IFRS / Financial Reporting and Governance

Nicola Young, MBA, FCA is a Professor of Accounting in the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is the recipient of teaching awards, and has contributed to the academic and administrative life of the university as Department Chair, member of the Board of Governors, the Pension and other Committees. Nickie was associated with the Atlantic School of Chartered Accountancy for many years in a variety of roles, and is a co-author of the best-selling Canadian intermediate financial accounting text and the IFRS Primer-International GAAP Basics. She has contributed to the accounting profession at the provincial and national levels, and is currently on the Board of Directors of the CICA. Nickie has enjoyed working with the Public Sector Accounting Board over the last 20 years, earlier as an associate, then member and chair of the Board and, more recently, as a member of PSAB Task Forces. She is currently serving on the Conceptual Framework Task Force.

January 1, 2011 has passed. Canadian organizations are beginning to issue financial statements using IFRS, ASPE, PSAB and other financial reporting frameworks. This session will discuss the types of organizations, timing of implementation, and financial reporting framework options available, and the key differences among the standards. This session will also provide insights into lessons learned by organizations during implementation, and the evolution of thinking and common practice in implementing the new frameworks in Canada.

Andrew Newman is an Audit Partner with KPMG and is the Leader of KPMG's Public Sector Audit Practice in Ottawa. Andrew is also the Leader of KPMG's Canadian Education Practice (Universities, Colleges and School Boards). Andrew is currently a Board Member of the Public Sector Accounting Board of Canada which sets the accounting standards for federal, provincial and municipal governments, and government organizations.

Andrew received his Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Queen's University in 1992 and his Chartered Accountancy designation in 1995. Andrew has over 19 years of experience in providing auditing, accounting and financial reporting services to the public sector including federal government departments and agencies, provincial and municipal governments, Crown corporations, pension plans, not-for-profit organizations and charities.

Andrew has been a featured presenter at the annual conferences of the Financial Management Institute (FMI), the CICA Public Sector conference, and the Canadian Association of University Business Officers.

This session will give participants up-to-date information on current projects of the Public Sector Accounting Board and its technical agenda for the coming year. It will specifically include an overview of financial instruments, foreign exchange, PS1201, related parties and non-tax revenue.

Tim Beauchamp is the Director of the Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) of Canada and has been directly involved in standard setting for the public sector for over 22 years.

He is responsible for the strategic and operating plans of PSAB and reporting its performance to the Accounting Standards Oversight Council. Tim provides advice to PSAB and staff on technical projects and administers staff activities.

He authored a research study on "Accounting for Infrastructure in the Public Sector", has taught at York University and serves as a special technical advisor on various public sector accounting and financial reporting committees.

Tim joined the staff of PSAB after working more than 7 years in the public sector with responsibilities that included accounting, budgeting and debt management.

In August 2009, PSAB issued a Statement of Principles (SOP) on “Entity Level Financial Statements” proposing principles that would apply to government entities using standards issued by PSAB. Responding to concerns and issues raised in responses to the SOP, PSAB has created a project task force to issue a new accounting standard that addresses recognition and disclosure of appropriations. This panel discussion will address the need to recognize and disclose appropriations and their relationships to government policy, and the merits of an independent standard-setter creating an accounting standard for appropriations.

Carol Devenny is a senior partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers ("PwC") in Ottawa where she is the leader of the audit practice and the National Audit Leader of the Public Sector. Her clients include the Office of the Auditor General, Treasury Board, several Federal Government Departments and Crown Corporations, the Government of Alberta and the CICA.

Carol joined PwC in 1982 after graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Queen's University. Carol is a Fellow Chartered Accountant, a Chartered Business Valuator and a Certified Public Accountant.

Carol is the current Chair of PSAB's task force on Related Parties and Appropriations.

Bill Matthews was appointed Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat effective March 14, 2011.

