of a � nancial statement.

The second challenge is how to convey that information to your audience without overloading them. No matter how much information you have, the human brain can only consume one page at a time. And even with that, we need to recognize that tables of data, as used in classic accounting reports, are extremely unengaging and usually have to be studied extensively before anything of use can be gleaned. � is is where dashboards come in.

The Dashboard ConceptIf you think about your car’s dashboard, it contains very little information. In fact, it conveys only the key performance indicators (KPIs) you need: fuel level, speed, headlight indicators and a few engine trouble lights. It doesn’t tell you the colour of your car, how wide it is or what the tire size is, as you don’t need to know any of that while you’re driving.

In the context of business, dashboards are reports designed specifically to convey KPIs to the user as quickly as possible, so that they can “drive” the business. To build an e� ective dashboard it is vitally important to distill your information down to a display that � ts on a standard sheet of paper, with super� uous details and distracting noise kept to a minimum. It is crucial to understand that dashboards are not intended to answer questions; they are intended to help you determine the questions to ask. If you understand this fact, it becomes much easier to accept that your dashboard can’t do it all, allowing you to focus on building something simple, but incredibly useful.

Predictive DashboardsWhile many Excel experts start by building dashboards to alert users to issues that have already occurred, dashboards are more valuable when they are of a predictive nature. Consider the above dashboard for

a golf course, which could be built in Excel 2007 or higher (Figure 1).

� is dashboard contains a ton of useful information, including forecasts for weather, temperature, wind speed, rainfall and daylight hours – all critical factors in predicting playability and rounds.

It also contains a forecast of actual bookings, and alerts the reader any time the bookings consist of less than 50 per cent of the available tee starts. � is allows the course to predict open slots in their tee sheet, and react to them before the opportunity is lost. Coupled with a picture of the weather forecast, they are now armed with the information to come up with the right incentives to get people out on the course.

Building This Dashboard� e example dashboard included in this article uses three main techniques to provide its information: a picture lookup, a combination chart and conditional formatting.

Picture Lookups� e picture lookup is a neat trick which uses the camera tool object that 99.9 per cent of users are not aware exists in Excel. � e basic steps to build it are (Figure 2):

■ Create a two-column list of picture names and pictures (the entire picture must fi t in the cell)

■ Defi ne a name for each cell holding a picture, using the same name as in the Picture Name column (Select the cell ➔ Formulas Tab ➔ Defi ne Name)

■ Use a VLOOKUP, data validation list, or type the Picture Name into another cell (say it’s cell C6 on Sheet 2)

■ Define a name called “MyPic” that refers to =INDIRECT(Sheet2!$C$6)

Figure 3

Figure 1


CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS | BRITISH COLUMBIA SPRING 2013 CMA UPDATE 25CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS | BRITISH COLUMBIA

The Dashboard ConceptIf you think about your car’s dashboard, it contains very little information. In fact, it conveys only the key performance indicators (KPIs) you need: fuel level, speed, headlight indicators and a few engine trouble lights. It doesn’t tell you the colour of your car, how wide it is or what the tire size is, as you don’t need to know any of that while you’re driving.

In the context of business, dashboards are reports designed specifically to convey KPIs to the user as quickly as possible, so that they can “drive” the business. To build an e� ective dashboard it is vitally important to distill your information down to a display that � ts on a standard sheet of paper, with super� uous details and distracting noise kept to a minimum. It is crucial to understand that dashboards are not intended to answer questions; they are intended to help you determine the questions to ask. If you understand this fact, it becomes much easier to accept that your dashboard can’t do it all, allowing you to focus on building something simple, but incredibly useful.

Predictive DashboardsWhile many Excel experts start by building dashboards to alert users to issues that have already occurred, dashboards are more valuable when they are of a predictive nature. Consider the above dashboard for

a golf course, which could be built in Excel 2007 or higher (Figure 1).

� is dashboard contains a ton of useful information, including forecasts for weather, temperature, wind speed, rainfall and daylight hours – all critical factors in predicting playability and rounds.

It also contains a forecast of actual bookings, and alerts the reader any time the bookings consist of less than 50 per cent of the available tee starts. � is allows the course to predict open slots in their tee sheet, and react to them before the opportunity is lost. Coupled with a picture of the weather forecast, they are now armed with the information to come up with the right incentives to get people out on the course.

Building This Dashboard� e example dashboard included in this article uses three main techniques to provide its information: a picture lookup, a combination chart and conditional formatting.

