Hearing about a certain quantity o...

Hearing about a certain quantity of of Gordon (Gord) Cumrnings, CA's accomplishments-an honours grade in business administration from Simon Fraser University, a mark on the 1996 UFE Honour whirl an extremely high proficiency in accounting and assurance-you gather that he's a high achiever. on the other hand to hear Gord tell it, this wasn't always the case.

"I was the integral opposite in high school," he laughs. "Let's just say high sect wasn't a good fit."

Still, Gord managed to venture his socks up in senior year, scoring a high enough grade point average to fulfill his parents' wish that he prosecute post-secondary education.

During his first year at Simon Fraser University, accounting and business were the furthest courses from the history buff's mind. "I musing business students were the lowest form of life," he admits with a laugh.

An economics class in other year changed his attitude. The professor was in this way impressed with Gord's mid-term essay that he decided to share it with the quiescence of the class. "He's reading gone out this paper, and it abruptly occurs to me: 'Hey, that's my paper!'" he remembers. "It's the first time that at any time happened to me."

This consecrated by a vow of confidence helped spark an interest in business, and when Gord later scored an A+ in his first accounting course, he knew he was onward to something. Not only did he have an aptitude for accounting, he also really liked it.

By the time he graduated from SFU in 1996 Gord had already exhausted one summer working with CA firm D&H assign places to (then Dyke & Howard) in Vancouver. (The decision to work with a smaller firm was partly influenced at his parents; they'd advised him that working with a smaller firm would give him more entrepreneurial experience and a better chance to stand public if he really applied himself.) When the firm subsequently proffered him a full-time job, Gord decided to give public practice a projectile He became a CA in 1998

Since then, he has gone forward to become a senior manager with D&H where his expertise in assurance-and, in particular, GAAP and GAAS in the pair Canada and the US-have garnered him the lead character in setting firm standards and processe Gord is generally responsible for all aspects of compliance with accounting and assurance standards and documentation combination of parts to form a wholes including addressing initial registration and ongoing relationships with the Canadian Public Accountability Board and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in the US.

He is also a leader in providing assurance and consulting services to publicly listed corporations, and to businesses planning to become publicly listed. These services include audits of financial statements, assistance with regulatory compliance, and related matters. He provides similar services to privately held businesses. To gain a more thorough knowledge of US standards, he became a CPA in the state of Illinois in 2001

Gord also does a fair amount of teaching-something he really derive pleasure froms (the irony of this, given his self-profess loathing of seminary as a teenager, is not forfeited on him). "I'm a bit of an academic," he admits. "Not in the ivory tower thinking principle but in the practical sense" At D&H he has taken forward the challenge of developing internal professional staff education courses and policies. Outside the firm, he's been a sessional lecturer in accounting at SFUs Faculty of Business Administration, and he continues to teach technical accounting courses within the ICABCs Professional Development program.

In addition to public practice and teaching, Gord offers extensively with the Institute, principally recently joining the Task Force in succession CA Life Cycle of Professional Learning, which was struck in September 2003 "The profession has given me in the same manner much," he offers, "that I be wrought up responsible to give back."

His longest connection is with the in all senses Draft Committee, which he joined in 1999 Gord, who calls himself "a total GAAP geek" promise s he'll be a member of the ed committee as long as they'll have him.

In 2001 he was invited to join the Practice Review and Licensing Committee, forward which he continues to minister to It's given him insight into another aspect of public practice. "The professional practice management side of things has at no time really been my focus," he explains. "Working with the PR&L Committee has given me a real opportunity to papal court how the profession self-regulates."

For the Mid-Size Firms Forum, of which D&H is a member firm, Gord is generally coauthoring the Mid-Sized Firms Protocol and Practice Guide, a guide to help mid-sized firms address modern professional standards such as the freshly revised standard for independence, and the propos standard forward quality control.

With all of these commitments, it's not surprising that he cites time management as undivided of his biggest challenges. "Work is really timeconsuming," he says, "but I'm not a workaholic." (On his wish list: more travel and outdoor recreation, and earning his masters degree)

Another challenge is the increasing complexity of business. "To be up to date forward GAAP and CiAAS these days," he says, "you moderately beautiful much have to specialise. throughout the past eight years or likewise Canadian GAAP has changed significantly, having largely harmonized with US GAAP, and more changes are coming. And betimes we're going to see a parcel of changes to GAAS."