Mr. Bill Matthews joined the Office of the Comptroller General in 2004 as Senior Director, Government Accounting Policy and Reporting, and was later promoted to Executive Director, and was appointed Assistant Comptroller General, Financial Management and Analysis Sector, in August 2009. In 2008, he participated in the second cohort of the Leadership Across Borders, an international leadership development program involving top public sector executives from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Bill is a chartered accountant and has over 20 years of experience in accounting and financial management in both the public and private sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University and, prior to joining the federal government, was an associate partner with IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Bert Aram originally qualified as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He holds a BSc. in Math and Economics and an MBA in Finance. He has been with the government of Alberta for the past 12 years and prior to that with the Office of the Auditor General of Alberta. His current position is Director of Accounting Policy with Alberta Treasury Board.

Paul Olafson has been the Corporate Controller for The City of Winnipeg for four years. He has been with the City since 1993 progressing through various accounting and controllership positions. As the Corporate Controller, Paul is responsible for preparing the City's annual consolidated financial statements as well as producing the Annual Detailed Financial Statements, the City's Companion to the Annual Financial Report. He also provides leadership to the departmental controllers group.

When he's not busy caching his son's hockey team, Paul involves himself on the Board of Directors of various not-for-profit and charitable organizations and is also currently serving on the CICA's PSAB Related Party Transaction Task Force.

Commencing in 2012, private sector not-for-profit organizations and government not-for-profit organizations will adopt different underlying accounting frameworks. The AcSB and PSAB have established the Joint Not-for-Profit Task Force to improve the accounting standards for future reporting by not-for-profit organizations in both the private and public sector. The project involves the review of the specific not-for-profit standards (4400 series in Part III of the CICA Handbook – Accounting, and 4200 series of CICA PSA Handbook.) This session will provide an overview of the work of the task force to date.

Mike Hurley was born in North River, Newfoundland and now lives with his wife Karen in Bedford, Nova Scotia. He has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Finance and Global Business Management and a Master of Business Administration (Accounting) Degree from Saint Mary's University in Halifax.

Mike joined the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre Foundation in 2009 as Chief Financial Officer responsible for Financial Management, Accounting, Human Resources, Information Technology, Legal and Risk Management and Donor Services. Prior to joining the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre Foundation, Mike served as Chief Financial Officer for the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and was responsible for Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, Information Technology and Research-related Programs. Mike started his career in the Federal Public Service with Human Resources Development Canada and worked in various roles in Accounting Operations, Financial Management and Internal Audit. Mike has also taught at Dalhousie University in the Faculty of Health Professions and for the Society of Management Accountants of Nova Scotia in their Accelerated Program. Mike also serves on the Board of Directors of the Nova Scotia Teachers Plus Credit Union.

Public-Private Partnerships (or “P3s”) are an innovative way for governments to deliver on programs and projects. In particular, P3s allow the public sector to partner with the private sector to manage risks associated with the construction, financing and operations of infrastructure projects. An understanding of this delivery mechanism and the related accounting implications are key in developing P3 contracts and ensuring the necessary information is available to support accountability and transparency in the public accounts. Join us to gain a better understanding of P3 projects and the potential accounting impacts of these arrangements.

Greg Smith joined PPP Canada as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance, Risk and Administration in 2009. He has significant experience working with both the public and private sectors in finance. He has previously held positions as Senior Director for the Expenditure Management Sector with Treasury Board Secretariat (2007-2009), as Associate Director General, Director of Programs and Corporate Services for Industry Canada (1999-2007) and as Vice President and General Manager of Nortemp Staffing Services Inc. (1991-1998). He has also held senior positions with Pelmorex Broadcasting Inc., and Northern Cable Holdings Limited.

Mr. Smith holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree and a Masters of Business Administration from Laurentian University and he received his Chartered Accountant designation in 1981.

Tim Philpotts joined Concert in May 2010 to lead the Infrastructure Division and is responsible for managing the newly created Concert Infrastructure Fund. Tim has led the successful investment by Concert of a 50% interest in both the Forensic Services and Coroners Complex and Ontario Provincial Police Modernization projects in Ontario.

Prior to joining Concert, Tim worked with Ernst & Young where since 2002; he worked as the National Sector Head for P3 work in North America. Prior to moving to North America, Tim worked in the Project Finance/P3 Group of Ernst & Young in the United Kingdom undertaking numerous projects throughout Europe.

