Remembering Ross Skinner (1923-2003)

Saskatoon-born Ross MacGregor Skinner, FCA, had a significant impact on Canadian accounting standards. His 31-year Clarkson Gordon career began in 1945. A partner by 1954, he became national accounting standards director in 1962.

Among his numerous committee posts at the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) were 5 years of service on its Committee on Accounting and Auditing Research (1959-64), including a term as its chair, and 5 years on its Standards Advisory Board (1990-95). He chaired the Auditor General­’s Independent Committee on Government Accounting and Auditing (1975-78) and, in the same period, was influential in the CICA’s decision to form its Public Sector Accounting Board.

He served two five-year terms on the Financial Disclosure Advisory Board of the Ontario Securities Commission (1974-79 and 1990-95) including three years as its chair. He was a consultant to the Commission to Study the Public's Expectations of Audits (the Macdonald Commission, 1987-88) and, working closely with the Commission, was the principal author of its report. He also served as a vice-president of the American Accounting Association, on the Board of Governors of Havergal College (Toronto), and on the editorial boards of Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting Horizons, and the Accounting Historians Journal.

In 1962, he was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (FCA) and, in 1984, he was one of the first five recipients of the Institute’s Award of Outstanding Merit. His many honours and awards also include an honourary doctorate of laws from Brock University, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants’ Distinguished Service Award, and the Canadian Academic Accounting Association’s Haim Falk Award for Distinguished Contribution to Accounting Thought.

Apart from his work on committees of professional bodies and institutes, he wrote several influential books. His first, Analytical Auditing, co-authored with R.J. Anderson, was translated into four languages. His most well-known work, Accounting Principles: A Canadian Viewpoint is highly regarded in the accounting world, as is the book Accounting Standards in Evolution, co-authored with J. Alex Milburn.

Ross Skinner retired in 1983. In 1987 he joined the University of Toronto as adjunct professor and director of its Centre for Accounting Studies, positions he held until 1990. In 1999, he received an honourary Doctor of Laws from Brock University. In 2000, he was inducted to the Accounting Hall of Fame (refer to the article “A Rare Induction to Fame” in CAmagazine online). He passed away in 2003.

About the Ontario Securities Commission: Part 2 - The First Four Chief Accountants, 1986–1996

Published in the June 2010 Accounting Perspectives journal of the Canadian Academic Accounting Association (CAAA), this research article presents Part 2 of a historical review and analysis of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). It describes the role played by the first four Chief Accountants in the regulation of accounting and auditing from 1986 to 1996. Part 1 dealt with the period from the 1960s to 1985. Part 3 will treat the role played by the fifth Chief Accountant, from 1996 to 2008. Prior to this series of articles, the academic and professional accounting literature was largely barren on the OSC’s evolving role in accounting and auditing.

The Role of the Ontario Securities Commission in Accounting and Auditing from the 1960s to 1985

Published in the March 2010 Accounting Perspectives journal of the Canadian Academic Accounting Association (CAAA), this research article presents Part 1 of a historical review and analysis of the role played by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in accounting and auditing from the 1960s to 1985. Parts 2 and 3 will review the roles played by the first five Chief Accountants, from 1986 to 2008. Prior to this article, the academic and professional accounting literature has been largely barren on the OSC’s evolving role in accounting and auditing.