ruas professional outlook magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS I ntroduction 03 2010-2011 RUAS Team 04 Message from the President 04 Save the Date - RUAS Events Facu lty & Stu dent Fea ture 05 Welcome to TRSM Feature Prof i le 06 PwC Put’s its People First! 10 CGA Profile 14 Many Ways to Rule the World Cu rrent Events & Indus try News 09 Designation Report II Community Contr ibutors 16 So You Want to be a CA? 23 C h a l l e n g e s f a c i n g I F R S M ov e m e n t 24 A M e s s a g e t o A l l F u t u r e G r a d u a t e s

Professional Outlook Team Editor-in-Chief Zak Benseddik Contributors Evon Senathipathy Andrew Coronas Janel Quan-hin George Elarga

Cover Design Ahmad Abdalla RUAS Executives & Associates

© RUAS Professional Outlook | 02.10.2011

PROFESSIONAL OUTLOOK / WINTER 2011 ISSUE

Community Contributors

Submit your accounting related articles to us, and they can appear in the next addi-

tion of Professional Outlook or online .

For more information go to: www.outlook.ruas.ca

2010-2011 BOARD MEMBERS

Evon

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Mohamed Mohamedali Competition Coordinator

Samantha Loboda Competition Coordinator Za

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Nancy Sandhu Pro. Dev. Associate

Competition Associates

1. Mike Mascrenhas 2. Vy Ngo 3. Ksenia Prokopienko 4. Alex Luu 5. Jarryd McKie 6. Hillorie Le 7. Pavi Sidhu

1 2

4 5 3 6 7

Cuong Pham Dir. Admin/Liaison/FYR

Ahmad Abdalla Director of Technology

Rob Curcio Accounting Coord.

MESSAGE


from the PRESIDENT SUSTAINABLE GROWTH! Those two words both individually and combined represent what Ryerson University Accounting Society (RUAS) has set out to do this year. We made it a priority to take on practices that would sustainable for the long term and benefit alumni, current students and future students. I am very proud to announce that we were able to raise and donate $500 to YWCA on Elm Street at our 5th Annual Alumni Gala! We are expanding our reaches rapidly a true testament to that is shown with our mailing list which has over 700 members. Our future promises to be just as bright as we continue to be the voice of accounting students at Ryerson University in the Ted Rogers School of Management. We have also been able to forge new partnerships that we hope to continue in the fu-ture. This year we worked with the Career Development and Employment Centre to have a resume/cover letter workshop at ABC’s of Networking. We will also be working on another event focused on bringing employers that are looking to hire Ryerson’s Ac-counting students at Industry Night. Another new partnership with strong sustainable growth potential is our partnership with the RSU’s Tax Clinic. Our students who volunteer will receive training on preparing basic tax returns and then the volunteers will be able to help many students prepare their taxes accurately and on time. This year we are looking to help expand the Tax Clinic to help more students and develop more volunteer tax preparers. Our competition has quickly grown to be known as ACHIEVE which is a three day na-tional conference & competition. We have gone from a single day provincial competi-tion to a national conference that is highlighted with workshops and keynote addresses from CEOs The RUAS team is filled with 19 amazing leaders who I can never thank enough for their hard work, dedication and overall abilities in making RUAS is what it is today. I can hon-estly say that each member brings a special quality to our team and we would not be the same without each of them. We will continue to work towards “bridging the GAAP from University to Industry” and with the support we have from our partners we are confident that we will succeed to-gether. On behalf of myself and my entire team I would like to sincerely thank our dedi-cated partners CMA, PricewaterhouseCoopers, CGA, CPA Excel, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, ICAO, KPMG, Soberman, Ryerson Commerce Society, Ryerson Student’s Union our Ac-counting Faculty, the Dean’s office, the Presidents office and PFACs.