Tim has been involved in infrastructure and P3 work for more than 15 years and has advised on over 50 projects with total capital value of over $20 billion that have reached financial close. He is also a Director of the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnership and has advised Partnerships BC and Infrastructure Ontario on many of their pathfinder transactions helping to develop the P3 model across Canada.

Tim has worked extensively on a diverse array of projects, including numerous accommodation, health care, education, and transportation projects.

This session will provide an overview of the key principles of the approved new Section on Government Transfers. The session will also provide advice on negotiating contracts, and discuss accountability and auditing issues.

Kelly Gillis was appointed CFO of Industry Canada in September 2009 and is responsible for providing financial oversight, advice and services to one of the largest departments in government. As the head of the Comptrollership and Administration Sector, she is responsible for overseeing the provision of a wide range of key corporate functions, including the department's Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity Planning, contracting and procurement, security and facilities management, and the corporate planning function.

Previously, Kelly was the Assistant Secretary and CFO, Corporate Services Sector at Treasury Board Secretariat. She contributed to the establishment of the sector and consolidating all corporate services functions within TBS and overseeing the provision of a number of shared services to five other departments. Prior to this, Kelly was the Executive Director and Deputy CFO at Finance Canada; Director General, Finance and Administration at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission; Manager, Internal Audit at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and a chartered accountant at Caron Bélanger Ernst and Young.

Ms. Gillis holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in Public Accounting from McGill University. She qualified as a chartered accountant in Quebec in 1992.

A number of organizations are well on their way to transitioning to PSAB. This session will provide insights from those both close to the finish line and in the trenches. The panelists will provide their insights on managing the transition for a system of school boards and for a single organization facing the inevitable set of specific challenges. They will share their experiences on what has gone well and what has not, as well as their advice to those just starting the transition.

Cindy Veinot is a partner in the Toronto office of Deloitte. With 20 years of experience, including ten as a partner, Cindy works with clients on resolving complex accounting issues across a variety of topics and accounting frameworks and on transitioning to new accounting standards. From an industry perspective, she is focused on providing advisory services to public sector clients, with a specific interest in health care. She has provided advisory services to both provincial and federal ministries and agencies, and has also provided audit services to both hospitals and related associations.

She graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Accounting. She is a chartered accountant, certified management accountant and certified public accountant.

Ian Aaron is the Director of the School District Financial Reporting Branch in the Ministry of Education in British Columbia. Ian began his accounting career in 1986 with Ernst & Young in Montreal. Ian has worked for the Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia from 1991 to 2001 before moving to the Ministry of Advanced Education. Ian has been with the Ministry of Education since February 2004.

Robin Ghosh is a CA and a CPA (Illinois) with a broad background in general and financial management and related planning, accounting, reporting and investing matters. Robin has significant experience with outsourcing, real estate, internal control and risk management. . He has also executive positions responsible for corporate development, operations, systems development and negotiations.

Robin is currently Chief Financial Officer at the Canada Council for the Arts. He started his working career at Coopers and Lybrand in Ottawa where he progressed to Manager. This was followed by several years at Canada Post Corporation and as a management consultant. Robin has also served on the Advisory Committee of a major Pension Plan member and as a Board member at various not-for-profit organizations. He is currently past Treasurer and Board member at the Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre, a 450 bed facility.

Across the country, leaders in the public sector are facing the challenge of balancing budgets while responding to demands for increased service. Finding new ways to operate and deliver service is critical to success. This session will explore the pressing need for innovation in the public sector – the challenges, opportunities and the success stories. In addition, a deeper dive into a real-life current project will illustrate the use of data analytics, and how a deeper understanding of financial and operational information is needed to support sound decision making, innovative design and forward-looking policy development.

Andy Potter is an Associate Partner in Deloitte's Strategy and Operations practice, specializing in consulting to the Public Sector.

Andy has consulted to all levels of government and is an expert on government and broader public sector financial management. He has extensive experience covering finance process optimization, finance department service delivery models and organization design, performance measurement, activity based costing and shared services. He is also recognized globally within Deloitte in this field and led Deloitte's recent study titled Mastering Finance in Government.

