Accountants announce merger plan

(May 11, 2004) The professional associations representing Canada’s chartered accountants (CAs) and certified management accountants (CMAs) are considering a formal merger. If approved, the new body would have 100,000 members, making it one of the largest accounting associations in the world.

The national offices of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and CMA Canada have already approved guiding principles for the union.

Governance bodies at the provincial and territorial levels will now review those principles and consider a motion to adopt them by the end of the month.

If that happens, a membership ratification vote could take place this fall and the new body could be in place as soon as January 1, 2005.

“The new body would ensure its members adhere to the highest professional standards of certification, continuing education, integrity and discipline for a broad range of services in three principal areas of practice — management, audit and assurance, and taxation,” the two groups said in a joint press release.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to create the pre-eminent business professional in Canada,” CICA chair Pierre Brunet said. “The new organization would bring greater clarity and strength to the accounting profession in Canada by eliminating much of the confusion that arises from multiple professional accounting bodies.”

There are currently 68,000 CAs and 35,000 CMAs in Canada.

“CMAs and CAs share much in terms of objectives, values, qualifications and complementary strengths,” said CMA Canada president Steve Vieweg.

“In today’s environment, businesses are expected to operate according to the highest standards in the areas of accounting and corporate governance,” added CICA president David Smith. “Because CAs and CMAs are the leaders in management, audit and assurance, and taxation, it makes sense to combine our expertise to ensure that these high standards continue to be met.”

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, doug.watt@advisor.rogers.com