Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
Join us virtually on June 18 for CPA Ontario’s Ethics Conference: Human-Centred Leadership in the Age of AI. This half day event brings together leading voices in cybersecurity, leadership, AI and professional practice to help CPAs strengthen ethical judgment in a rapidly changing environment. As technology reshapes how decisions are made, CPAs must balance innovation with integrity and trust.
Through real world scenarios, expert insights and practical frameworks, you will explore how to adopt AI responsibly, build ethical cultures that support performance and address complex dilemmas across audit, tax, advisory, SMP, NFP and corporate environments.
Early Bird Sale: Save $50 off this conference by registering before April 30, 2026. Promotion cannot be combined with other offers or Passport. Access the Early Bird Sale by logging into your account.
At this conference, you will:
- Strengthen your professional judgment in an AI driven world with practical frameworks for navigating emerging ethical risks.
- Learn how to adopt AI responsibly and protect trust across audit, tax, advisory and organizational decision making.
- Build ethical cultures that improve performance and resilience using proven leadership behaviours grounded in integrity and accountability.
- Examine real ethical dilemmas faced by CPAs today from client pressures to reporting issues across SMP, NFP, corporate and practice settings.
- Stay ahead of emerging cybersecurity and fraud risks with insights and strategies to protect clients, teams and organizational credibility.
Agenda
CPA Ontario's Ethics Conference Agenda
Host Opening Remark
Opening Keynote
Topic | Human First: Ethical AI Innovation in Accounting Practice
How might we use AI as a vehicle for good? AI is reshaping the accounting industry and given the sensitive data being handled each day, human-first (ethical) leadership has never mattered more. Concerns around bias, privacy, and accountability are here, as AI adoption occurs faster than we can regulate it. In a world where data and decisions move quickly, the true differentiator is not AI itself, but the human being guiding it.
In this opening session, social entrepreneurship professor and tech founder Cherry Rose Tan invites accountants to rethink AI through a Human First lens: where our AI strategy and decisions are grounded in integrity, innovation, and impact. Rather than offering a single “right” answer, Tan will empower each of you to become stewards of AI because after all, the real question isn’t what AI can do... it’s how we choose to use it.
This session is perfect for leaders and teams:
- Navigating uncertainty and apprehension around AI, as accountants balance technological possibility with human responsibility.
- Aiming to innovate without compromising ethics, trust, or long-term impact.
- Committed to empowering yourselves to use AI confidently, creatively, and responsibly.
The audience will leave with:
- A clear Human First framework to guide ethical and strategic AI adoption.
- A renewed sense of agency, where each accountant embraces their role as stewards (not just users) of AI.
- Inspiration and confidence to use AI as a vehicle for meaningful innovation and impact.
Topic | Ethics in the Workplace: Building Ethical Cultures That Last
The ethical dimension of our world is thick and murky in the modern era driven by macro factors such as the collapse of leadership, the rise of Artificial Intelligence, the growing gap in income inequality and the marginalization of progressive policy and equality. In this session, we will make the case for cultivating ethical cultures not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because ethical cultures improve performance, drive results, and confront the challenges ahead. You will learn ideas for taking the reins of your organizational culture and building an ethical foundation.
- Explore the role of leadership in creating an ethical culture.
- Address changing culture on four levels – from outcome and behaviors to beliefs and experiences.
- Identify some of the best practices used by organizations to strengthen their ethical culture.
Topic | AI & Ethics – Auditing the Future: Redefining Trust in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how financial information is generated, analyzed, and audited. As AI tools become embedded in financial reporting and assurance processes, CPAs face new questions around accountability, documentation, professional judgment, and public trust.
This session explores how emerging AI technologies intersect with existing ethical obligations and audit standards. Attendees will gain practical insights into navigating AI-related risks while upholding the core principles that define the profession.
Key Takeaways:
- A clearer understanding of how AI is changing the nature of audit evidence and professional judgment.
- Increased awareness of emerging governance and ethical risks in AI‑enabled financial systems.
- Practical steps participants can take now to align their use or oversight of AI with existing CPA ethical principles.
Featuring: Lisa Dorian, CFI Co-Founder, Business Executive and Board Director & Garth Sheriff, CPA, CA, CIA, CFE, AAIA, Educator + Storyteller | Founder, Sheriff Consulting
Topic | Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Accounting Practices (Audit, Tax & Advisory)
By the end of this panel session, participants will be able to:
- Evaluate ethical and professional risks arising from AI use in audit, tax, and advisory environments.
- Apply a structured decision-making framework to guide responsible AI adoption within their organization.
- Design strategies that build stakeholder confidence and organizational buy-in for AI integration.
Closing Keynote
Topic | Cybersecurity & Fraud investments Strategies for CPAs
In this closing session Kelley Keehn explores how fraud is evolving and what CPAs can do to stay one step ahead. Through real examples and practical strategies, this session highlights how professionals across firms, industry, and the public sector can spot risks earlier and help protect the organizations and people who rely on them.
Participants Will Learn How To:
- Recognize emerging fraud risks, including AI-enabled scams and digital impersonation.
- Strengthen fraud awareness and prevention within organizations of any size.
- Identify practical ways CPAs can spot risks earlier and help protect trust in financial systems.
Host Closing Remarks
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Disclaimer
The views expressed in the course are non-authoritative and have not been formally endorsed by CPA Ontario and do not reflect the views of CPA Ontario. The information included in the course is for general information purposes only.