SAVE THE DATE

February 2011 10 ACHIEVE 16 Industry Night March 2011 1 CA Info. Session 23 CA Night

For all RUAS

Events Visit:

ruas.ca

fb.me/ruas575 :F @raccounting :T

Shad Washington

|| WELCOME TO THE TED ROGERS SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT Hello Ryerson Accounting Students. I am the newest professor to join the Accounting De-partment in TRSBM, having arrived in January 2010. Dr. Gouping Liu asked me to write a brief biography for the magazine to introduce myself. I am a Chartered Accountant, with a PhD in accounting from University of Water-loo. Previously I worked as a professor at York University where I taught financial account-ing and auditing courses at all levels. My path to becoming an accounting profes-sor has taken some twists and turns. The first university degree I received was in Anthro-pology, which was very interesting to study as it relates to how human beings got to be the way we are. But when I graduated and went to get a job, I found there were lots of jobs in accounting, but not very many in anthropology! After working in entry level accounting jobs for a few years, I had the opportunity to work with a Chartered Accountant to develop an inventory con-trol system. I was so im-pressed with the way this CA was able to use her knowledge to solve a seri-ous problem in the com-pany that I decided wanted to become a CA myself. I studied accounting at York University (before it was named Schu-lich where I had a professor named L.S. Rosen. Professor Rosen introduced students to some very thought provoking perspectives on how accounting is very flexible, and how the way accounting information is presented can really affect people’s decisions and their lives. He used a lot of case studies that showed how conflicts between stakeholders can result in very different accounting choices and consequences. After getting my business degree I went to work as a CA student with an auditing firm called Clarkson, Gordon; it later became Ernst & Young. The experience of auditing different businesses and verifying their financial state-ments was a fantastic way to learn how busi-

nesses work, but also to see the truth in what Professor Rosen taught - people can create accounting numbers to meet their objectives. I saw of examples of managers ‘cooking the books’ to make their bonus or stay out of trouble with their bank. Another experience I had as an auditor was to see the environ-mental pollution that some companies I au-dited were creating. I started to wonder why those environmental costs didn’t show up anywhere in the companies’ financial reports because they seemed as real as anything else the company reported as costs! From these experiences I realized that there were a lot of unanswered questions in accounting, and that research needed to be done to answer them. Working at the auditing firm I also got involved in a lot of staff training and research on auditing methods. I liked teaching and research, so I was very fortunate to get a job as an accounting professor where those are

the main parts of your job. It was also a won-derful opportunity do a PhD and learn how to do accounting research, and I even was able to do my thesis on an environmental topic. I studied the question of how investors value the shares of companies that report environmental liabilities and the impact au-diting and accounting standards have on this. Since then I have published a number of research papers on environmental reporting and other current accounting and auditing topics. I also co-author an auditing textbook with Professor Wally Smieliauskas of the Rot-man School at U of T where we try to present the interesting concepts and theories of au-diting, and the also the practical aspects of how auditing is done in the real world. And now my career has taken me to

Ryerson, where I am really enjoying the opportunity to be involved with many exciting initiatives the Accounting Department is pursing. Under Professor Daria Sydor’s leadership we have started a special stream of introductory accounting courses for accounting majors, so students who want to pur-sue accounting careers can get a very rigorous introduction to the important fundamentals of our profession. This also gives us the opportunity to chal-lenge students with accounting cases where there are different stakeholders with different interests, and accounting choices have to be made. Also, under the leadership of Dean Ken Jones, TRSM is working to establish a School of Accounting and Finance. This would be a very unique structure and can provide us with many opportunities to

further custom-ize and enhance the breadth and depth of our programs to meet the re-quirements of many profes-sional certifica-

tion programs. I am very happy to be able to participate in these important developments in the Ryerson account-ing program. And TRSM is now seeking the AACSB accreditation; this is a very important signal of quality for business schools and will really cement our reputation as a top school. To close off I just want to say how much I am en-joying my time here at Ryerson. The students, staff and faculty have all been very welcoming and helpful. I hope to meet many of you students in future in class or at other events, and hope I can help you to achieve great success in your careers in this rich and fascinating field of accounting!


PwC’s Move Puts Its People First

In the fall of 2011, PwC Canada’s downtown Toronto offices will move to PwC Tower, a brand new state of art

26 storey tower situated at York and Bremner. The new building anchor’s of the newly dubbed Southcore Fi-

nancial Centre which will see a second office tower and hotel completed in 2014.

The new building, which celebrated its topping off ceremony this past November, is a testament to PwC’s focus

on its employees.


ROFESSIONAL OUTLOOK / WINTER 2011 ISSUE

PwC’s Move...Continued "With our move-in date less than one year away, our people are more excited than ever about the move to PwC

Tower," said David Forster, PwC's GTA Managing Partner. "Our new home in Toronto's expanding financial dis-

trict fits with the firm's commitment to our people, our clients and the environment. PwC Tower brings all our

downtown people together, sup-

porting our ability to provide the

best service to our clients while

creating a collaborative, produc-

tive and enjoyable workspace that

offers access to public transporta-

tion and green design features."

