Food!  Fun!  And fast horses!  This inaugural, sold-out event at Fraser Downs Race Track & Casino on Saturday April 28^th was a night of great food, great networking with CMAs and friends, and of course the highlight of the evening – betting on the races!  Over 20 tables had $25 each to bet as a team which created a lively atmosphere of debate over the statistics and shouting encouragements to the horses as they flew around the track!  We had such a fun night that we can’t wait to go back again!  The big winners of the evening raked in $300 on the last race with a meager $10 bet!  CMAs + teamwork = BIG MONEY!!  Thank you to the dedicated volunteers who organized this exciting night and to the CMAs for attending and making it such a memorable night.

Strategic Management Certificate Program

Today the Certified Management Accountants of BC announced the creation of a new Strategic Management Certificate Program.  It is a four-part seminar-based certificate program that will be built upon pillars within the current competency map, and focus specifically on critical components of leadership and strategy, including:

• Strategic Planning,
• Risk Management/Governance,
• Team Development, and
• Change Management

Credits:

Each module is worth 6 credits. In order to qualify for the certificate a member would be required to complete all four modules.

Benefits:
At the end of the program, participants would have fulfilled the competencies to successfully guide strategic planning and implementation through all phases of an organization’s product/service life cycle. This program is currently being launched in phases and participants will have three years to complete the certificate.

Module 1: Strategic Planning

Register for Module 1

Dates Offered:

May 1, 2012: 8AM – 4PM, Downtown Vancouver(Location TBD)
May 10, 2012: 8AM – 4PM, DowntownVictoria (Location TBD)

Session Summary:

This interactive workshop will use several case examples to examine the link between stated organizational goals, the business environment and visible strategies, with focus on the functional strategy level.  As a participant, you will gain an appreciation of the tools used to develop and execute successful strategies.  You will also examine the strategies of your own organization relative to the competitive landscape.  Exercises will provide an opportunity to consider your own role relative to strategy formulation, execution and monitoring, and highlight opportunities to increase personal effectiveness.

Key takeaways:

• How organizations spot strategic opportunities and threats
• Tools and processes for strategic planning used by leading companies
• Lessons learned for successful strategy execution
• Opportunities to increase personal effectiveness in supporting your organization’s strategy

Cost:

Special Introductory Price:
Vancouver – $275 + HST
Victoria – $250 +HST

Contact:

For further information about this program, please contact Cristina Barbata at: cristina@cmabc.com

Last month the CMA Vancouver Chapter caught up with Marietjie Bower, newly designated CMA and self-declared Type A personality.  Marietjie graduated from the program last October and currently works as the VP Finance and Controller at Liberty Wine Merchants in Vancouver.

The Chapter comprises individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds and aims to connect fellow Vancouver Chapter members through networking opportunities, online communities and SLP events.

Marietjie’s interest in the CMA was first sparked during a job interview in 1997 – the interviewer asked her if she would like to continue studying and suggested that she’d “make an awesome CMA!”  Marietjie may never have thought of CMA on her own, but with a little guidance, she easily identified that the “CMA fit”.  She recognizes the designation as “well-rounded”, that it allows her to connect numbers, industry, her company’s evolution, and people, to the leadership side of her designation thereby promoting strategic decision-making.  It not only allows for, but also encourages, diversity – Marietjie’s roles have included HR, IT, full cycle accounting, developing policies & procedures, budgeting and forecasting, strategic planning, and many other strategic roles.

Marietjie credits her strong support network of workplace, husband, and mentor and fellow CMA, Ed Baird.  Having a “coach” to help guide and point a newly minted CMA in the right direction is invaluable.

When asked if she had any advice for SLP students or prospective CMAs, Marietjie was quick to reply, “Don’t hold back!  Be open!  Go for it!”  There is no dumb question or experience and the only way to be part of the group is to fully participate.  She reminds us that this type of opportunity unfortunately (and fortunately) only comes around once in a lifetime.

As designated CMAs, we have the opportunity to meet and work with incredible people within the Vancouver Chapter, to share knowledge, experiences, ideas and laughter.  The SLP was an unparalleled experience but walking across the stage at graduation and becoming a designated CMA…. Well, that’s just the beginning!

We are pleased to announce the invitation to the following event has been extended to members of the CMA Vancouver Chapter.  