Dr. Eugene Wen is the Vice President and Chief Statistician at the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB). His current concentration is on leading data analysis in the fields of workplace injury and occupational disease, assessment of factors related to worker benefit liability and return to work, and building predictive models related to duration and cost.

Prior to his current position at the WSIB, Dr. Wen spent ten years at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). At CIHI Dr. Wen led the development of national health indicators and production of the Canadian annual Health Indicators report series jointly with Statistics Canada. Dr. Wen was trained in both clinical medicine (MD from Hebei Medical College) and epidemiology (DrPH from the University Of Texas School of Public Health).

Practical strategies for managing change. Effective change management and communications plans and their successful execution can be the key to achieving sustainable performance results. Learn about the finance leader's role in transformation projects.

Julie Mills is an Associate Partner in Ernst & Young's Ottawa office. She has 25 years of diverse financial management and process improvement experience in the medium and large corporate sectors. Her experience includes organizational design, process improvement and project management.

Julie's recent experience includes conducting organizational reviews of finance functions for federal government departments, agencies and crown corporations.

Julie served in a variety of operational and project-related roles with Canada Post Corporation including as General Manager, Finance Decision Support, General Manager, Order to Cash Process Improvement, Director, Customer Service Process Improvement, Director, Credit Management and Director, SAP Business Transformation.

Measuring financial performance in the public sector goes beyond financial statements. This session will provide an overview of financial statement and non-statement indicators of performance, including best practices in this area, and issues surrounding structural deficits.

Peter DeVries is currently a consultant in fiscal policy and public management issues, primarily on an international basis. From 1984 to 2005, he held a number of senior positions in the Department of Finance. From 1990 to 2005, he was Director Fiscal Policy Division Department of Finance, responsible for overall preparation of the federal budget; preparation and assessment of medium- and long-term projections of federal revenues and expenses and implications for fiscal policy; analysis of fiscal conditions at both the federal and provincial levels; evaluation of various budget proposals; preparation of monthly Fiscal Monitor; with the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG), assessing and evaluating accounting standards proposed by the Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) of the CICA and recommending changes in government accounting policies; with the OCG, responsible for implementation of accrual accounting for the federal budget and the government's financial statements. From 1984 to 1990, he was Assistant Director Fiscal Policy Division. From 1978-1984, he was Chief Consumer Prices Section Statistics Canada, responsible for preparation of the monthly Consumer Price Index. From1976-1978, he was Chief Economist and Special Advisor to Assistant Deputy Minister Canada Employment and Insurance Commission, responsible for preparation of labour market forecasts; assessment of current economic developments. From1971-1976, he was economist with the Labour Division at Statistics Canada, responsible for preparation of labour income statistics. He has been a member on various PSAB's task forces, examining government accounting issues and from 2002-2005, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Sector Accounting Board. Mr. DeVries holds a MA in economics from McMaster University.

Pension accounting is a complex topic as it requires the development of estimates using actuarial methodologies and valuations and including key assumptions which directly impact the valuation of significant liabilities. Given the complexity and judgement involved, the resulting liabilities recorded in public sector accounts have garnered considerable attention over recent years. This session will provide an overview of the current accounting for retirement benefits in the public sector, how Canadian public sector accounting differs from other accounting methodologies and the potential impact on how your liabilities are measured.

Suzanne Gignac is the Executive Director in the Government Accounting Policy and Reporting Division at the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada. In this role, Suzie oversees accounting policy development and financial reporting within the federal government. Suzie focuses on the development and implementation of policy instruments related to financial accounting and reporting and manages research efforts on complex accounting issues facing the Government of Canada. Her areas of responsibility include the Public Accounts of Canada, departmental financial statements and quarterly financial reporting.

Suzie is currently on a two year secondment from Ernst & Young, returning to Ernst & Young as a partner in the assurance practice on October 3, 2011. In addition to over 14 years of experience at Ernst & Young in the audit and assurance practice, Suzie has experience in private industry in the roles of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

As organizations look beyond short-term improvements to process innovation in order to meet their fiscal challenges, they have an opportunity to utilize internal controls to ensure their business processes are risk informed, efficient and effective, and are designed to stay that way. By integrating relevant metrics into the internal control structure, internal controls can become an enabler rather than an impediment to program delivery objectives. This session will look at the role of internal controls beyond traditional external reporting.

