CGAs & CMAs - be careful what you ask for… it may come true!

With the passing of Bill 213 in Ontario, the public accounting role of the CGA and CMA is going to broaden, as it already has in many of our provinces.

Public auditing work, previously the exclusive domain of the Chartered Accountant in Ontario will now be opened up to other professionally qualified accountants, such as CGAs and CMAs.

Congratulations to you all. Ontario has an even playing field at last.

The old watchwords of: be careful what you ask for… it may come true, should be observed here.

Some questions to ponder now include:

· How well equipped are you to take on these potentially lucrative new assignments right now?

· How will you promote your services to this enormous new market?

· What will you have to do to be properly prepared?

· Will you need to acquire new skills, or recruit someone with them?

Many CGAs and CMAs in public practice in Ontario did their training at the larger CA firms, and, in all probability, will do ok. However, for those who trained in CGA firms, what level of experience, other than covering the topic in your professional exams, do you have in public auditing?

Some might say that they couldn't do any worse than those CAs and CPAs involved in the Enron audit. They might also point to Bre-X, Livent and any number of other financial 'scandals' in the last few decades, and they'd probably be right, but it isn't any great testimony is it?

It's not the time for reflection and navel-gazing; it's time for preparatory action if you intend to enter this market. A point of interest here is that many CMAs and CGAs with their own accounting or consulting practice that I have spoken with have supported their right to be able to perform these services, but now that they have this right, not all of them are going to actively pursue this market.

Professional indemnity insurance needs will have to be reviewed and updated, and you might get an unpleasant shock at the new level of rates for the extended cover.

All in all, I believe that the new Bill paves the way for a more even playing field, and that is to be commended. The challenge now is to be properly prepared to take on any new assignments that might come your way.

If you have been in public accounting for any number of years in your own CGA firm, for example, you might want to hand-pick some talent from a nearby CA firm who has the recent and relevant experience in audit assignments in preparation for the change.

You might also want to develop some new marketing skills, develop your firm's web site (or get one going if you don't already have one) and sign up for an awesome client service program to show your commitment to your clients.

It remains to be seen if the possible increase in demand for public accounting skills will impact upon the marketplace and have an upward effect on salaries for those with the requisite skills and experience.

Probably not; according to CGA Ontario's directory of members and firms, there are 508 CGA firms in public practice.

Ontario has 327 CMAs published on their consulting roster, offering consulting services directly to the public, but many of these are not actually providing mainstream tax and financial statements preparation services.

Many CMAs with their own 'firm' work in Information Technology or other fields as independent consultants.

Compare that to the 3,470 CA firms practising public accounting in Ontario (according to the ICAO's own figures) and I doubt if there will be sufficient leakage from the CA firms to have an inflationary effect on salaries.

A new year is now upon us and a new era in Ontario's public accounting scene is about to commence. Those who are one step ahead of the competition will, as always, flourish and prosper.

Good luck to you all.