Situated south of Front Street,

PwC Tower has risen from an un-

derdeveloped area once thought

“crazy” to build in. However, the

close proximity to entertainment

and transportation hubs have

made this area the hot spot to

live, work and play in Toronto’s downtown.

“As someone who rides the GO Train to work everyday, I can’t help but be excited about this move”, says Zubin

Jasavala, an Associate in PwC’s Audit & Assurance Practice. “The new location puts us right beside the York

Street Go Train entrance - I’ll go from train to desk in under five minutes and avoid the crowds inside Union Sta-

tion.”

PwC’s commitment to making sustainable choices and creating a warm, welcoming and efficient working envi-

ronment for staff has helped to drive the design of PwC Tower. Traditional office layouts with exterior offices

and internal cubicles, which prevented the flow of natural light, has been dropped in favour of interior offices

allowing the light to flow to everyone’s workspaces. Office spaces, normally know for seclusion, have been re-

thought to create a workplace that is cheerful and enjoyable, and will promote teamwork and spontaneous

conversations.

PwC Tower has been constructed to meet the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold

Standard in both building design and office space categories. The LEED Gold Standard reflects the total score of

PwC Tower against standards set by the

Canadian Green Building Council.

PROFESSIONAL OUTLOOK / FALL 2010 ISSUE Page 13

PwC’s Move...Continued Adaptive re-use of existing of-

fice furniture. Up to 75% of existing furniture is being re-used.

A green office environment:

Daylighting (an open con-cept office maximizing the use natural light over tradi-tional electric lighting) Automatic d imming/turning off of lights and HVAC after hours Use of rapidly renewable and locally sourced materi-als for office interiors Energy star appliances and equipment throughout the office

Reducing water usage through rain water collecting and efficient delivery 30% less energy use through high-efficiency heating, under floor air supply, intelligent lighting and En-

wave’s Deep Lake Water Cooling system First Toronto tower with green roof and urban forest integrated in its design

In the last issue of Professional Outlook, we revealed the results of a pilot survey that the Ryerson University Accounting Society (RUAS) had conducted during our very first event of the fall 2010 semester- The ABC’s of Networking. Attendees of this event come to en-hance their networking skills, as well as to add to their current knowl-edge of the various designations by speak-ing to representatives from the various profes-sional designation bod-ies. Questions pre-sented to them re-volved around what were their designation preferences, how did they find out about them, as well as what factors were most important to them upon gradua-tion, be it the opportunity to travel or financial rewards. To further our understanding of the needs of the accounting student popu-lation we decided to carry out yet an-other survey during our annual Alumni Gala which is an event where Ryerson Accounting Alumni return to their alma mater to share their experiences with current undergraduates on topics rang-ing from possible career paths, interna-tional secondments to accounting

designations. Alumni were first asked about the professional designations that they

have already attained, or were currently pursuing. Out of the fifty alumni volun-teered to participate in the survey, 50% chose the Certified Management Ac-countant (CMA) designation, 40% picked the Chartered Accountant (CA) designation, 5% chose Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and the remaining 5% were completing their Chartered

Financial Analyst (CFA) desig-nation. Next, we allowed participants to select several factors that were important to them upon graduation.

Financial rewards took the majority of votes with 54%, with the opportunity for advancement coming in second with 50%. In third place, was work life balance at 50%, followed closely by challenging work assignments at 45%. 30% of Alumni chose networking with professionals and the remaining two categories namely, travelling opportunities and job security tied with 18% each. Finally, they were asked to describe about what they believed set Ryerson

University apart from others. The majority of respondents said that they valued the practical orientation of the Accounting Program, whilst others said that due to the requirement placed on busi-ness stu-dents to enroll in a broad range of courses be it management, marketing or organizational behavior, in addition to their chosen major, it en-ables them to add value to their current position at work. Having gained an enhanced under-standing of what students and alumni find most important, we believe that RUAS is now in a better position to plan and organize our events to accommo-date the current and future student population. Thank you once again to those who took the time to complete the survey.

|| REPORT ON THE DESIGNATION PREFERENCES (PART 2)

PROFESSIONAL OUTLOOK / FALL 2010 ISSUE Page 13

Evon Senathipathy Director of Education


Managing Through a Recession Certified general accountant Flavian Pinto identifies

four creative cost-cutting strategies

Author: Flavian Pinto, CGA, is chief financial and chief in-

formation officer of Community Living Toronto. He has

more than 30 years of public sector experience in the

health care management field.