Dear Sir, Dear Madam, Subject: Invitation to participate in Costing & Profitability Breakfast Session

I am very happy to invite you to join our exclusive breakfast session on cost & profitability management that will be held on March 7, 2012 at 8:00 AM in downtown Vancouver, BC. The breakfast session will aim at exchanging experiences and points of view how to improve bottom line result by using activity based costing to contain your cost and optimize revenue. It is meant to be an open forum between C-level participants. Given your profile, role and experience in the field of finance, sales and/or operations, we would like to invite you to take part in this event. We kindly ask you to confirm your participation in this event by February 29, 2012 at the latest. For any questions on the content of the conference, please contact Frank van Vliet by phone +1 604.960.1364 or email him at frank.van.vliet@prodacapo.com

Driving success in a challenging world

Using Activity Based Costing to maximize profits and contain costs

Date: Wednesday March 7, 2012

Time: 8.00 – 9.30 AM

Location: UBC Robson Square / Telus Boardroom, Vancouver

Cost: Complimentary by invitation

Capacity: Max. 12

Audience: CEO, CFO, COO, CIO

Brief Description:

Do you know which products and customers are making you money? Most companies discover that only about 20-30% of their business is turning a profit. The rest is either breaking even or worse, loss making. During this session, you will be shown techniques to improve profitability and cost insight into your business.

Attendees will get an introduction to Activity Based Costing (ABC) and in what way it differs from traditional accounting. By hearing about customer cases you will understand what benefits activity based costing can bring to your organization. Casper Pastoor from Atradius will be speaking about their ABC project and what benefits they have gained from it.

ABC Applications that will be discussed include product & customer portfolio management, chargeback pricing, capacity management, process improvement, transfer pricing etc. With the focus on how ABC can help the manager to improve its performance? And how does it tie in with the overall strategy and performance philosophy of the organization. The breakfast session will focus on the management applications of ABC and how to make an assessment whether it could be of benefit to your organization.

Speaker/facilitator, Frank van Vliet

Frank van Vliet has extensive knowledge and experience implementing ABC within organizations. He has lead ABC implementations in many different sectors including Manufacturing, Logistics & Distribution, Health Care, Financial Services, Services etc. Clients he has worked with are worldwide renowned leaders in their respective markets and include Philips, Atradius, Erasmus Medical Center, KLM, Univar and many more. Frank van Vliet has a degree in Economics and Fiscal Law from the University of Amsterdam and he is a Certified Financial Analyst. Before joining Prodacapo, www.prodacapo, he has been the CFO of one of the business units of Vopak after having worked in the consulting practice of Ernst & Young.

Guest speaker, Casper Pastoor

Casper Pastoor is responsible for Reporting, Transfer Pricing and Cost Allocation within Atradius, www.atradius.com. Atradius is a leading credit insurance company with 3300 people working in 160 offices in 42 countries and a yearly revenue of $ 2 billion. In his capacity Casper Pastoor is responsible for streamlining the $ 250 million cost allocation process of internal services taking into account transfer pricing constraints.

During the breakfast session discussions and questions are highly encouraged.

Has it already been two months since the 2011 Holiday Social?  It seems like it was last night the ballroom at the Marriot was filled with excitement on the gaming tables and great conversations among our peers and fellow CMAs were had.  The 2011 party was a great success.  As a Chapter we were able to increase our donation to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society over 125% from 2010.  2011′s donation totaled $7,783 and went a long way in helping to feed people in the lower mainland.  Thank you to those who attended the event as your contribution went a long way. 

On December 16, 2011 Vice Chair, Laura Thomas, along with Debbie Roque and Cristina Barbata of the CMA BC Society were on City TV’s Breakfast television to present The Vancouver Food Bank’s Director of Community Investments, Doug Aason with the donation cheque.   This video can be accessed from our flickr page.

The atmospere at the event was electric.  We still do not know how the magician was able to fool so many of us or how the dealers were able to swipe our “thousands” away from us.  You can access the photos of this event from our flickr feed or on the right hand side of this page.

Congratulations to our draw prize and 50/50 winners and thank you to the sponsors of the event as well as those companies who generously provided excellent door prizes.  

We look forward to seeing you all again at this years event.   Have a great 2012.

