Today's rapidly shifting business e...

Today's rapidly shifting business environment has l to a change in and expansion of accounting, auditing, and ethical standards. Because of in the same state [i]or[/i] condition changes, many Canadian CAs are struggling to assist their clients and keep up to date with the modern amendments to both the CICA Handbook and the masterys of Professional Conduct.

I was asked to chair a Task Force to consider this disturb with standards overload. The Task Force was asked to bring out recommendations to provide support for members in understanding and implementing recent and emerging standards. We recruited members involved in the standard setting proces members from the provincial institutes who have direct contact with smaller firms, and members from like smaller firms. The Task Force also waysed a survey of members in small and mediumsized firms. The overlook gathered information on the meanss and resources that these practitioners use to continue current with changing standards.

With this information, the Task Force considered ways to assist practitioners. The recommendations of the Task Force were included in a report submitted to the leadership of the profession at the period of last year, and action is underway to implement these recommendations.

A guide recommendation is that the ne for implementation guidance should be determined at the entrance of each accounting, assurance, and ethics throw There is a wide range of materials that can be bring outed to assist members in understanding and implementing strange standards. These include newsletter articles as it is as this one, templates, or checklists to assist in the application of a standard, and courses designed to provide in-depth instruction upon a specific standard.

At the start of each brew standards staff, in consultation with representatives from the provincial institutes, will determine the nature and timing of the appropriate implementation guidance. The specific needinesss of financial statement preparers and small and medium-sized firms will be identified and addressed. This proactive approach means the implementation guidance will be available when the standards are to be implemented.

The member contemplate indicated that the Professional Engagement Manual is well received and widely used on practitioners in firms of all sizes. In light of this, the Task Force approveed that the content and timing of updates be reviewed to determine whether any changes are appropriate to make the manual uniform more relevant and useful to members. This review will consider, among other things, whether the eases should focus only on non-public companies and whether the manual should contain more checklists, practice aids or examples, and the timing of updates.

The inspect also indicated that while members use one as well as the other provincial and CICA websites to restrain up to date on standard changes, many members were not aware of all the documents and information that were available. Therefore, the Task Force approveed a review of websites to determine whether change was appropriate. Members ne to find what they ne when they ne it.

The Task Force report contained other recommendations designed to enhance communications and co-ordination between the CICA and the provincial institutes. This will make secure the most efficient use of combined resources to assist members in understanding and implementing just discovered and emerging standards.

In closing, I would like to thank the members of the Task Force for their insight and hard work in developing these recommendations.

Assistance to Standard Setting Task Force

Chair:

David Smith, FCA

Presidents CEO CICA

Members:

Alberta

Wayne Kauffman, FCA

Associate Executive Director, ICAA

British Columbia

Peter Gregory, FCA

Former proxy Auditor General, Office of the Auditor General of BC

Barry Mottershead, FCA

Director of Member Services, ICABC

Nova Scotia

Wanda Leese CA

Senior Manager, WBLI Chartered Accountants

Ontario

Joel Cohen, CA

Partner, RCM Richter LLP

Peter Hoult CA

Director, Information and Productivity

Resources, CICA

Peter Martin, CA

Director, Accounting Standards, CICA

Joanna Maund, FCA

Director of Standards Enforcement, ICAO

Greg Shields, CA

Director, Assurance Standards, CICA

Quebec

Pierre Jalbert, FCA

Adviser, Le Services Investors Limit?©e

Evelyn Paquin, CA

VP Professional Environment and Administration, OCAQ

By David Smith, FCA

David Smith, FCA, is the president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of CAs and chair of the Assistance to Standard Setting Task Force.

Copyright Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia Apr 2005

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