The recession of 2008 was described by some as the

worst since the Depression. The recovery in 2009 may

have helped businesses in the private sector but they

did not help agencies in the public sector. Now, in

2010, there is talk of a double-dip recession, which has

made matters worse for the public sector.

Many agencies that rely on fundraising have not seen

their donations return to pre-recession levels. Individ-

ual donors appear to be more reluctant to part with

their money in the face of economic uncertainty. This

in turn adversely affects the fundraising efforts of cor-

porate donors that rely on individuals for the bulk of

their charitable contributions. Organizations that do-

nate to public sector agencies as a matter of corporate

policy also appear to be reassessing their donations as

they struggle with pragmatic budget forecasts.

At the same time, agencies that rely on transfer fund-

ing from the provincial government have been told

that there will be no base budget increases for the

next two years and possibly beyond. The province has

advanced a position paper that projects spending

growth to be kept to a bare minimum as part of its

deficit reduction strategy. All of this means that public

sector agencies will have to stretch their budgets to

maintain the services they provide while keeping ad-

ministrative and other non-program costs down.

CGAs and other accountants and finance professionals

within the public sector will be tested yet again to see

more than numbers and apply our considerable skills

to saving and stretching those scarce resources. Here is

a list of potential cost-saving ideas:

Create a Consortium Many public sector organizations are small and unable

to negotiate lower premiums for their major, non-

statutory, benefits-extended health and dental plans.

Insurance companies know this and routinely charge

double-digit increases regardless of attempts to man-

age insurance claims. A number of public sector CGAs I

have spoken to have identified the rising costs of

benefits as their number one concern.

Given the economic environment in which we oper-

ate, containing the rising cost of benefits is critical.

Since salaries and benefits form 75 to 80 per cent of

agency budgets, savings in benefits can free significant

financial resources for social programs. One solution,

which I discussed in my last column, is the formation of

benefit consortiums. Such groups can create the nec-

essary purchasing power to negotiate lower premi-

ums, though they carry some risk. Economies of proc-

ess and scale must be weighed against the risks of in-

surer backlash, poor group dynamics and surprise

changes to programs.

|| CGA FEATURE


That’s why some agencies work with professional

benefits managers: the cost of hiring an experienced

professional is more than outweighed by the applica-

tion of best practices and expert negotiation skills. A

professional benefits manager will work with organiza-

tions to identify their needs, compare claims records to

industry standards, and negotiate from positions of

strength.

Share Your Supply Lines Public sector agencies often have supply chains that

are distinct from other agencies within their own sec-

tor or even geographic region. But agencies can realize

procurement efficiencies through the combining and

sharing of resources. Agencies might consider the re-

sources of OntarioBuys, a program of the Ontario Min-

istry of Finance that provides funding and advice to

the public sector to help in the modernization of sup-

ply chains.

Share Your Space Agencies often rent rather than own space — a signifi-

cant cost. But

when organi-

zations share

space they

can reduce

the cost of

rent, building

maintenance,

supplies and

facilities. The

“hub model”

of sharing space, which emphasizes common areas

and open concept work areas rather than offices, is

quite popular in urban areas, but can be applied to

agencies in rural areas if they are within reasonable

proximity.

Share Your Back Office Many smaller agencies don’t have the resources to

dedicate for infrastructure services such as information

technology or basic financial functions. The sharing of

“back office” services can help agencies to leverage

critical infrastructure services without spending a lot of

money.

“Back office” doesn’t necessarily mean space within

your own building. Though you may share the same

space, that doesn’t mean you have to keep your IT or

financial functions in-house. You may decide instead

to outsource your back-office service. Of course, some

organizations equate the sharing of services with the

loss of access or resources. I feel that sharing works

best with services that are transactional in nature and

where management control of the function rests with

the individual agency. Nevertheless, sharing agree-

ments need to be defined as clearly as

possible with acceptable dispute resolu-

tion mechanisms in place to ensure that

sharing works smoothly.

|| CGA FEATURE CONITNUED...