 CMA Vancouver Chapter Board

The CMA Vancouver Chapter is happy to announce that we are once again entering a Corporate Team in the Vancouver Sun Run.  This year CMA Vancouver will cover the entrance fee for CMA Vancouver Chapter members.   Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned veteran of road racing this race should not be missed.   Come out and join colleagues from the Chapter and another approximately 50,000 participants on this awesome course.

The 2012 version of the race is a mere 74 days away on April 15, 2012.  Further details of the race can be found on the Sun Run home page. 

If you would like to register as part of the CMA Vancouver Team please email online@cmavancouver.com with your name and member number.  

 The registration details will be forwarded to you via email. We look forward to seeing you on race day.  

Happy Training!

CMA Vancouer Chapter

Welcome to 2012!

The new year brings new opportunities to invest in profession development.  On January 24th in the Fraser Valley and January 25th in downtown Vancouver, Ryan (Canadian Sales Tax Consultants) will be preseting on taxable benefits.

This unique session will reveal powerful information on the taxation of benefits, and how to handle them within your business.

The announcement of Vinetta Peek as the CMABC’s new President & CEO was made on November 16th.  Vinetta kindly agreed to an interview with the Vancouver Chapter.  

Congratulations on your appointment as President & CEO of CMABC!

Over the past 8 years, you’ve been a Vice-President for CMABC.  What initially attracted you to the CMA?

I had just returned to Canada from an International position as President and CEO of an IT company and was interested by the challenges that CMA was facing – in regards to rebranding the organization. New business development and branding was the main focus of my career in private industry – so I saw taking on this role with a not for profit organization – a very exciting challenge.  I also knew some CMAs who were close personal friends – and always admired the designation for being so diverse.

As a CMA (Hon.), how does your recent graduation from the executive program enhance your overall understanding of the CMA designation?  

At my convocation, Fred Zdan, FCMA announced I was the first person in history (in all of Canada) to have graduated out of the CMA program and also hold an honorary CMA. I am very proud of this accomplishment – but most proud of the understanding of what it takes to become a CMA. It’s not easy! The moderators and instructors are some of the best I have seen in my career, they are passionate about CMA and deliver an amazing program.  The technical skills that you acquire along with the strategic skills have not only enhanced my career – but also my personal life.

In March 2012 you will assume the role of President & CEO.  What will be your vision/goals for CMABC?

My first and overall vision for CMA is to continue to build the awareness of our designation.  We have some amazing CMAs here in British Columbia who are doing outstanding work and have successful careers in all levels and disciplines.  The awareness and respect of our designation is continuing to grow – but further enhancement of this awareness will not only support our current CMAs in their careers but help us grow our membership.

The Chapter looks forward working with you as the incoming President & CEO.  How do you see the Society and Chapter building on their existing relationship?

The Chapters within B.C. are an integral link for the society to our membership.  The work that is done in each of the 9 chapters is outstanding – in that it shows the pride and commitment that our members have in their designation.  The Vancouver Chapter has continued to grow and become more visible with the members here in the lower mainland and I see that the link between the society and the chapter will continue to grow as well.

Thanks so much Vinetta!  We look forward to working with you in the new year.  Best of luck!

In order to host a successful Holiday Social we rely on the strength and dedication of our volunteers and generousity of our sponsors.   This year we have been fortunate enough to have a number of sponsors come forward.   We would like to thank the following companies for sponsoring the 2011 event:

• Laitinen Consulting
• Scotia Bank
• Syspro Software
• Society of Management Accountants of BC
• Lyo Consulting Services

We would also like to thank the following companies who generously provided draw prizes for this years event :

• AD Microcircuits
• The Art Institute of Vancouver
• Musqueam Golf Academy
• Webnames.ca
• Takaya Tours
• Society of Management Accountants of BC
• The Vancouver Maritime Museum
• Helen Vallee – Life and Business Coach
• Studeo 55
• Raj Singh, First Vancouver Finance

If you have not RSVP’d for the event you can do so here.   We look forward to an entertaining and eventfull night with all of you!

Karl and Elaine have been working hard to put together this year’s Holiday Social.  Anyone interested in volunteering should contact social@cmavancouver.com

Please join us on Thursday December 8th at the Marriott Pinnacle.