Required reading

Readers asked for more information on the potential merger and we obliged

Stunned is probably the best word to describe the reaction to the announcement of a proposed merger between CAs and CMAs, as well as with CGAs in Quebec. But CAs soon recovered and fired off passionate letters to the magazine, the CICA and the provincial institutes, asking about the ins and outs of the project.

CAmagazine is doing its best to provide readers with the most current information. We could not possibly publish all the letters we have received; instead we took a cross section of your comments and questions and put them to the Council of Senior Executives. Robert Colapinto discusses these concerns in "Why merge?" (p. 28), including fears of a potential dilution of the CA designation and grandparenting, and offers information on the business case regarding the proposed merger. The magnitude of this proposed merger also caught the attention of columnist Marcel C�t�, who discusses the strategic issues involved in this project (Outlook, "To merge or not," p. 60).

Change continues in the accounting world. A year ago, the profession announced the creation of the Canadian Public Accountability Board, which was up and running at the beginning of this year. Accounting firms wishing to audit the books of publicly traded companies in Canada must now register with the new oversight body, which began auditing the firms' processes a few months ago. The US also created an oversight body, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which does the same for companies registered with the SEC. Both organizations recognize the challenges involved in registering, particularly for cross-listed entities. Peter Morton reports on the design and implementation of these mechanisms and how each body is working toward recognizing the other's work to eliminate costly duplication ("Auditing the auditors," p. 22). Contributor John Tabone complements Morion's article with an analysis of audit and related fees between 2002 and 2003 ("Rise in audit fees less than expected," p. 27).

This month, our Regulars section features articles on taxation (p. 34), assurance (p. 37), business adviser (p. 39), education (p. 41), and risk management (p. 43).

In Off the record, G�rard B�rub� writes about Google's widely criticized decision to offer restricted shares ("Daring to be different," p. 6). In his Netwatch column, Jim Carroll warns upper management and board members to beware of "the next governance grenade," infrastruclure and network security (p. 14). For his part, Michael Burns looks at shattering the SAP myth (p. 16) in this month's Test drive column.

The CAmagazine team burned the midnight oil to put together the latest information available for this issue. Because new information is constantly being released, I suggest you contact your provincial institute and attend the meetings organized to answer any questions. You can also visit our website at www.CAmagazine.com.

[Author Affiliation]

Christian Bellavance, Editor-in-chief