Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
In today's economy, a growing share of business value is created through intangible assets such as intellectual property, data, software, algorithms, brands, R&D, and organizational know-how. As organizations invest more heavily in these assets, CPAs are increasingly called upon to help assess value, evaluate risk, support financing and investment decisions, and advise on strategies that drive long-term competitiveness and growth.
Join an expert panel moderated by Vass Bednar, Managing Director of the Canadian Shield Institute, as it explores how Canada’s shift toward an intangible economy is reshaping business strategy, innovation, valuation and economic growth. Featuring leading experts Dr. Ann Fitz-Gerald, Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Jim Hinton, Founder of Own Innovation, and Charles Plant, Co-CEO of ExactBlue Technologies, the discussion will examine the growing importance of intellectual property, data, software, commercialization, innovation policy and governance in creating enterprise value.
Participants will gain practical insights into how intangible assets influence productivity, financing, valuation, and business performance, and explore the role CPAs can play in helping organizations recognize, protect, measure, and monetize these increasingly important drivers of value.
Note: Registration for this seminar closes Tuesday, November 3 2026 at 3:00 p.m. (EDT).
Key Takeaways
Participants will benefit from learning practical insights, actionable strategies, and the opportunity to develop the ability to:
- Define the intangible economy and distinguish among key forms of intangible assets, including IP, data, software, R&D, brands, and organizational capital.
- Assess why intangible investment matters for productivity, valuation, financing, competitiveness, and long-term business growth.
- Identify practical steps CPAs can take to help SMEs recognize, protect, measure, and commercialize intangible assets, including through IP strategy, innovation funding, data governance, and better strategic planning.
Who Will Benefit
- CPAs seeking to better understand the growing role of intangible assets in business strategy, innovation, valuation, and economic growth.
- CPAs working in finance, accounting, valuation, advisory, auditing, technology, governance, strategy, or leadership roles.
- CPAs advising clients or organizations on business performance, competitiveness, investment decisions, and long-term value creation.
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.
If available, course materials can be accessed 2 business days 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)
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Vass Bednar Recognized as one of Canada’s sharpest policy minds, she is known for cutting through corporate jargon and bureaucratic inertia to ask the questions others won’t. With a career spanning think tanks, government, academia, and media, Vass has built a reputation as a fearless and independent voice on the policies that shape our daily lives. In 2020, she co-founded the Master of Public Policy in Digital Society program at McMaster University, where she also taught courses on policy design. Vass is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Fellow at the Public Policy Forum, and an advisor to both the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project and Social Capital Partners. She is the co-author of The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians and writes for The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business where she focuses on the policies, technologies, and corporate forces that shape our everyday lives and economic futures. |
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Dr. Ann Fitz-Gerald became the Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs in August 2019 and has led the School’s “Technology Governance Initiative” since 2023. She has degrees in both commerce and political science from Queen’s University, and was the first civilian female to graduate from the Royal Military College of Canada. Before completing a PhD in the UK, she worked at the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, NATO headquarters, and the North Atlantic Assembly. She has worked at King’s College, London University and Cranfield University, where, before her move back to Canada, she was Director, Defence and Security Leadership at Cranfield’s Defence Academy of the United Kingdom campus. Ann is a Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy, a Fellow at McLaughlin College, York University and has served/still serves on a number of non-executive boards and in advisory roles for the British Government, the United Nations and the African Union. Ann is widely published on issues concerning the governance of national security and has helped facilitate national security policies and strategies in a number of conflict-affected countries including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, Ukraine, Sierra Leone, Nepal, Serbia, Nigeria and others. She has also supported internationally-sponsored peace talks, including the Sudan-South Sudan peace talks led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki – efforts for which the Government of Canada awarded Ann with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. In December 2024, Ann was recognized for her leadership of the Balsillie School of International Affairs and awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal. |
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Jim Hinton is the founder of Own Innovation and a proud supporter of Canadian technology companies. In addition to being an IP lawyer, he is both a patent and trademark agent. Jim is an assistant professor at Western University teaching in the Faculties of Engineering and Law. He is also a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and a fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Jim has a Bachelor of Engineering from McMaster University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto. |
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Charles Plant is Co-CEO of ExactBlue Technologies, a nanotechnology company that has developed the world’s fastest and most sensitive tests for monitoring microbial contamination in industrial water systems. He has been an officer or director in more than 25 emerging technology companies including Synamics a telecommunications software firm which he co-founded and was CEO of for 15 years. He has worked in investment banking and venture capital and founded the Narwhal Project to do research into the factors that foster scaling success. He has an MBA in marketing, is a CPA/CA and has a PhD in innovation economics. |
