Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
Integrity is the overarching principle of the CPA Code of Professional Conduct and goes beyond adherence to the rules. Stakeholders rely on critical thinking, unbiased professional judgment and guidance, during dynamic environments and uncertainty. Being aware of emerging trends that may influence corporate sustainability, enables CPAs to provide leadership during times of transition, and changes in reporting standards. This seminar helps participants to understand recent industrial developments in economic, social and governance trends, and how they may affect their role and the profession.
Using a blended learning model, interactive, and self-reflective, this course provides CPAs with an opportunity to contemplate the importance of ethics and integrity in our profession. Recent importance placed on ethical principles in business has created a framework for reporting environmental, social and governance benchmarks that indicate the sustainability of corporations. Part of those metrics are a company's efforts in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Government resources, recent reports, statistics, actual case studies and fictional case studies will navigate the participants to a general understanding of relevant current trends, and how they may affect the accounting profession and their work as CPAs.
This course is not a replacement for detailed instruction on how to implement ESG.
Topics Include:
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Ethics and the Profession |
This section will provide an opportunity for participants to contemplate our ethical responsibilities as CPAs. We will review ethical decision-making models and the importance of critical thinking when adopting best practices. Reviewing the CPA Code of Conduct in areas of ethics will serve as useful reminders of CPAs overarching principles of integrity. Discussion of the importance of Tone at the Top will strengthen participants ability to provide leadership in emerging areas of ethical conduct that relate to the profession. Polls and case studies will be utilized to demonstrate if, when and how non-financial factors that affect risk and return of businesses and governments. |
| Emerging Trends |
This section will inform of the ten principles of the United Nations Global compact and how some corporations are addressing corporate sustainability starting with a company's value system and a principles-based approach to doing business. This means operating in ways that, at a minimum, meet fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. Examples of corporations adhering and reporting on the principles serve as models for CPAs to understand the principles and how they may be applied by businesses. Multiple choice questions will be utilized to test participants knowledge on the ethical and financial aspects of a principles based and how they may affect corporate sustainability. |
| Fighting Financial Crime |
This section will provide an update on Canadian and Provincial efforts to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. Recent reports from government and authorities responsible for taking action will inform CPAs of the current situation. Various industry schemes will be shared so that participants can get a birds-eye view of the transactional flow of dirty-money, and where they may expect it to occur. Updates from FINTRAC and the PCMLTR will reveal requirements and purpose for Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) and Reasonable Grounds to Suspect (RGS). Recent developments on the Beneficial Ownership Registry will be reviewed. Participants will explore the CPA Guide to AML/ATF. Guidance will be provided on assessing a suspicious situation, understand one's role as an employee or contractor and how to avoid crossing the line into an active or future investigation that may hinder the outcome. A case study around money laundering and investigation will inform the participants of how to avoid interfering with a criminal investigation. |
| A New Frontier |
This section will take a deeper dive into current developments to inform participants of what actions governments and corporations have taken to implement ESG. The Statistics Canada Modernization Project, and the ESG Dashboard will be reviewed to bring relevance to the theories and purpose of environmental, social and governance measurement and reporting, such as diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) ESG impacts on Indigenous People will be explored, while an ESG Disclosure Index from a global Oil and Gas company provides insight. Sustainability reporting standards that are already proposed by ISSB and CSSB will be covered to give participants ample time to prepare for the implementation of the rules if relevant to their business. An exercise will emphasize the importance of critical thinking when considering an ESG implementation. Polls will be used to assess how many participants are involved with implementation of ESG projects, to bring awareness to the degree of readiness within the group. An assessment tool will provide participants with a decision guide for implementation of ESG. |
NOTE: No updates or changes were made to the 2024 version of this course. If you completed the course in 2023, please be advised the 2024 course material has not changed. If you have any questions, please contact pdevents@cpaontario.ca.
Key Takeaways
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Apply critical thinking to new and emerging trends related to the profession, and if, how and when to implement new best practices.
- Have a better understanding of the over-arching principle of integrity from the CPA Code of Conduct and how it applies to non-financial factors in reporting.
- Communicate corporate values systems to stakeholders by utilizing "Tone at the Top".
- Know when the principles of the United Nations Global Compact may have a purpose in their business.
- Know where to find rules and guidance on money laundering, terrorist financing and understand their requirements in the event of a suspicious transaction.
- Be familiar with Statistics Canada ESG Dashboard and how well-implemented it is in Canadian Industries.
- Understand the importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
- Be aware of the theories and purpose of ESG and the efforts of various governments and authorities to provide a framework for reporting corporate sustainability, including knowledge of relevant proposed reporting standards.
Who Will Benefit
CPAs who are not well-versed in ESG and requirements under PCMLTR.
How to Access the Course
This course is a live webinar. You must attend the live course to receive verifiable CPD hours. We recommend you join five minutes prior to the scheduled starting time. To get the full experience of this interactive course, use a computer that has video and microphone capabilities.
Electronic material can be accessed one week prior to the course and should be downloaded in advance.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Speaker(s)
Susan Cox, CPA, CA is a professional development consultant with extensive experience in the assurance, taxation and national continuing education departments at PwC, in industry at Reed Paper, and most recently as the Director of Professional Development at CPA Ontario since 1999. She earned her CA designation in 1985, and completed the CPA Canada In-Depth Taxation Program in 1992.