Picture Lookups� e picture lookup is a neat trick which uses the camera tool object that 99.9 per cent of users are not aware exists in Excel. � e basic steps to build it are (Figure 2):

■ Create a two-column list of picture names and pictures (the entire picture must fi t in the cell)

■ Defi ne a name for each cell holding a picture, using the same name as in the Picture Name column (Select the cell ➔ Formulas Tab ➔ Defi ne Name)

■ Use a VLOOKUP, data validation list, or type the Picture Name into another cell (say it’s cell C6 on Sheet 2)

■ Define a name called “MyPic” that refers to =INDIRECT(Sheet2!$C$6)

Figure 3

Figure 2

■ Copy any of the pictures, right click Sheet 2 and choose "Paste Link"

■ Select the picture and change the formula in the formula bar to “=MyPic”

■ Update C6 to a di� erent picture name and watch the picture update

� e steps to do this are not complicated, but they are intricate. For a more detailed set of steps and an example � le, visit www.excelguru.ca/content.php?279.

Temperature Forecast Chart� e temperature forecast is a combination chart that includes a total of four series, as shown in Figure 3.

The secret is to plot the data from B1:H5 as a stacked area chart � rst. Once that is done, then you can make the following modi� cations:

■ Select the Forecasted High series■ Right click it and choose "Change Chart Type"■ Choose "Line Chart"■ Do the same for the Forecasted Low series■ Select the series with no name and change the

fi ll colour to white


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KEN PULS, CMA is Controller and Director of IT at Fairwinds Community and Resort in Nanaimo. He is also a Microsoft MVP for Excel and principal of www.excelguru.ca. Ken was recently named one of the Top 20 Under 40 business leaders in Vancouver Island.

Remember that with charts virtually every element in them is clickable and can be formatted. So once you’ve got the basic structure lined up as above, it’s just a matter of tinkering with the other elements to get it exactly the way you want to see it.

For a detailed walk through of this chart, complete with an example � le, visit http://www.excelguru.ca/content.php?281-Temperature-Forecast-Chart.

Wind Speeds and Utilization Percentages� ese two lines of the dashboard both take advantage of conditional formatting tools, with only one minor di� erence.

� e Wind Speed formatting was performed by:■ Select the cells ➔ Home Tab ➔ Conditional

Formatting■ The rule with the green circle, yellow triangle

and red diamond was selected (Figure 4)■ The cells were then re-selected and the rule was

edited (Home Tab ➔ Conditional Formatting ➔ Manage Rule ➔ Edit)

■ The only change made was clicking the "Reverse Icon Order" button

� e tra� c lights were done in the same manner, only in their case the rule was edited to change the percentages to show green above 50 per cent instead of the default 67 per cent.

Data Bars� e last technique used in this dashboard was the implementation of Data Bars on the rainfall line, which is simply another conditional formatting rule.

� is rule was created in the following manner:■ The data was selected■ Home Tab ➔ Conditional Formatting ➔ Data

Bars ➔ Blue bars■ The rule was then edited to set the minimum

value to 0 and the maximum to 50

Micro-ChartingWhile not speci� cally used in this dashboard, there is one more technique that is certainly worth mentioning, and that is micro-charting.

Micro-charts are tiny charts which are usually designed to give a cursory overview of a trend. � ey are often found on dashboards with several micro-charts clustered together, conveying a bunch of different views of the business KPIs in one place. An inventory dashboard, for example, may have an “Actual Revenue vs Budget” (as shown in Figure 5), as well as “Inventory Shrinkage,” “Cumulative Variances” and any other chart you might want for each product line. To give you an idea of their size, picture 20 of them on a single pa ge and you’ve got it about right.

Rest assured, these are actually no more compli-cated to build than a regular chart. You just build it full-size � rst, then select each of the legend, axis and title elements and set their fonts to a tiny size (4-6 point). Finally you resize the chart.

� ese charts are fantastic for showing glimpses of trends – particularly if you remember that they are not intended to answer questions, but rather to tell you which questions to ask. � eir purpose is to expose that something is outside its normal boundaries, not to tell you why. ■

Figure 4

Figure 5


n November 2012, Basia Ruta, CPA, CA was appointed as B.C.’s � rst Auditor General for Local Government (AGLG). � e creation of this new role was prompted by a recom-mendation made by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) in the 2010

edition of its BC Municipal Spending Watch. In this report, the CFIB called on the provincial govern-ment to appoint an independent municipal auditor general “with su� cient powers to oversee the budgets and expenditures of local governments.” � e Auditor General for Local Government Act was introduced in the B.C. legislature the following year, and then came into e� ect April 25, 2012.

Meeting with Basia (pronounced “Basha”) approximately one week into her new job, it’s clear that she’s eager to take on the various challenges that lie ahead and ready to get the word out.

“This is a new hybrid organization, with a unique structure and mandate,” she says. “I

want to make sure people understand what this organization is about and how it will work.”

We’re sitting in the new AGLG office in Surrey, which is largely empty – save for a few

desks, some signage and three staff members: Basia, Senior Advisor Mark Tatchell and Executive Assistant Pardeep Virk. � ere are still approximately 12 sta� members to be hired, shelves to be put up, a website to be populated and a lot of planning to be done. Still, the new AGLG seems unfazed.