The Truth about CA Training Offices The CA profession has long offered the best training in public accounting practices. Large or small, CA students working at a CA Firm are involved with external audit en-gagements. Most of the work you do counts as chargeable hours in assurance and taxation, which are required to get your public accounting license. During your three years, you’ll audit a wide variety of companies, and learn about each of them along the way. So working on external audits is also a great way to figure out what type of industry ap-peals to you. Until recently, CAs could only meet the requirements of their practical experience at these accounting firms. When you consider over 60% of CAs are employed in industry, government and education, we wanted to provide an ave-nue for these future business leaders to have a place to learn today. As a result, the profession now offers CA stu-dents the option of getting their hands-on practical experi-ence by articling in leading business and government or-ganizations and the non-audit practice areas of CA firms. These “expanded experience opportunities” have been growing in popularity, both from the organizations seeking approval to train CA students and students interested in

training outside of external audit. In fact, within five years, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario expects the number CA Training Offices in industry and government to more than triple, so that more than 400 CA students will be in these jobs by the year 2015. CA Training Offices in the corporate and public sectors are guaranteed to provide you with exposure to various areas of the organization. That means, by the time you’re a CA, you’ll understand the company’s operations and you’ll know which department you’d like to end up working for full-time. The organizations have a vested interest to get a person-ally trained CA who’s ready to help run things, while being groomed for leadership. As a result, the Institute works closely with these organizations to customize a pre-approved career path(s) for CA students that align with the company’s vision while also meeting the professions strict criteria. To help students understand their options when looking for a job in a CA Training Office, we have prepared three short videos: Exploring the different types of CA Training Offices www.guidetorulingtheworld.ca/WorkExperience

MANY WAYS TO RULE THE WORLD!

|| RYERSON WINS CMA CASE COMPETITION ….. AGAIN!



|| SO YOU WANT TO BE A CA? // Advice from a 4th-Year Student

Janel Quan-hin via TheJobSpot.com Common Misconceptions about the path to becoming a CA It doesn’t matter if I slack off for my first year or university, as long as I do well later on. CA firms don’t care if I don’t have any extra-curricular activities, only that I have a high CGPA. If I am involved in extra-curricular and have good grades, I’m gold. I’m in 4th year and I didn’t get an offer, I have no options!

In 1st Year… You might be thinking about accounting designations. Either that or you’re thinking about the next party you’re going to go to this weekend. 1st year is the perfect time to attend the information sessions held by the various accounting desig-nations: CGA, CMA and CA. By attending these sessions you may be able to get a better handle on which designation you will plan to pursue. A large number of students tend to lean towards the CA designation, hence the title of this blog! Your first year is a great time to start your academic career on a strong note. Study hard, because CA firms tend to hire students with a high CGPA (cumulative grade point average) – we’re talking a 3.50 and higher. It is important to make sure that you work hard from the start, because even one bad grade can devastate your CGPA. If your CGPA sinks to below a 3.0 at the end of your 3rd year – your chances of getting hired by a CA firm drops significantly. Another thing that CA firms love to see is that you’re involved around the school. Join a student group or society and take on a position. Join a team (be it athletic or academic or both!). If there aren’t any groups that interest you, start your own! CA firms want to see that you’re not just a good student, but also a well-rounded individual. So you might as well get a start on it now! At the end of your 1st year, you might be eligible to apply to become a member of the Business Careers Program (www.ryerson.ca/businesscareers). The program provides its members with the opportunity to obtain paid, meaningful internships related to their field of study. CA firms work di-rectly with the Business Careers Program and its members to hold information sessions for their recruitment of students, and usually extend invitations to Business Careers Program members only (with few exceptions). In 2nd Year… Even though you’re not a 1st year – take the time to read the 1st year advice above, because you might be behind already! All of the points I brought up already apply across all your years as an accounting major.