CPA Ontario, the presenters and the authors do not accept any responsibility or liability that might occur directly or indirectly as a consequence of the use or application of or reliance on this material.
How to Access the Conference
This CPA Ontario PD conference is hosted on the innovative RingCentral (formerly Hopin) platform. An email invitation with a link to join the event on the RingCentral platform will be sent closer to the date.
Please check your Junk and Spam folders and ensure no-reply@events.ringcentral.com has been added to your safe addresses. We recommend you join five minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Speaker(s)
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Narjis F. Karani, CPA, is "The Creative Accountant". Narjis' creativity fuels her passion as a CPA, Writer, Public Speaker & Community Champion. With over a decade of experience as an auditor, tax professional & academic, Narjis specializes in a variety of sectors, including SMEs, non-profits, and government. A University of Toronto Top Scholar graduate, Narjis completed her designation at KPMG, where she received KPMG's Impact Award for contributions to her community. Currently, at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, she serves as a mentor to the Auditor General & Deputy Auditor General of Canada through the reverse mentoring program. Narjis is an influential public speaker and captivates through storytelling. She contributes her talents as a panelist, keynote and a lecturer at the UofT. Narjis' passion for diversity and inclusion led her to publish an Op-Ed with CBC titled, "Our superficial view of diversity will only lead to cultural assimilation." Narjis champions educational empowerment and financial literacy for racialized women and communities through her platform "The Creative Accountant" where she collaborates with nonprofits, while serving on the boards of The Canadian-Muslim Vote and The Silk Road Institute. An avid storyteller, painter & multilingual with French language qualifications, Narjis F. Karani proves that you can be a jack of all trades and a master CPA. |
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Fifth-generation entrepreneur Cherry Rose Tan is the Entrepreneur in Residence at the Schulich School of Business, based in Canada's third largest university, where she advises an ecosystem of 250 startups and 3,000 members. She leads Advisory and Fundraising services, where Schulich founders have raised $60M in four years, while teaching three MBA courses on Entrepreneurship. |
| CLOSING KEYNOTE SPEAKER | |
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Kelley Keehn is a best-selling, award-winning author, personal finance educator, and media personality with over two decades of experience in financial literacy and education. She is the founder and CEO of the Money Wise Institute, dedicated to empowering Canadians to build financial confidence. A regular guest on national media, Kelley has authored eleven books, including Talk Money to Me and Rich Girl, Broke Girl. She has served as Consumer Advocate for FP Canada, sits on multiple advisory boards, and is a sought-after speaker for financial institutions and professional associations. You can find her at www.kelleykeehn.com. |
| FEATURED SPEAKERS | |
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Blair Cook, CPA, MBA, is a seven-time CFO, a director, and an educator at Executive Finance Partners - a professional development and executive coaching firm for financial professionals and executives. He’s Senior Director at Diamond Willow Financing Advisory. He also serves as a corporate director and audit committee chair of publicly listed companies: Terravest Industries and Clarke Inc. He is also the Chairman of the Devour Food & Film Festival and serves on various committees of CPA Nova Scotia. Blair is the author of The Illiterate Executive: An Executive’s Handbook for Mastering Financial Acumen. |
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Noah Tesfaye, CPA, CIA, is a senior auditor and public speaker specializing in audit, governance, and emerging technology risk. His work focuses on the evolving role of CPAs in AI assurance, risk management, and safeguarding public trust in an increasingly automated economy. As a Senior Auditor at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, leads high-impact audits that enhance accountability, governance, and transparency at the national level, supporting informed decision-making and safeguarding institutional integrity. |
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Lisa Dorian, MSL, CPA,CA, CPA (IL), CIA, CRMSA, is co-founder of Corporate Finance Institute, a director for the BC Financial Services Authority, and a skilled business executive with extensive experience in ethics, compliance, and risk as well as business process and strategy. She has worked with a variety of boards and leadership teams of organizations in both the private and public sector to help implement award winning enterprise risk management frameworks and compliance frameworks. She has authored many internal policies, including codes of conduct. As well as serving in the C-Suite in finance, risk, and internal audit departments, she has also conducted quality assessment reviews of internal audit departments in the public sector and for financial institutions. |
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Garth Sheriff is a CPA, CA, and founder of Sheriff Consulting, specializing in ethics, fraud, and artificial intelligence education for accounting and finance professionals. With over 20 years of experience in audit and assurance, he focuses on strengthening professional judgment in an AI-driven world. Garth holds the ISACA Advanced in AI Audit (AAIA) certification, reflecting his expertise in AI governance, risk, and oversight. Known for his engaging, story-driven approach, he brings real-world cases—including FTX, Boeing, and the rise of ChatGPT—to life. |
Testimonials
Very impressed with the knowledge and diverse topics of each speaker. Furthermore, each speaker brought it back directly to my responsibilities as a CPA.
This was an educational, enlightening and eye-opening conference. Understanding how technology, AI, and the digital world impact on our ability to do our jobs well is crucial. Trust can be easily undermined if we are not actively ensuring the security and credibility of the information we use to make financial decisions on a daily basis.
I like having a virtual conference - saves travel time and costs for the price you can charge. I really enjoyed all the polls and how they were incorporated into the topics. It kept you engaged and being able to see how everyone else was thinking on the responses. I also enjoyed see the real life examples. For the last speaker - he had me googling his video's after watching the trailers. It is interesting to see what cases are out there related to ethics.