“I’ve been involved in a number of innovative projects over the years,” Basia says. “I know that change can be scary for some – that’s why it’s so

important to have open and honest communication and dialogue. When you get down to it, the audit

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Basia RutaIntroducing B.C.’s first

Auditor General for Local Government

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performance audits of an entire ‘universe’ of over 188 local governments and other local government boards.”

� e Auditor General for Local Government Act gives the AGLG sole discretion to choose which local governments and which types of operations or projects to audit. So, where to begin?

“We’re working to create a risk-based audit work plan, which will help us select areas and themes to audit, and we want to do a holistic review to make sure we understand the issues,” Basia says. “We’re working with the Union of BC Municipalities to create useful criteria and protocols, and to develop working relationships with local governments. We recognize that some local governments might prefer more dialogue than others, so we need to be � exible. We also have to be mindful of what’s really possible in the various jurisdictions.”

Also in the development stage is a three-year service plan, which will be overseen by the Audit Council. Plans are also underway to make an annual service plan available to the public on the AGLG website by early spring.

“By April 30, we want to be able to say, ‘Here’s where we will be focusing our efforts, and why,’” Basia explains. “And then we plan to release our � rst performance audit report in the fall.”

The Office’s performance audit reports will be issued throughout the year for the Audit Council’s review, and publicized on the AGLG website.

“We’re required to make our audit reports available to the public,” Basia says. “Publishing and providing clarity in these reports will not only speak to the O� ce’s transparency, it will also enable us to support the transparency of local governments.”

And what will happen if the O� ce � nds problem areas?

“If we see opportunities to increase value for money, we’ll provide audit recommendations to local governments for their review,” says the AGLG. “� eir comments will then be included in our � nal reports. It will be up to each local government to decide whether to act on our recommendations.

“But we’re not just going to focus on trouble spots,” she adds. “We’re also going to focus on what’s working. We’ll be looking for best practices and learning that can be shared with local governments and taxpayers across the province.”

Basia points out that the AGLG legislation allows not only for performance audits, but also for related work such as research.

“Ultimately, we want the O� ce to be seen as a resource for good information,” she says. “We want to provide sound practices to stretch thinking.”

is the audit, the report is the report and the standards are the standards; it’s the process – or, more speci� cally, the spirit of the process – that is the key to making change work for everyone.”

With more than 30 years of leadership experience in both the private and public sectors, Basia knows a little something about change. Within a year of qualifying as a CA in Ontario, she left public practice to join the O� ce of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG). Her work with the OAG spanned 16 years (1984-2000) and culminated in her appointment as senior principal of audit opera-tions. During the last 10 years of her tenure, she led several audits with reports tabled in parliament; these reports addressed public accounts, � nancial risk management, governance and alternative delivery regimes at Revenue Canada and Transport Canada.

Basia left the OAG in 2000 to join what was then the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) as director general of corpo-rate planning, governance and balanced scorecard. In addition to delivering its � rst annual report, she helped the CCRA add robust-ness to its corporate governance and accountability structures.

In 2003, she was appointed acting deputy assistant commissioner of the CCRA’s Customs Branch, for which she oversaw a broad range of operations. Notably, she played a key role in transitioning the Customs Branch into the new Border Services Agency, and led a comprehensive operational review to overhaul the annual Trade Compliance Veri� cation Program.

Basia took on a new role with the Customs Branch in 2004, when she became the assistant comptroller general for internal audit. Her achievements over the next two years included developing a policy that contributed to the transformation of internal audit across the Canadian federal government. � is new policy was considered leading-edge by governments worldwide.

In 2006, Basia left the CCRA to join Environment Canada as CFO and assistant deputy minister of its Finance and Corporate Branch. � ere she was responsible for ensuring proper stewardship over assets, security, contracting and environmental management, and overseeing programs and processes that supported the department’s governance, values and ethics regimes.

After � ve years with the federal government, Basia asked to be granted leave to work with the Canadian Institute of Chartered

Accountants (CICA) via an executive exchange program.“I was eager to get back into the CA profession and reconnect

with members,” she explains.During her time with the CICA, Basia did research and developed

a project plan for eventual guidance material on governance in the public sector. She also worked on standard setting with the Public Sector Accounting Board and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB). One of the biggest projects to which she contributed was the AASB’s review of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s project to revise ISAE 3000.

Basia’s appointment as B.C.’s � rst AGLG cut her tenure with the CICA short (it was originally slated to extend to 2014), but she intends to continue working with members of the accounting profession in her new role.

“My time with the CICA was a wonderful experience,” she says. “Going forward, I want to work closely with both the CICA and the ICABC, particularly to further standards. With audits, it’s always important to be attuned to standards. � is holds true for the O� ce of the AGLG as well – we’re not just going to follow our own standards, as some might think.”