Submit Your Content www.ruas.ca

Janel Quan-hin is not part of RUAS, but rather a Student Volunteer Contributor to Professional Outlook. Bio: http://ruas.ca/outlook/


|| SO YOU WANT TO BE A CA? // continued …………………………………. At the same time, don’t let your other courses slide. It is crucial to maintain a high CGPA! (Making Dean’s List doesn’t look too bad on your resume). It is good to know what courses to take to fulfill the 51-credit hours required to begin the CA process. The courses might change from year-to-year, so make sure you check this list every year and map out what you plan on taking each year! www.icao.on.ca/Admissions/QualificationProcess/ Around this point in your university careers, some CA firms invite 2nd years to apply to their programs that are targeted at, well… 2nd year accounting students! Take PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for example. They recently launched their “Experience Program” which is specifically designed for 2nd year accounting students. This program allows you to meet with PwC staff, job shadow, work on PwC audit engagements and provides you with the opportunity to work in the industry with one of their clients. If you show that you’re an excellent worker during the “Experience Program”, they might even extend an offer of employment to you upon graduation!!! This type of opportunity is posted through the Business Careers Program – so if you aren’t already a member, apply if you qualify! If you aren’t selected to participate in such a program as PwC’s “Experience Program” there are other ways to start networking with CA firms. The Ryerson University Accounting Society (RUAS) holds multiple networking sessions and events every year, where representatives and recruiters from CA firms attend. Start attending these events and getting to know the represen-tatives from the CA firms! The more often these reps see you, the more likely they will remember you when you apply for a sum-mer internship or full-time position with them! At the end of your 2nd year, start perfecting your cover letter and resume, because CA recruitment is just around the corner (September of your 3rd and 4th years). You should also be think-ing of getting some accounting-related work experience over the summer to beef up your resume. In 3rd Year… You’re half-way there! If you haven’t read the advice from the previous two years, please take some time to read above as there may be some advice that you’re missing. This year you have to focus on maintaining that high CGPA as you begin to take more specialized accounting courses. This is also the year when you attend your first CA recruitment event where you may be applying for a summer position at one of the CA firms and getting your first taste of what CA recruitment is all about. [Summer positions at the CA firms usually end in an offer of employment following graduation – so I highly recom-mend applying for these positions!!!] The recruiting season lasts throughout the month of September and trickles into October (usually when interviews are


|| SO YOU WANT TO BE A CA? // continued …………………………………. held). Recruitment is tiring, to say the least. You must plan on wearing a suit, attending all of the networking and informa-tion sessions, and hopefully being called in for interviews! Remember – the more you see and meet with the recruiters, the more likely they will remember you when they start going over applications! If you didn’t secure that summer internship with a CA firm this year – don’t fret. The competition for summer internships is higher than for the full-time position. Use the experience to prepare for next year when you apply for a full-time position with one of the firms. Think about what you can improve upon for when next year rolls around. This year is a great year to get some more accounting-related experience, be it a part-time job during the year or a sum-mer internship. If you’re not already a member of the Business Careers Program, consider applying (www.ryerson.ca/businesscareers) as the program provides you with accounting-related employment and internship postings that are ex-clusively available to Business Careers Program members. At the end of your 3rd year, you’re going to want to polish your resume and cover letter(s) in preparation for the next re-cruitment season in September of your 4th year. Book an appointment with a resume/cover letter advisor at the Career Development & Employment Centre – use all the resources they have to offer!

In 4th Year… This is the year; the year when all your hard work comes into play, the year when you apply to and hopefully get hired by one of the CA firms during recruitment in September. This year is no joke and you have to put your game face on. You can’t do too much this year to up your chances of getting hired – it all depends on what you have done during the first three years of university. You will be competing against 100+ accounting students for a handful of positions at the CA firms(and that doesn’t in-clude the hundreds of others from the other universities across Ontario). You need to stand out this year and the best way to do that is to have followed the advice I gave for the last 3 years of your university career (above). The recruiters want to see that you are well-rounded: excellent grades, participation in extra-curricular activities both in-side and outside of school, and that you have some related work-experience. Most importantly, they want to get to know you. They want to talk to you to judge whether or not you will be a fit in their firm. This is why should have attended net-working sessions year-round (the recruiters will get to know you and remember you, and you will stand out against the other students). It goes without saying that not every student will be offered a full-time position with a CA firm following the recruitment season. If you are in that boat, don’t worry. So are at least 85% of all the other TRS accounting students that applied. Don’t get discouraged – there are other opportunities. If you are really serious about getting your CA you can’t give up. Options for those without an offer of employment: If you didn’t know about it before, there is a government CA training program called the “Chartered Accountant Student Training (CAST) Program” by the Office of the Comptroller General. Applications are accepted from mid-September to the end of the 1st week of October. CGA – a well-respected designation. If you obtain your CGA, you can skip having to take the CKE and the SOA and go right into writing the UFE! Plus, you’ll have two designations at the end of it all. MMPA – Master of Management & Professional Accounting. UofT’s Rotman School of Management offers this pro-gram. With an accounting degree you can earn this degree in 16 months! CMA – another well-respected accounting designation!

