A short history of female Chartered Accountants (CAs) in Canada

As the above chart shows, women in Canada have come a long, long way since their beginnings in the CA profession. To gain a true perspective on how far women have come in the profession, it’s enlightening to look back — way back — to 1922, when Mercy Ellen Crehan and Florence Eulalie Herkins became the first women to be admitted to membership. It seems the welcome was not exactly glorious: in the June 1966 issue of CAmagazine (then called The Canadian Chartered Accountant), FCA and former federal MP Ellen Fairclough wrote that one of the women “found it necessary to ‘defect’ to the United States to earn a living in her chosen profession.”

Over the next decades, the number of women in the profession grew ever so slowly. As Steve Brearton wrote in “A century of CAmagazine” (June/July 2011), “Even the opportunities afforded women during the Second World War to demonstrate their obvious competence barely opened doors.” By 1966, there were still only 125 women members — a situation that Fairclough bemoaned. “[The number] leaves much to be desired, particularly when there is such a demand, even an urgent need, to fill the vacancies which appear to be increasing in number in the profession. The question arises whether the profession is to be deprived of the services of qualified people because of age-old prejudices and inhibitions.”

By the mid-1970s, things were slowly starting to move. In 1976, Pamela Jermey became the first woman to garner top marks on the Uniform Final Examination (UFE). And in 1979, women took all three top spots on the UFE honour role. In a January 1980 CAmagazine editorial, Nelson Luscombe wrote, “There’s every indication that [women’s] presence will continue to increase, both in numbers and significance.” He cited an article in the same issue predicting that females would begin to be appointed to partnership in the early 1980s and that by the end of the first decade of the next century, the proportion “should reach 30%.” That last prediction did not come true. Is it time to make another?

 Find out more by reading the articles in the December 2012 Special Issue of CAmagazine online, in particular, the article “Women at Work” by Rosalind Stefanac.

Comparing Thoughts on Professional Judgment - 1937 and 1988

“Proficiency in accounting work is largely a matter of experience and judgment; the underlying theory of the science is not particularly profound. The test comes when we attempt to apply the general fundamentals to the infinitely varied and complex situations found in the world of commerce. Factual information and accuracy in its procurement are essential, but its value is submerged unless with it is synchronized the development and training of the judgment...the solution of business problems not only calls for an orderly marshalling of facts, but, what is equally important, careful analysis and logical reasoning from such facts, the formation and establishing of effective conclusions and the exercise of sound judgment.” (This quote is drawn from the article by Kris A. Mapp, FCA, "Educating Our Students - What Is Our Responsibility?" Canadian Chartered Accountant, October 1937, page 258.)

“According to the academic research literature, the exercise of professional judgment by those preparing and auditing financial accounting information is at the core of financial reporting. Without the flexibility and the intelligence provided by professional judgment, the complex system of financial accounting procedures, standards and rules would be ponderous, unresponsive, insensitive: in short, unworkable. Financial reporting, as it operates in Canada and elsewhere, requires professional judgment at many levels, in a host of circumstances, and by a variety of skilled and experienced professionals. In fact, professional judgment is an essential part of financial reporting.” (This quote is drawn from the CICA Research Study, Professional Judgment in Financial Reporting, Michael Gibbins and Alister K. Mason, 1988, page 1.)

A century of CAmagazine

Small beginnings are no indication of ultimate results,” noted the foreword to the first issue of The Canadian Chartered Accountant in July 1911. Launched from temporary offices in Toronto with the slogan “Of the Profession; by the Profession; for the Profession,” the 32-page quarterly magazine was an effort to knit the far-flung members of the Dominion Association of Chartered Accountants (DACA) into a cohesive fraternity. At the time, there were only seven provincial accounting organizations, with Alberta having formed its institute the previous year. In September 1911 at the national convention in Montreal, the magazine received its first and most important review: “Let it be printed,” members voted. (Read the article “A century of CAmagazine” in the June-July 2011 issue of CAmagazine online.)

CAmagazine - 100-year overview

When The Canadian Chartered Accountant began publishing 100 years ago, editors said its pages would be “open for discussions, for news and for any other purposes tending to bring the members more closely in touch with one another.” Sensibly, they made no claim for how the magazine would strengthen the community and instead focused on reporting and offering insight on events and issues critical to CAs. For a century, the magazine has acted as the profession’s adviser, referee, historian and, occasionally, conscience. The article “100-year overview” in the June-July 2011 issue of CAmagazine celebrates those who built, sustained and helped CAmagazine prosper. Happy birthday!

The Canadian Chartered Accountant – July 1921

On page 1 of this 10^th anniversary issue, a Note by the Publication Committee stated “The Canadian Chartered Accountant enters upon its eleventh year of publication with this issue. Hitherto a quarterly, it becomes, in response to demands from an appreciative constituency, a bi-monthly publication, at however, an increased price, rendered necessary by the steadily advancing costs of everything entering into its make-up, excepting Editorial services and it is felt that the time has arrived when that painstaking and uncomplaining person, the Editor, should be remembered also.”

The Note goes on to say that “Concurrently, it has been decided that no further advertising will be accepted by the Magazine, excepting from the Institutes or affiliated sources, the intention being to preserve its character and limit its use to matters of purely professional and technical interest. Our advertisers during the past ten years are extended our best thanks for the patronage and encouragement they have given us, and we trust that the publicity that the Magazine has given them may not have been wholly without benefit to them. We bespeak the goodwill and assistance of our readers, with the objects of making the Magazine more valuable and interesting, and of enlarging its list of subscribers to the point of being self-sustaining. Nothing beyond that is desired.”

Pages 4-11 of this issue of The Canadian Chartered Accountant include the Dominion Association of Chartered Accountants (DACA, now the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants) Act of Incorporation (assented to May 15, 1902), bylaws, List of Past Presidents and Secretaries (1902-1920) and the officers and council for 1920-1921.

(Read The Canadian Chartered Accountant, July 1921. Also, refer to the first edition of The Canadian Chartered Accountant, July1911.)

The Canadian Chartered Accountant - First Edition, July 1911

The Canadian Chartered Accountant was first published in July 1911. The journal was the "Official Organ of the Dominion Association of Chartered Accountants" (now The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants). The editorial (page 16) notes that "At the last Annual Meeting of the Dominion Association, instruction was given in no uncertain tone to the Council for the publication of a journal. This is our excuse for being. Having been born, we shall live so long as any fight remains in us, and we believe that means a long time, and then some." For easy access, a digital version of the First Edition (Vol.1, No. 1) can be viewed below.


The Canadian Chartered Accountant, July 1911 -

Almost 100 years have passed and the journal continues to live on as CAmagazine. CAmagazine is the leading accounting publication and preferred information source for Canadian chartered accountants (CAs) and financial executives. It provides a forum for discussion and debate on professional, financial and other business issues. The magazine is published in English and French 10 times a year (with combined issues in January/February and June/July) by The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. CAmagazine.com acts as a complement to the print edition, providing web-only articles and news of interest to CAs, digital archives and a search function.