Another point of emphasis for Basia is the O� ce’s independence.“We function at arm’s length from government,” she says. “We’re

not an arm of the legislative assembly – we deal with an Audit Council. Currently, we’re the only o� ce to have this structure, and we’re the only one in Canada to have jurisdiction over the

Y ACCOUNTING

Y STRATEGY

Y MANAGEMENT

The AGLG mandateAs stated in the Auditor General for Local Government Act, the purpose of the Office is “to conduct performance audits of the operations of local governments in order to provide local governments with objective information and relevant advice that will assist them in their accountability to their communities for the stewardship of public assets and the achievement of value for money in the operations.”

To learn more about the AGLG and get an update on the Office’s activities, visit www.aglg.ca.


SPRING 2013 CMA UPDATE 29CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS | BRITISH COLUMBIACERTIFIED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS | BRITISH COLUMBIA

performance audits of an entire ‘universe’ of over 188 local governments and other local government boards.”

� e Auditor General for Local Government Act gives the AGLG sole discretion to choose which local governments and which types of operations or projects to audit. So, where to begin?

“We’re working to create a risk-based audit work plan, which will help us select areas and themes to audit, and we want to do a holistic review to make sure we understand the issues,” Basia says. “We’re working with the Union of BC Municipalities to create useful criteria and protocols, and to develop working relationships with local governments. We recognize that some local governments might prefer more dialogue than others, so we need to be � exible. We also have to be mindful of what’s really possible in the various jurisdictions.”

Also in the development stage is a three-year service plan, which will be overseen by the Audit Council. Plans are also underway to make an annual service plan available to the public on the AGLG website by early spring.

“By April 30, we want to be able to say, ‘Here’s where we will be focusing our efforts, and why,’” Basia explains. “And then we plan to release our � rst performance audit report in the fall.”

The Office’s performance audit reports will be issued throughout the year for the Audit Council’s review, and publicized on the AGLG website.

“We’re required to make our audit reports available to the public,” Basia says. “Publishing and providing clarity in these reports will not only speak to the O� ce’s transparency, it will also enable us to support the transparency of local governments.”

And what will happen if the O� ce � nds problem areas?

“If we see opportunities to increase value for money, we’ll provide audit recommendations to local governments for their review,” says the AGLG. “� eir comments will then be included in our � nal reports. It will be up to each local government to decide whether to act on our recommendations.

“But we’re not just going to focus on trouble spots,” she adds. “We’re also going to focus on what’s working. We’ll be looking for best practices and learning that can be shared with local governments and taxpayers across the province.”

Basia points out that the AGLG legislation allows not only for performance audits, but also for related work such as research.

“Ultimately, we want the O� ce to be seen as a resource for good information,” she says. “We want to provide sound practices to stretch thinking.”

To that end, the O� ce is creating a comprehensive communication strategy.

“In addition to making our audit reports available online, we plan to use our website and social media to share information and be accessible to the public,” Basia says. “More importantly, we plan to get out in B.C.’s diverse communities and make face-to-face contact.”

In addition to meeting with members of the public, Basia says she’s looking forward to simply travelling around the province.

“I’ve been to B.C. twice before during trips across Canada – once as a teenager and once as a mom,” she shares. “I love to walk, hike and be on water, so I’m looking forward to exploring more of what B.C. has to o� er.”

First, however, there’s the question of settling in. At the time of our interview, Basia is still dealing with the complexities of moving across country. She’s in the process of moving to a home in White Rock, and awaiting the arrival of her husband Andy, an engineer, who’s bringing the couple’s nine-year-old dog Hajda with him. Basia and Andy’s three sons – Jonathan (27), Matthew (24) and Tom (21) – remain back east.

“Andy and I are looking forward to taking Hajda on walks along the seawall,” Basia says. “I think she’s going to like it here.” ■

Y � is article originally appeared in the April 2013 issue of Beyond Numbers, and is reprinted here in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia.

Accountants (CICA) via an executive exchange program.“I was eager to get back into the CA profession and reconnect

with members,” she explains.During her time with the CICA, Basia did research and developed

a project plan for eventual guidance material on governance in the public sector. She also worked on standard setting with the Public Sector Accounting Board and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB). One of the biggest projects to which she contributed was the AASB’s review of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s project to revise ISAE 3000.

Basia’s appointment as B.C.’s � rst AGLG cut her tenure with the CICA short (it was originally slated to extend to 2014), but she intends to continue working with members of the accounting profession in her new role.

“My time with the CICA was a wonderful experience,” she says. “Going forward, I want to work closely with both the CICA and the ICABC, particularly to further standards. With audits, it’s always important to be attuned to standards. � is holds true for the O� ce of the AGLG as well – we’re not just going to follow our own standards, as some might think.”

