Dates and location
Hours
Dates and location
Hours
Description
York, Toronto South, Hamilton, Halton Peel, London, Huronia and Waterloo – Wellington Associations Members Only.
Ethics is at the core of what it means to be a CPA. This interactive session will dive into real-world ethical challenges faced by CPAs today — from clients asking you to backdate or hide documents from the CRA, to navigating gross negligence penalties, third-party risks, and conflicts of interest. We’ll also explore how ethics intersects with inclusiveness and serving clients from diverse cultures, supported by court case examples that highlight the stakes of getting it right.
What makes this session unique is that it will be led by Dean Blachford, a Tax Lawyer at Blachford Tax Law. This is a rare opportunity to hear directly from a lawyer on the ethics side of practice — offering a fresh and practical perspective to help CPAs better understand and manage ethical risks.
Why Attend:
- Learn how to respond when clients pressure you to be dishonest with CRA.
- Understand gross negligence penalties, third-party risks, and conflicts of interest.
- Gain insight on inclusive ethics when serving clients from diverse cultures.
- Review real court cases that highlight professional obligations.
- Hear directly from a tax lawyer’s perspective on ethics — a rare, valuable angle.
- Convenient lunch-and-learn format at an affordable rate.
- Earn your required Ethics CPD hours before year-end.
Key Takeaways
- How to handle client requests that compromise your professional obligations
- Understanding gross negligence penalties and third-party risks
- Navigating potential conflicts of interest with integrity
- Building ethical practices that include cultural inclusiveness
- Case law examples to ground ethical principles in real practice
Who Will Benefit
During this event, you will learn about:
- CPAs looking to earn their required Ethics CPD hours before year-end.
- Professionals in public practice facing client pressure around compliance and documentation.
- CPAs working in industry or government who want to better understand ethical risks and conflicts of interest.
- New CPAs and students aiming to build a strong ethical foundation early in their careers.
- Experienced CPAs seeking a fresh legal perspective on ethics from a tax lawyer.
- Professionals serving diverse clients and communities who want to strengthen inclusive ethical practices.
How to Access the Course
An email reminder of this event will be sent out 24 hours prior to the event. If you have not yet received the reminder 4 hours prior to the event, please do not hesitate to reach out. Please check your Junk and Spam folders and ensure membernetwork@cpaontario.ca has been added to your safe addresses.
Speaker(s)
Dean Blachford is a tax lawyer specializing exclusively in tax dispute resolution and litigation. Over the past decade, he has helped hundreds of individuals and businesses, from across Canada, solve their tax matters with CRA, putting the stress and anxiety behind them. Dean represents clients with significant tax disputes at the audit, objection, or Tax Court stage. He loves collaborating with CPAs to get the best result possible for their clients. Dean is frequently cited in media publications, such as Bloomberg and the Toronto Star. He has published articles with the Canadian Tax Foundation and Thomson Reuters. He is on the Programs Committee of the Ottawa Chapter of CPA Ontario. Blachford Tax Law’s annual Tax Dispute Update webinar is attended by hundreds of CPAs across Canada. Dean graduated from the University of McGill’s Faculty of Law with degrees in common law (LL.B.) and civil law (B.C.L.).