CMA Darin McLean recognized in year’s Top 40 Under 40 Awards

Each year, Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Awards recognize the outstanding accomplishments of young Canadians leading the country into the new global economy. Since 1995, this has been recognized as the pre-eminent business award for those under the age of 40. The award covers a wide scope of business and community initiatives.

This year, Darin McLean, CMA and president of Atlantic Mobility Products Ltd. (AMP) was included in the list of award recipients. McLean has led phenomenal growth at AMP, a telecommunications mobility wholesaler. Since 1998 it has grown in leaps and bounds. For instance, last year’s volumes were five times greater than the company experienced in 1999. For more information about McLean and the other award winners, check out their profiles in the May issue of Report on Business magazine at globeandmail.com/robmagazine/index.html. For more about McLean and AMP, watch for a full profile this fall in CMA Management magazine.

Peter Rubenovitch wins CMA Canada sponsored CFO of the Year award for 2004

Peter Rubenovitch, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Manulife Financial, received Canada’s CFO of the Year Award for 2004. The announcement was made at a gala dinner in early May in Toronto.

Created by Financial Executives International (FEI) Canada and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in association with The Caldwell Partners International, the CFO of the Year Award recognizes the critical role played by senior financial leaders in the success of Canadian business. CMA Canada is a major sponsor of the award.

“Canada’s CFO of the Year Award honours the achievements of an exceptional individual, while also celebrating the leadership of senior financial executives who daily encourage business practices based on the principles of quality and integrity,” says Kevin J. Dancey, Canadian Senior Partner and CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. “Peter Rubenovitch is a shining example of the balance that successful financial executives now need to achieve between the quantitative and qualitative elements of leadership.”

Rubenovitch was named CFO of the Year by an independent committee composed of some of Canada’s most prominent business leaders. The criteria by which nominees were judged centred around five key attributes: vision and leadership; corporate reporting and performance; social responsibility; innovation and global competitiveness.

“I believe passionately in the importance of clear, understandable financial disclosure and at Manulife we have worked hard to improve reporting transparency, by making new disclosures a part of our standard reporting package, and by discussing in detail new issues as they become topical,” said Rubenovitch in his acceptance speech. “This is an ongoing challenge, but in my view a basic element for success in an increasingly engaged investment marketplace.”

“Today’s CFO faces new challenges and an increasing level of scrutiny around not only the financial performance of a company, but in the confidence he or she instills in all stakeholders within a company,” said Isabel Meharry, president and CEO of FEI Canada.

For more information on the award visit www.pwcglobal.com/CA/ENG/main/home/index.html.

Risk management tops on corporate agenda

Global regulation and legislation have put risk management high on the corporate agenda and large numbers of mid-sized companies worldwide are putting formal mechanisms in place to manage this challenge. Listed companies are now obliged by law to keep formal documentation in this area and the Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey (IBOS) demonstrates that, across 26 countries, medium-sized businesses are following this lead.

The survey asked more than 6,900 business owners whether they had formal, documented mechanisms in place to deal with key risks. Dealing with a major IT failure was the highest category with 63% of businesses having a formal, written procedure in place. This was followed by loss or destruction of property (62%) and succession planning (47%). Only about a third of companies, however, had plans in place for loss of key suppliers or a PR crisis plan. 

Across all risk categories, there is a distinct regional pattern. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) businesses lead the way, European Union (EU) businesses match the global average while East Asian businesses take a much less formal approach to the issue. For example, the number of companies with formal plans for IT failure varies from 82% in NAFTA countries to just 25% in East Asia.

“The implications of managing risk for companies have never been more prominent,” says John Holdstock, a partner at Grant Thornton in Canada and spokesperson for the IBOS survey. “The IBOS results are very encouraging in showing that a more rigorous approach to managing risk is now being taken voluntarily around the world by many non-listed companies, to which present regulation is not directed.”

For more information visit www.grantthornton.ca. 

Canadian companies review pension plans

A majority of Canadian CFOs believe a pension crisis exists but don’t think that it will last, according to a survey released recently by The Conference Board of Canada and Watson Wyatt. Despite this, many of the companies that responded to the survey report that they are reviewing their pension plan design or have already done so. The survey, entitled Is there a crisis? Survey of CFOs on pension plan perspectives, strategies and reactions, polled 68 CFOs of Canadian organizations representing six public sector pension plans and 62 private sector plans totaling over 20% of private sector pension assets in Canada.

As a result of pension plan under funding, 18% of survey participants that sponsor defined benefit plans have terminated at least one of their plans or have converted it to a defined contribution arrangement. Another 11% have planned similar changes. Of the 71% that are staying with their defined benefit plans, one in five are either adding defined contribution elements or cutting back their future benefit levels or early retirement provisions.

“Clearly, plan sponsors are assessing their plan designs in managing their financial risk. But cost volatility is only one of the influences,” said Ian Markham, director of pension innovation with Watson Wyatt Canada. “Another major driver of plan design change is the need to retain talent, particularly to combat the labour shortages that are likely to develop as baby boomers retire.”

CFOs are calling for changes to the pension system in Canada, according to the survey. Some of the most common suggestions for changes include:

• Changing tax rules governing pension plans,
• Introducing tax-efficient funding for supplemental executive pension plans or SERPs,
• Improving the balance between the interests of plan sponsors and plan members, and
• Changing the minimum requirements for funding deficits. 

“According to the survey results, Canadian companies are sending a strong message to regulators — the combination of pension funding rules and the risk that plan sponsors must assume is a problem that must be addressed for the pension system to remain healthy,” said David Burke, national retirement practice director for Watson Wyatt.

For more information visit www.conferenceboard.ca.

Four countries establish tax transaction task force

It was recently announced that the Tax Commissioners of Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have established a joint task force to increase collaboration and coordinate information about abusive tax transactions by signing a Memorandum of Understanding. Although the tax administrations operate primarily within their own borders, many abusive tax transactions use cross-border strategies and the perpetrators work globally. The joint task force will help the tax administrations address the challenges arising from abusive tax transactions. The task force will make it easier for the countries to share expertise, best practices and general information.

For more information visit www.fin.gc.ca.

New anti-money laundering publication from IFAC

Governments, regulators and the global business community are increasingly calling on accounting practitioners to contribute to the battle against money laundering. A new paper issued by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Anti-Money Laundering 2nd Edition, addresses the increased expectations of legislators and regulators of the profession’s role in detecting money laundering and implementing controls and safeguards against it.

The second edition of the paper expands on the original paper issued in January 2002 to address the professional accountants’ role and ethical obligations as well as recent best practices in auditing, anti-money laundering and suspicious activity reporting programs.

For more information visit www.ifac.org.

Correction

In the article “The CRM scrum,” by Kira Vermond (CMA Management, April 2004), the cost of Help Desk Technology’s HelpSTAR product is quoted at a starting price of $24.95 for two support representatives. The price is actually $2,495 for two support representatives. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

New Software

• CCH’s ProSystem fx Practice 6.0 and 6.1
• SAS Solution’s SAS 9 Intelligence Platform
• Stonefield Software Inc.'s version 1.03 of Stonefield Query Developer's Edition

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