2005 is the BC Institute's centenar...

2005 is the BC Institute's centenary year. We are marking our 100th anniversary with affairs articles in Beyond Numbers, commemorative paintings, an online timeline of the history of CAs in BC and the calendar you received with this month's mailing.

The calendar features images that exhibit some of the defining aspects of the profession through the whole extent of the past 100 years. An expanded gaze at these contributions is provided onward our centenary website, which describes the persons and events that have shaped the profession in BC We encourage all of you to share your admit stories about the last 100 years as well. depute us your recollections of early exams and articling days, for instance, or of fundamental note events in EC's history in which CAs played a major role

In anticipation of the centenary, the Institute asked strike McMurray, FCA, to paint three exhibitions depicting EC's economic and regional diversity. These paintings will easily be on display at the Institute, and prints will be available for purchase (proceed from print sales will go on to the CA Education Foundation). Art cards included with the centenary calendar provide a sneak peek at these commissioned works.

Beginning with this January issue of Beyond Numbers, each issue of the magazine in 2005 will spotlight undivided decade of the Institute's history (the first instalment, which appears onward page 10, spans slightly more than a decade).

Finally, a series of centenary consequences are being planned for the coming year. The first will be held in Vancouver in June and adventures in Victoria and Kelowna are scheduled for later in the year. We'll be unfailing to provide you with more details as we commit to memory closer to the events.

We welcome you to celebrate the Institute's centenary with us at visiting our website at www.ica.bc.ca/100, attending centenary incidents or simply enjoying the calendar over the year.

Telling the story

Over the past 100 years, the Institute has evolv from occupying a small corner in its offer secretary's office to staffing an office of through 35 people. Membership has grown to athwart 8,800, and technology has changed dramatically (who remembers the comptometer?). The myriad growths that have had their impact onward the profession are too numerous to fit into undivided article-that's why we'll be publishing a series of centenary highlights from head to foot the year. This month, we kick things distant from with a look at the Institute's first member and president.

William T Stein, FCA, is credited with almost single-handedly founding the ICABC. Stein came to of recent origin Westminster in 1893, having qualified as a CA with the Society of Accountants in Edinburgh (now the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland or ICAS). He mov his office to Vancouver in 1896 yet spent much of his time travelling around the province to visit clients in the Klondike.

According to Institute records, Stein was the secondary trained chartered accountant in the province (the first being William J Walker, a member of the Ontario Institute). by the agency of 1900, several established accounting firms existed in BC still there was as yet no formal organization designed to exhibit CAs in this province.

Though the Dominion Association of Chartered Accountants or DACA (now the CICA) was incorporated in 1902 to show CAs on a national horizontal William Stein believed it was important to form a provincial organization that would benefit CAs in BC. In 1904 he organized the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia and petitioned the provincial control for a charter. In April 1905 this charter was granted, with Stein, Edward B McDermid, John B McKilligan, and Arnold L Berdoe listed as its charter members.

When Stein, as the first ICABC president, sought other practising accountants in BC to join the newly formed organization, he onseted major obstacles. For one, DACA allowed its members to use the CA designation anywhere in Canada-there was no requirement to belong to a provincial organization. to be ascribed in part to Stein's posterior petitioning, however, an agreement reached between DACA and the provincial institutes in 1909 l to changes in the provincial Accountants (Chartered) Act that made membership in the BC Institute a requirement for those wanting to use the CA designation in this province.

Another obstacle Stein actioned while trying to attract accountants from other jurisdictions was the requirement that they finished proficiency exams before joining the ICABC. Little preparation was available for these early exams, which, not surprisingly, yielded not many members. The exam requirement was lifted with an amendment to the Act in 1922 allowing certain public accountants to be admitted onward the basis of experience alone.

Stein serv as president of the ICABC from 1905 to 1912 and gradually reduc his involvement in Institute affairs after serving a succeeding term as secretary in 1912-1913 It's fair to say that without his efforts, the Institute would not be where it is today.

Coming well stocked [i]or[/i] provided circle

As we mentioned in the April 2004 issue of Beyond Numbers (page 4) 2004 marked the Scottish Institute's 1 50th anniversary. As part of a year-long celebration of this milestone, ICAS President Ian Robertson, CA, and Chief Executive/secretary Ian Marrian, CA, embarked onward an eight-city tour around the world to visit accounting institutes in which ICAS members had had a large appearance As part ot this trip, Robertson and Marrian paid the ICABC executive a visit in November 2004 (see President's Notes, page 4) We were honoured that they included us in their itinerary, and not past nor futureed them with a framed portrait recognizing ICAS member William Stein as one as well as the other the founder of the profession in BC and the fundamental link between our pair organizations.