Another point of emphasis for Basia is the O� ce’s independence.“We function at arm’s length from government,” she says. “We’re

not an arm of the legislative assembly – we deal with an Audit Council. Currently, we’re the only o� ce to have this structure, and we’re the only one in Canada to have jurisdiction over the

MICHELLE MCRAE is the editor of Beyond Numbers magazine, a publication of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia.

The AGLG mandateAs stated in the Auditor General for Local Government Act, the purpose of the Office is “to conduct performance audits of the operations of local governments in order to provide local governments with objective information and relevant advice that will assist them in their accountability to their communities for the stewardship of public assets and the achievement of value for money in the operations.”

To learn more about the AGLG and get an update on the Office’s activities, visit www.aglg.ca.

In April 2012, Donnie Macdonald, FCMA and past Chair of the CMA BC Board, was named to the Audit Council overseeing the Auditor General for Local Government (AGLG). The Council’s first task: make a recommendation to the minister as to who should be appointed Auditor General for Local Government.

“The [Audit] Council spent a great deal of time recruiting for this position as we knew it was important to get the right person for the role. We

were looking for an individual that had a depth of experience in both the public and private sectors as well as a solid understanding of local and regional governance. In addition to the technical skills required we were also looking for someone with excellent ‘people skills.’ It is important that the AGLG is a good communicator, displays diplomacy and has the ability to be an inspiring leader. Basia is definitely the right choice for AGLG as she brings many years of experience in audit, finance and operations in both the public and private sector. In the short time that Basia has been in the position, she has demonstrated her ability to get things done and is connecting with all the stakeholders in a very positive manner.”



Members in memoriamWe wish to extend our sympathies to the family and friends of the following members who recently passed away:

Maria Barkess, CMA – Delta, B.C.Maria received her CMa in october 2005, and prior to retiring in 2007 was financial Controller for sharp & diamond landscape architecture. Maria loved to volunteer her time and expertise with the granville Chapel on their finance Committee. it was with great sadness that we received notification from her husband that Maria passed away last year at the age of 69.

F.R. (Fred) Lundell, CMA – Summerland, B.C.launching a long career in federal government, including 18 years as a finance officer in the Canadian armed forces, fred received his CMa designation in 1972 in ontario. he later served as the senior audit officer for the Ministry of finance’s Consumer taxation Branch until his retirement in 2011. fred was an active volunteer, including for the army, navy & Veterans unit #97 and royal Canadian legion in Penticton. We received notification from his wife that fred passed away in January 2013 at the age of 66.

Y If you would like to send a note of condolence to members’ family and friends, contact Rick Lightheart, CMA, FCMA at 604-484-7004; 1-800-663-9646, ext. 7004; or [email protected].

Certified ManageMent aCCountants | British ColuMBia30 CMA UPDATE sPring 2013

MEMBER UpdatE

Michael chittendenCMA

Peter lukoMskyjCMA

karen MorrisonCMA

a’lana l. rainsCMA

laura thoMasCMA

Members on the moveCongratulations to these CMa British Columbia members who have recently been promoted or accepted a new career opportunity

Awards, accolades and appointmentsCongratulations to the following members for their recent achievements:

have you recently joined a board of directors, received a promotion, moved to a new company, or received another honour? submissions to Members update can be emailed to [email protected].

President, Strategic Sales Programs at Sophos.

Y Karen Morrison, CMA has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer for I-XL Masonry Supplies Ltd. Karen was previously the company’s Vice President of Finance and Administration.

Y Hamid Sadeghi, CMA is now Chief Financial Officer for Indian Head Gaming in Warm Spring, Oregon. Hamid was previously Director of Finance for Casino Del Sol

Resort, Golf Course and Spa in Tucson, Arizona.

Y A’Lana L. Rains, CMA has been appointed Associate Principal at the MacKay LLP Kelowna office. A’Lana provides services to a variety of private enterprises and small business professionals.

Y Laura Thomas, CMA is now Senior Financial Analyst (Decision Support) with Best Buy Canada. Laura is also currently the Chair of the CMA Vancouver Chapter.

Y Michael Chittenden, CMA has been promoted to the role of Assistant Vice President, Administration at Peoples Card Services LLP, an affiliate of Peoples Trust Company. Michael was previously Senior Manager, Administration at Peoples Trust Company.

Y Amyn Khimji, CMA has been appointed to the

position of Assistant Director, Financial Accounting at JTB International (Canada) Ltd. Amyn has been with JTB since 1994 and previously held the position of Manager, Financial Accounting.

Y Peter Lukomskyj, CMA is now Chief Operating Officer at QuickMobile. Most recently, Peter was Vice

Y Ken Puls, CMA was named one of Vancouver Island’s Top 20 Under 40, which celebrates the Island’s top business and community achievements. Ken is the Director of IT and Controller for Fairwinds Resort in Nanaimo, and also runs a successful Excel consulting firm.