Bill Kessels is a partner at Ernst & Young, responsible for leading the Ottawa office's Risk practice. He is a Chartered Accountant, Information Systems Auditor, Certified Management Consultant and Certified Internal Auditor with close to 25 years of experience in assisting organizations in the areas of external and internal audit, process analysis, information technology, internal controls, financial management and change management. He has taught extensively on the topics of auditing and process analysis, and is currently an instructor for the Institute of Internal Auditor's CIA preparatory program. At the beginning of his career he earned a spot on the Ontario Institute's honour roll for his performance on the Uniform Final Exam, and more recently was awarded the William S Smith award from the IIA for his performance on the CIA exams.

This session will provide an update on the International Public Sector Accounting Board (IPSASB), including an overview of the organization’s mandate, what countries are involved and how, and its impact on Canada’s Public Sector Accounting Board.

Joy Keenam is a Senior Technical Manager with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) of the International Federation of Accountants. She has been directly involved in standard setting for over 20 years, with most of that time spent at the CICA. She has also worked as an information systems auditor in a major financial institution and as a quality control director in a mid-sized accounting firm.

Joy is responsible for the IPSASB's standards on Agriculture, Intangible Assets, and Service Concession Arrangements: Grantor. She is currently working on the IPSASB project on Financial Statement Discussion and Analysis.

Joy has taught at Seneca College, York University and for the ICAO.

Canadian Auditing Standards have been in force since December 14, 2010. This session will provide insight on the impact of the CAS on public sector audits experienced by auditors and preparers over the first nine months of CAS, including assessment of financial reporting frameworks, the auditor’s report, audits of financial information under CAS805, relationship with other auditors and communications with those charged with governance.

John Rossetti is an Assistant Auditor General with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and has more than 29 years of experience in all aspects of legislative auditing. He is currently responsible for overseeing the financial and performance audits conducted in a portfolio that includes Heritage Canada, Transport Canada and many of their related Crown corporations (such as the CBC, VIA Rail, five national museums, the National Arts Centre, the National Capital Commission and CATSA). In March 2011 John completed a 3-year term as a member of the CICA's Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, during which time many of the individual Canadian Auditing Standards were adopted in Canada. John has an MBA and is a Chartered Accountant.

Gary Wuschnakowski has been a member of the Ontario Public Service (OPS) for over 23 years and is currently the Director of Financial Management and Control Policy with the Provincial Controller Division of the Ontario Ministry of Finance. His current responsibilities include the development and oversight of corporate financial control policies and the implementation of a financial management framework for the OPS.

Previously Gary was the Director of Service Management and the Director of Business and Resource Planning for the Ontario Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure. Gary also served as the Chair of the Ontario Finance and Business Management Council, a government wide council of senior financial directors where he led the development of a enhanced financial internship program as well as a financial competency model for the OPS community.

Cloud computing, PCI, open data, digital economy, cybersecurity - what are the IT people talking about? Financial managers are frequently confronted by the need to support investments that include business, program and technology considerations. The technologies related to these decisions can be confusing and can complicate the decision process. This session will provide an overview of the top IT trends impacting public sector organizations today and why financial officers and accountants need to understand the risks and opportunities of these trends for their organizations.

Ken Cochrane has held a broad range of senior executive roles in and outside government that entailed the development of enterprise-wide and national strategies aimed at transforming both business and technology as well as following through to the execution and implementation of these initiatives. Mr. Cochrane has more than 20 years experience at the executive level and has led both business and technology functions within private & public sector enterprises.

His roles have included CIO of the Government of Canada, CEO for IT Shared Services, CIO for Canada Revenue & Customs and CIO for MetLife. He also has extensive experience chairing and leading groups of executives within Government of Canada via numerous Committees; as past-chair of the Conference Board of Canada CIO Council; as co-chair of the Federal/Provincial CIO & Service Delivery Councils; and internationally as co-chair of US/Canada/Mexico tri-lateral meetings.

Mr. Cochrane is a Partner and the National Leader for IT Advisory Services in Public Sector for KPMG Canada.