George Elarga The IFRS movement comes with the benefit of enhanced comparability of finan-

cial statements across the world; however, it will also create several challenges as countries struggle to abandon older practices. Canada’s recent adoption of IFRS is the first step in a long road towards gaining increased access to international capital markets. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Ac-countants (CICA) has the authority to set and approve standards, much like the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has in the US. However, there is one key difference between the financial reporting environments in Canada and the US. The Securities and Exchange Commission is the US financial regulator, whereas, each prov-ince and territory in Canada has its own securities commission to serve as regulator. The decentralized nature of this system leads one to wonder how much standardization will be seen in IFRS statements released by Canadian public companies. The principles-driven nature of IFRS magnifies this obstacle to comparability of financial state-ments across Canada since different provinces will interpret these standards differently. It may be prudent for Canada to establish a national securities regulator to make sure that IFRSs are interpreted and used consistently across Canada. This will boost Canada’s image on international capital markets. On the other hand, this process will involve asking provincial governments to give up jurisdiction to the federal govern-ment of Canada. In 2007, the passport system was created to serve as a mutual recognition system whereby a market participant would only have to deal with its provincial regulator and gain access to capital markets in all passport jurisdictions. Unfortunately, Ontario has refused to adopt this system. It is evident that the road towards more transparent financial regulation in Canada is a long one. Another hurdle that IFRS will have to overcome is adoption by the US, the world’s largest economy, where finan-cial reporting standards are rules-based, rather than principles-based. The US has delayed adoption of IFRS, out-lining the difficulties American corporations are going to face because of this key difference in reporting stan-dards. Without adoption by the US, IFRS will remain international standards, rather than global standards. Several MNCs raise capital on US capital markets. The adoption of IFRS will turn out to be a venture with a minimized benefit if the US does not participate. The IASB needs to work closely with FASB to ensure a smooth adoption of IFRS by the world’s largest and most influential economy. Nevertheless, the US exerts a great amount of influence in the international financial com-munity as the world’s economic hegemon. Thus, it may choose to exert its power to alter IFRS to fit its own agenda.


|| CHALLENGES FACING THE IFRS MOVEMENT


George Elarga is not part of RUAS, but rather a Student Volunteer Contributor to Professional Outlook. Bio: http://ruas.ca/outlook

Andrew Coronas University! What are your thoughts of it? To me, university provides a stimu-

lating platform to assess one’s maturity and strength of will. To test whether or not you encompass the aptitude to control yourself in a world that is now governed not by teachers or guidance councilors but rather by – you. But as university concludes, reality initiates. What happens after this? Every student has painted an ideal visual rendering of where they would like to be in 20 years, but now we begin to inquire as to “how do I get there?” In an attempt to process this change, a quantity of graduates are thrilled of not having to write anymore exams or assignments while others are frightened of the actuality that it is now up to them to engage in the real world. Although university prepares us to administer our freedom and self-discipline, there still remains a factor of the unknown. Some find it stimulating and cannot wait to embark on this voyage – the subsequent step in this journey we en-title life. On the contrary, others appear to be fearful of it and would much rather prefer to remain in a standard-ized school system. In essence, they are afraid of change. Although, as we age into young adults, we begin to re-alize that change is in fact the only constant in this world. It may be difficult to comprehend, but change happens to present to us that whatever we thought was “great” at one point in time could be “greater.” Change widens our horizons and enables us to acquire an expansive per-ceptive of the world and more significantly – our purpose in the world. So I encourage students of all years to embrace this change. Let it form you into the future accountants, bankers, and other industry professionals that will one day rule the world. Always remember that every life is comprised of a set of instances. It is how you choose to deal with these in-stances that will shape you into the person you strive to become.


|| A MESSAGE TO ALL FUTURE GRADUATES


Andrew Coronas is not part of RUAS, but rather a Student Volunteer Contributor to Professional Outlook. Bio: http://ruas.ca/outlook

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