Y Diane Kerley, CMA was awarded David Aplin Group’s 2012 People’s Choice Award, based on highest score/satisfaction from clients and job candidates, for her outstanding work as National Practice Leader – Accounting & Finance. Diane is also a current member of the CMA British Columbia Board of Directors.

p30-31_MemberUpdate.indd 30 13-04-12 9:22 AM

sPring 2013 CMA UPDATE 31Certified ManageMent aCCountants | British ColuMBia

Y Lana Brander, CMA has recently moved to Vernon from High Level, Alberta, where she was Accounting Supervisor of High Level Lumber Division at Tolko Industries. Lana is currently Accounting Supervisor of Lavington & White Valley Divisions at Tolko Industries Ltd.

Y Brian Curley, CMA, MBA recently relocated to Kelowna from Halifax, Nova Scotia, for his new role as Senior Financial Analyst at Disney Canada Inc. Brian was previously a Marketing Analyst at Bell Canada.

Y Scott Hughes, CMA has recently moved from Calgary to Vancouver. Scott is currently Controller at Inproheat Industries Ltd.

Y Robert McElroy, CMA has relocated to Vancouver from Toronto, Ontario. Robert is Controller, Pacific Operations for Xerox Canada Ltd. He has been with the company for 14 years and is also responsible for finance, administration and marketing.

Y Sam Rostum, CMA has recently moved from Ottawa where he was a partner and co-founder at Bytown Consulting. Sam is now a Senior Strategist and Executive in Residence at Wavefront in Vancouver.

Y Khris Singh, CMA has moved to B.C. from the Yukon. Khris was previously a Director of the Premier’s Technology Council with the Government of British Columbia and currently works in the International Business Development Branch as the Senior Manager, India and South East Asia.

F.R. (Fred) Lundell, CMA – Summerland, B.C.launching a long career in federal government, including 18 years as a finance officer in the Canadian armed forces, fred received his CMa designation in 1972 in ontario. he later served as the senior audit officer for the Ministry of finance’s Consumer taxation Branch until his retirement in 2011. fred was an active volunteer, including for the army, navy & Veterans unit #97 and royal Canadian legion in Penticton. We received notification from his wife that fred passed away in January 2013 at the age of 66.

Y If you would like to send a note of condolence to members’ family and friends, contact Rick Lightheart, CMA, FCMA at 604-484-7004; 1-800-663-9646, ext. 7004; or [email protected].


MEMBER UpdatE MEMBER UpdatE

laura thoMasCMA

Members on the moveCongratulations to these CMa British Columbia members who have recently been promoted or accepted a new career opportunity

Awards, accolades and appointmentsCongratulations to the following members for their recent achievements:

Resort, Golf Course and Spa in Tucson, Arizona.

Y A’Lana L. Rains, CMA has been appointed Associate Principal at the MacKay LLP Kelowna office. A’Lana provides services to a variety of private enterprises and small business professionals.

Y Laura Thomas, CMA is now Senior Financial Analyst (Decision Support) with Best Buy Canada. Laura is also currently the Chair of the CMA Vancouver Chapter.

Y Ken Puls, CMA was named one of Vancouver Island’s Top 20 Under 40, which celebrates the Island’s top business and community achievements. Ken is the Director of IT and Controller for Fairwinds Resort in Nanaimo, and also runs a successful Excel consulting firm.

Y Mark Mawhinney, CMA has been elected as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival Society. Mark previously served as the Society’s secretary.

Y Diane Kerley, CMA was awarded David Aplin Group’s 2012 People’s Choice Award, based on highest score/satisfaction from clients and job candidates, for her outstanding work as National Practice Leader – Accounting & Finance. Diane is also a current member of the CMA British Columbia Board of Directors.

New FacesWelcome to new members of CMA British Columbia from other provinces:

p30-31_MemberUpdate.indd 31 13-04-12 9:22 AM


Get On Board

with non-pro� ts, as Peverett did, is a common starting point on the road towards a Crown corporation or private sector board.

As Marnie Jepsen, CMA, Vice President, Association Services for YMCA of Greater Vancouver explains, volunteering on a non-profit board can bene� t you and your community. “CMAs are uniquely positioned to help non-pro� t organizations measure their impact on the community. It also provides CMAs experience weighing in on strategic issues and exposure to new people and networks.”

Sherry Tryssenaar, CMA, Chief Financial O� cer of Ten Peaks Co� ee Company, serves on the boards of the YWCA Metro Vancouver and Unit Electrical Engineering. She recommends board service as a way to acquire valuable experience in new industries. “You can discover best practices that will help you be a better leader in your workplace.”

