2001 UFE results

PRESIDENT'S NOTES

As profiled in our December issue, six of the top twenty 2001 UFE writers in Canada were BC students. Once again, I'd like to extend my congratulations to our top twenty finalists and to all those who recently passed the UFE. To those who didn't pass, take heart-it will be your turn next time.

With regard to students, and continuing my discussion of the Council "ends," my article this month looks at the end, "Providing Enough Well-trained Students."

Providing Enough Well-Trained Students

On the President's Tour, we outlined what we believe to be the three key elements necessary to achieve this end: an appropriate education system, attracting and recruiting the right people, and a sufficient number of training places. The Institute has been very active in all three of these areas.

Education: National consensus has been reached over what components constitute the core competencies of CAs, and over the level of knowledge expected of newly qualified CAs. This level of knowledge will be reflected in the new Uniform Evaluation. In 2002, a transitional open book approach is planned, with the tax act and handbook being made available to students. There will be no single-subject or multiple choice questions; however, the evaluation will be syllabus-based and point marked. (For 2003, the evaluation will be fully competency-based and open book.)

The CA School of Business (CASB)-the western education delivery system-has created an innovative education program. There is a commitment to ensuring module delivery to meet the needs of both training offices and students. Comments from both students and firms on the style of learning and the applicability of skills have been positive. By 2002, CASB is expected to have 2500 students, and its first graduates will be writing the 2002 UE.

Attractiveness: In order to attract the right students and promote the attractiveness of the CA profession, the Institute has been working very closely with firms in the Lower Mainland and Victoria, recruiting on campuses and sponsoring newspaper supplements that profile the profession and its members. We recognize that the same effort needs to be extended throughout other areas of the province. For instance, University Colleges are seen as an excellent source of potential students for regional firms. CEO Richard Rees, FCA, and I visited as many of these institutions as we could on the Tour and were warmly received. It's now up to us as an Institute, in partnership with local members, to attract these students to our profession.

Sufficient Training Places: In 1990, the number of students in BC was 913. In 2001, there were 1,037 students, representing a growth of just over 10% in a decade. That rate of growth is similar in the rest of Western Canada, whereas the number of students in Ontario and Quebec has dropped substantially. At the same time, the demand for well-trained accountants and financial advisors has grown exponentially.

The Institute's records show that approximately 45% of the approved training positions remain unfilled, so there may be room to grow our profession in BC. What's stopping our firms from hiring students? Is it the cost of training, a lack of sufficient audit work to satisfy students, or too few of the right students? A Task Force headed by Second VP, John Cowperthwaite, CA, is asking these questions and seeking your input. Send your comments to John at taskforce@ica.bc.ca.

On a broader note, if we don't meet the market demand for accountants, who will? If other designations rise to meet the need, will that threaten our pre-eminence as a profession? Close to 70% of CAs are no longer in public practice; is it reasonable to expect practising offices to train enough CAs to be able to meet not only their own needs, but also the needs of industry and government? Is training outside of public practice an option? We developed a vision of our profession that included having CAs in top positions in all industries and sectors. Is that vision even realistic if we don't attract and train enough CA students? Can our profession survive if we don't make changes now?

What do you think? There are a lot of tough questions our profession needs to address, and we need your input Email your thoughts to me at president@ica.bc.ca.

[Sidebar]

Council's Ends:

* Upholding the Integrity of the CA Profession.

* Providing Enough Well-Trained Students.

* Supporting Members in Their Quest to be Business Advisiors and Assurance Providers fo Choice.

* Ensuring that Buyers of our Services Recognize the Skills and Services of CAs.

[Sidebar]

The Vision CA

We will be leaders in creating, validating,a nd interpreting information that measures and enhances organization performance, and be the obvious choice for financial management, assurance, and other specialized services.