Meeting the Challenge of Change – Report of the CICA Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee (1986)

A 1986 report by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) states (on page 5): “The Canadian CA profession - like the accounting profession worldwide - is facing fundamental and pervasive change. Led primarily by the rapidly evolving information technology that is revolutionizing business operations, but due also to altered perceptions about the value of the traditional attest audit, the role of chartered accountants in society - whatever their area of practice - is changing dramatically. CAs in public practice face new and increasing demands from their clients for services extending beyond those related to historical financial information and income tax advice and toward future-oriented information necessary for economic decision making. In the process, the CAs role is expanding from that of reporter and analyst of past events to communicator and adviser about business information affecting the future.”

The report further states: “CAs outside public practice - those in industry and government, for example - are no less subject to these demands, albeit from their employers. And CAs in education must face the challenging task of educating the profession's future members to meet this challenge. In an effort to manage change and provide strategic directions for our profession, the CICA Board of Governors formed the Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee in February 1984. Over the past two years, our assessment of these changes, via member and user surveys, focus groups, committee research, literature review and presentations at CICA and provincial institute conferences, has led us to develop an exciting vision of what the CA profession might become over the next 10 to 20 years. It is a vision of a more broadly-based profession whose highly-skilled members are the recognized experts in meeting the needs of an information society.”

The Committee’s conclusions are summarized in a mission statement and 14 specific strategic proposals. These proposals and the overall strategic direction are interrelated and should be looked on as a total concept. To learn more, read Meeting the Challenge of Change – Report of the CICA Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee (1986). Because of its multi-coloured front cover, it is commonly referred to as the “Rainbow Report.”

CICA Task Force on Standard Setting - Final Report 1998

The Final Report of the CICA Task Force on Standard Setting (TFOSS) was issued in May 1998. It represented the culmination of almost two years of deliberations involving extensive communication and consultation with stakeholders in the standard-setting community, both in Canada and abroad. TFOSS expressed a belief in four-long-term goals articulated in its Report. These include the ultimate achievement of one set of internationally-accepted accounting and auditing standards, with Canada playing a significant role in their development.

According to TFOSS, Canada's ability to fulfil that role in the future, as well as to maintain its leadership in setting national private and public sector standards and developing emerging and innovative areas of service to the public, will depend on the commitment of adequate human and financial resources. This commitment has traditionally come from the CICA. But, in the future, TFOSS believes that it must also come from others who benefit from standards, particularly in accounting, but possibly in other areas as well. Their participation and support will serve to enhance the CICA's position as it continues to lead the profession in the years ahead.

Toronto Transit Archives

The Transit Toronto Archives contain scanned and other electronic images, including maps, old brochures, news clippings, annual reports, schedules, sound files and a photo gallery. The materials were produced by the Toronto Transit Commission and other transit agencies in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) over the past century. While not a complete list, this material is useful for understanding how public transportation in Toronto has grown and developed since its beginnings in the mid 19th century.  The TTC’s Previous Websites can be accessed courtesy the Internet Archive. More maps and photographs are available online at Mike’s Transit Stop.

Strategic Crossroads for the CA Profession

The Report of the Task Force on Strategic Planning was completed in July 2004 and subsequently endorsed by each of the governing bodies of the Canadian CA profession. The Message from the Chair provides a perspective on the strategic planning process. It notes: “By early 2003, the profession’s last major “vision” project from the mid-1990s required a rethink, given the many shifts in our environment over the last decade. The Task Force on Strategic Planning was established in the summer of 2003. Member and market input and analysis occupied the initial period of the Task Force’s work.”

“This report can only capture a portion of the very valuable intelligence and ideas we garnered from this activity but we are satisfied that our recommendations are based on solid evidence and sound analysis. Past strategic planning by our profession was our starting place for this exercise. We found the underlying planning to be very strong but did observe problems with execution, given our complex decision-making framework and diverse priorities of the provincial Institutes/Ordre. We are confident this has been overcome by the strong support and cooperation among the senior management group, the Council of Senior Executives (CSE), regarding our work. We recommended a new vision “trusted, internationally recognized financial leaders in senior management, advisory, tax and assurance roles.” ...CAs enjoy a very strong starting position in achieving this vision but bold action is required in four areas — branding, education, member relations and the public trust.”

(Read the CICA report Strategic Crossroads for the CA Profession and the related Appendices, published in October 2004.)

Report of the Commission to Study the Public’s Expectations of Audits - June 1988

The Report of the Commission to Study the Public’s Expectations of Audits (Macdonald Commission Report) was released by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) in June 1988. The Commission had a threefold mandate: (1) to study the public’s expectations of audits; (2) to determine whether there is a gap between what the public expects or needs from auditors and what auditors can reasonably expect to accomplish; (3) to the extent there is an identifiable gap, to make suggestions as to how the gap might be narrowed.

The  Macdonald Commission Report made numerous recommendations regarding: strengthening the audit environment; accounting standards; extensions of financial disclosure; valuations and estimates; disclosure outside financial statements; exercise of auditor’s judgment; additional auditor responsibilities; clarification of financial reporting responsibilities; professional self-regulation; public input to auditing standards; employee fraud; management fraud; illegal acts; changes of auditors; communication with regulators; accounting standards for financial institutions; auditor reporting on internal control; and, auditor’s knowledge of the business.

A listing of the report’s 50 recommendations is provided in Appendix A (pages 139-146) of the report.