Given the program’s emphasis on linking accounting, management and strategy, CMAs are ideal candidates for boards. � e key question for many though, is how to land their � rst opportunity.

Tryssenaar’s first chance to serve arose from a commitment to the organization’s mission and an interest in meeting new people. Having just moved from Vancouver to Toronto for her � rst vice president position, she joined the Women for Capital Markets, an industry association of � nance professionals, and volunteered to help organize events. After a year of volunteering with the organization, she was asked to join the board and eventually became chair. “Being on a board gave me the opportunity to learn about governance and strategic planning.”

Tryssenaar suggests that CMAs who are interested in landing their first board opportunity start by identifying organizations that are aligned with their values. “Volunteering with an organization gives you a sense of its operational issues and an opportunity to meet the leadership team,” she explains. “After learning about the organization, if you then wish to pursue a board position, start by having conversations with the board chair and/or other directors. Let people know that you are interested in volunteering and ask about the process for director selection.”

If you are a CMA who already has a combination of board and executive-level experience, you may be well positioned to consider board opportunities with Crown corporations, large non-pro� t organizations or the private sector. These senior-level board opportunities require a specific combination of expertise, judgement and pro� le in the community.

Elizabeth Watson, QC, an expert in director recruitment and founder of WATSON says: “Directors must � rst of all have the right personal attributes such as integrity, mature leadership and business acumen. � ey must be an independent thinker yet contribute to positive group dynamics. In terms of background, it

How board service can help you and your communityBy ANN WICKS, CMA CANDIDATE

Y ACCOUNTING

Y STRATEGY

Y MANAGEMENT

hen Jane Peverett was first starting out, she worked in the budget department at Westcoast Energy. “I was 27 and hadn’t considered what I would be doing next week – let alone what my career would look like.” Her annual performance meeting that year changed her life.W

ISTO

CKP

HO

TO

“My manager at the time told me that he believed I had executive potential and encouraged me to develop a career plan,” she recalls. Knowing � nance was her primary area of interest, Peverett chose to pursue the CMA program and within � ve years of completing the designation, she was promoted to Vice President, Finance at Westcoast Energy. She went on to hold various executive positions, including Chief Executive Officer of Union Gas Ltd., a Westcoast Energy company – and Chief Executive O� cer of BC Transmission, a provincial Crown corporation.

As Peverett’s career progressed, so too did her board experience. She began by volunteering on the United Way’s board of directors and soon enough was recruited to the board of the BC Ferry Authority, where she now serves as chair. A history of board service and executive experience proved a powerful combination. Today, Jane Peverett is a corporate director serving on the boards of CIBC, EnCana and Northwest Natural Gas.

Many savvy executives now consider board service as a part of their career planning. Gaining experience


p32-35_Board Report.indd 32 13-04-12 9:19 AM


Get On Board

with non-pro� ts, as Peverett did, is a common starting point on the road towards a Crown corporation or private sector board.

As Marnie Jepsen, CMA, Vice President, Association Services for YMCA of Greater Vancouver explains, volunteering on a non-profit board can bene� t you and your community. “CMAs are uniquely positioned to help non-pro� t organizations measure their impact on the community. It also provides CMAs experience weighing in on strategic issues and exposure to new people and networks.”

Sherry Tryssenaar, CMA, Chief Financial O� cer of Ten Peaks Co� ee Company, serves on the boards of the YWCA Metro Vancouver and Unit Electrical Engineering. She recommends board service as a way to acquire valuable experience in new industries. “You can discover best practices that will help you be a better leader in your workplace.”

Given the program’s emphasis on linking accounting, management and strategy, CMAs are ideal candidates for boards. � e key question for many though, is how to land their � rst opportunity.

Tryssenaar’s first chance to serve arose from a commitment to the organization’s mission and an interest in meeting new people. Having just moved from Vancouver to Toronto for her � rst vice president position, she joined the Women for Capital Markets, an industry association of � nance professionals, and volunteered to help organize events. After a year of volunteering with the organization, she was asked to join the board and eventually became chair. “Being on a board gave me the opportunity to learn about governance and strategic planning.”

Tryssenaar suggests that CMAs who are interested in landing their first board opportunity start by identifying organizations that are aligned with their values. “Volunteering with an organization gives you a sense of its operational issues and an opportunity to meet the leadership team,” she explains. “After learning about the organization, if you then wish to pursue a board position, start by having conversations with the board chair and/or other directors. Let people know that you are interested in volunteering and ask about the process for director selection.”

If you are a CMA who already has a combination of board and executive-level experience, you may be well positioned to consider board opportunities with Crown corporations, large non-pro� t organizations or the private sector. These senior-level board opportunities require a specific combination of expertise, judgement and pro� le in the community.

