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.

We are delighted to inform you that our Annual Holiday Social will be held Thursday, December 8^th, 2011 at the Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle Downtown. The Holiday Social is an excellent opportunity for members, guests and anyone interested in broadening their business network to enjoy themselves in a collegial atmosphere during the holiday season.

Our event is a benefit for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. Attendees are encouraged to bring a donation for the food bank and all proceeds will go toward this charity.  The Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society was established in 1982 and has since helped to feed up to 9000 people a week in Burnaby, New Westminster, Vancouver and the North Shore. They do not receive government funding and therefore rely on private citizens to keep operating.  In addition we hope you will consider sponsoring our event with a tax-deductible cash sponsorship or donation in kind, to be used as a door prize.

Your donation will help the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society continue to provide an essential service to the people of Greater Vancouver. We encourage donations of merchandise for door-prizes and/or direct, tax-deductible donations, minimum $500, to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Your donation will have a direct, positive effect on our society. Other benefits of sponsorship include:

• Free admission, excellent networking opportunity
• Organization listed on Chapter’s web page and blog
• Opportunity to display organization’s marketing materials at event, which will have between 150 and 200 business professionals in attendance
• Recognized and thanked in the November and December chapter newsletter
• Recognized and thanked in a speech given at the event

For information on how to sponsor the 2011 Annual Holiday Social please email Karl Dhillon (karl@fnfisheriescouncil.ca) or call 604-354-6193. Please consider sponsoring this year’s Annual Holiday Social. It is an excellent opportunity to benefit your organization AND the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.

Sincerely,

CMA Vancouver Chapter Holiday Social Committee

We are pleased to announce that CMA Vancouver members have been invited to attend two great events this month.

1. An Introduction to Lean Thinking by CMC Bristish Columbia will be held on October 18th 2011 at the Terminal City Club.  CMA Vancouver members can register for this event here.

The Session will explore how organizations can utilize Lean Thinking to obtain brilliant results from their teams managing brilliant processes, that are underpinned with a management system that develops every employee into a problem solver. Lean Thinking transforms the way work is done, and the way people work together.

Key concepts to be explored include the following:

• Engage staff
• Redesign complete customer experience
• Standardize processes
• Make performance visible
• Remove variation and errors
• Simplify steps
• Eliminate unnecessary steps
• Improve the flow
• Seek continuous improvement

The deadline to register for this event is October 16. 2011

2. Value-Added Taxation in Canada: GST, HST and QST and Advanced Topics will be held on October 25th 2011 at The Fairmont Vancouver Hotel.  CMA Vancouver members can register for this event through the Ryan Training website, www.ryanco.ca, or by emailing Lora Harnett at lora.harnett@ryanco.com.

Agenda

• Value-Added Taxation in Canada: GST, HST and QST – 9:00 a.m. to Noon
• Lunch (included) – Noon to 1:00 p.m.
• Value-Added Taxation in Canada: Advanced Topics – 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Value-Added Taxation in Canada: GST, HST and QST session will provide attendees with a summary of the most important issues posed by Canada’s value-added taxes.  This course reviews which taxes to charge and under what circumstances, documentation requirements and common pitfalls when claiming input tax credits.

The Advanced Topics seminar is a newly developed course that has been designed to aid attendees in understanding some of the more complicated aspects of Canadian value-added taxes, including the place of supply rules for intangible personal property and real property, as well as the GST/HST rules for pension plans. In addition, a comprehensive review of the GST/HST and QST issues that often complicate cross-border transactions will be included in this session, with an emphasis placed on the rules for imports, exports and drop-shipments.

Felicity, what do you enjoy the most about being a CMA?

The membership.  There are so many wonderful members that have so many diverse and interesting experiences.  The network to be gained from attending networking and CPLD events is fathomless.  At every breakfast networking or CMA BC recruitment event I continually meet new CMAs, CMA students and individuals working towards being accepted into the program that are engaging and interesting community leaders.

What attracted you to the CMA Vancouver Chapter Board?

After I completed my designation I wanted to become more involved in the CMA Community.  The CMA is not like a degree, it is something that is more alive, enduring and evolving; I wanted to be part of that growth path for both myself and the designation.

How has the CMA assisted your career?

As someone who has specialized in Corporate taxation for over 17 years the CMA has given me a tool kit with which to communicate to the highest levels of management in the companies within which I work.

What is your vision for the Chapter?

My vision is consistent with that of past Chapter Chairs:

To be the “go to” community that our Chapter Members think of for:

- building a network;

- seeking guidance and assistance with their career path;

- finding support and structure for specific business needs in their work place; and

- a community with which to connect with like-minded individuals and have fun.

We look forward to working with Felicity to grow the Chapter and have fun doing it!