Elizabeth Watson, QC, an expert in director recruitment and founder of WATSON says: “Directors must � rst of all have the right personal attributes such as integrity, mature leadership and business acumen. � ey must be an independent thinker yet contribute to positive group dynamics. In terms of background, it

is important for directors to have skills and experience relevant to the company’s strategic opportunities and risk pro� le and relevant to other aspects of the board’s responsibilities such as � nancial oversight, executive compensation, and evaluation and governance. Ideally, their experience is broader and deeper than that of management so that they bring value to the table and test management’s thinking. Finally, every director should have a good understanding of e� ective governance – how the board and management work constructively together to help the company be successful.”

Finding a board opportunity is a process that requires careful planning and due diligence. Serving on a board poses a number of reputational and � nancial risks. Before considering a board position, prospec-tive candidates will want to assess the organization’s Directors’ and O� cers’ (D&O) liability insurance, review annual reports, � nancial statements, gover-nance practices, risk management plans, and scan past media coverage. Most importantly, candidates will want to ensure their skills are a good � t for the organization and that the mission is aligned with their values. If any issues arise in the due diligence process or if the board is not aligned with modern governance best practices, are the directors open to the advice and support of a CMA to make improvements?

Pat Kennedy, FCMA, Chief Operating O� cer with the Paci� c Flying Club and Chair of the CMA BC Board of Directors, suggests weighing the time commitment as another key consideration. “Over the past ten years, there has been greater emphasis on board governance and the role of the board in providing effective oversight of management. Directors are expected to come to board and committee meetings prepared to ask the tough questions.”

Whether you are considering how to land your � rst board opportunity or if you are an experienced executive looking for a more complex role, start by talking to people in your existing network. People who are familiar with your experience are in a better position to recommend you or provide you with an introduction to someone who can. A 2012 survey published by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Center for Board Governance found that “91 per cent of directors � nd new members through director recommendations, suggesting a preference for referrals by someone they know and trust. Approximately 67 per cent of those surveyed use search � rms.”

Getting on a non-profit board adds a strategic dimension to your skills, and bene� ts your community. A combination of board and executive experience can be a great launch pad for corporate or Crown agency board opportunities. Most importantly, look for opportunities with organizations that you care about, where you can add value and demonstrate passion for the mission. ■

hen Jane Peverett was first starting out, she worked in the budget department at Westcoast Energy. “I was 27 and hadn’t considered what I would be doing next week – let alone what my career would look like.” Her annual performance meeting that year changed her life.

ISTO

CKP

HO

TO

ANN WICKS is a CMA candidate with a background in board recruitment and governance. Over the past decade she has facilitated thousands of director searches to boards of directors in Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and has published articles on public policy for the Canadian Parliamentary Review and Oxford U niversity Press.

As Peverett’s career progressed, so too did her board experience. She began by volunteering on the United Way’s board of directors and soon enough was recruited to the board of the BC Ferry Authority, where she now serves as chair. A history of board service and executive experience proved a powerful combination. Today, Jane Peverett is a corporate director serving on the boards of CIBC, EnCana and Northwest Natural Gas.

Many savvy executives now consider board service as a part of their career planning. Gaining experience



Y ACCOUNTING

Y STRATEGY

Y MANAGEMENT

1. What are the roles and responsibilities of the board?

2. Is the board’s culture aligned with governance best practices? If not, is there an openness to change?

3. Does the organization have Directors’ and Officers’ liability insurance? What does it cover?

4. What are the strategic priorities for this board? Who sets the strategic direction? How is this direction communicated?

5. Who is the appointing body and what are their expectations?

6. How will your performance be evaluated?

7. What is your value proposition?

Are your skills a match for the board’s needs?

8. Is the mission of the organization aligned with your values?

9. What is the time commitment?10. Is there remuneration? What

are the remuneration and expense policies?

Top 10 Questions to Consider Before Joining a Board

$112K

$11.5K

BOARD COMPENSATION IN CANADA

Average compensation paid to outside directors of publicly traded companies

Average additional compensation for members of risk committees

Average additional compensation for members of audit/finance committees

Average annual compensation for a Crown corporation director

Members of risk and audit/finance committees typically receive the highest amount of additional compensation for their service.

$14K$10K


Sources: Canadian Directors’ Compensation and Board Practices; Conference Board of Canada, 2011; Board Practices in Canadian Crown Corporations, Conference Board of Canada, 2008.


Are your skills a match for the board’s needs?

8. Is the mission of the organization aligned with your values?

9. What is the time commitment?10. Is there remuneration? What

are the remuneration and expense policies?

Top 10 Questions to Consider Before Joining a Board

BOARD COMPENSATION IN CANADA


Sources: Canadian Directors’ Compensation and Board Practices; Conference Board of Canada, 2011; Board Practices in Canadian Crown Corporations, Conference Board of Canada, 2008.


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MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER · April 2, 2013, CMA British Columbia and Institute of Chartered...

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