The Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada) is the umbrella organization for Certified General Accountants. CGA-Canada represents 73,000 members and students living and working in Canada, and more than 80 countries around the world. In October 2008, CGA-Canada was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers

Canada's Top 100 Employers

Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working conditions and progressive human resources policies. Winners are...

" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in Maclean's

Maclean's

Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...

newsmagazine. Later that month, it was also named one of BC's Top Employers

BC's Top Employers

BC's Top Employers is an annual competition that recognizes the best employers in British Columbia to work. First published in October 2005, the special designation recognizes the British Columbia employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work...

, which was announced by The Vancouver Sun

The Vancouver Sun

The Vancouver Sun is a daily newspaper first published in the Canadian province of British Columbia on February 12, 1912. The paper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. It is published six days a week, Monday to Saturday...

, The Province

The Province

The Province is a daily, tabloid format newspaper published in British Columbia by Postmedia. It has been a daily newspaper since 1898.According to a recent NADbank survey, The Provinces average weekday readership was 520,100, making it British Columbia's most read newspaper...

 and the Victoria Times-Colonist.
Certified General Accountants use the designation CGA.

CGA-Canada has affiliates in each Canadian province and territory as well as Bermuda, the Caribbean and Hong Kong, and representation offices in mainland China.
The association is a member of the International Federation of Accountants

International Federation of Accountants

International Federation of Accountants is the global organization for the accountancy profession. IFAC has 164 member and associates in 124 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants employed in public practice, industry and commerce, government, and academe...

 (IFAC).
CGA-Canada is an affiliate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean

Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean is an association of accounting organizations in the Caribbean region that promotes professionalism and standards of best practice in the region.-Purpose:...

 and is a member of the International Federation of Francophone Accountants

International Federation of Francophone Accountants

The International Federation of Francophone Accountants is an organization that promotes exchange and cooperation between accountants in the French-speaking community....

(FIDEF).

External links

• CGA homepage
• IFACnet homepage

History

• 1908 Birth of the designation: A trio of Canadian Pacific Railway accountants form the Canadian Accountants' Association.
• 1913 Association is federally incorporated, and is now known as the General Accountants Association, becoming a self-regulating professional organization able to set standards and examinations for admission. The CGA designation, created in 1908, is now confirmed.
• 1921 Expansion begins: First chapter is formed, in Toronto. Over the next two decades, chapters are established in Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax and Regina.
• 1932 First woman CGA: Ivy Cox becomes the association's first woman CGA. She would later marry and become Ivy Thomas.
• 1945 Coast-to-coast: There are chapters from coast-to-coast. Provincial, territorial and regional (offshore) affiliates are later established under their own charters.
• 1948 Bilingual origins: Examinations are offered in English and French in Quebec. The move to a bilingual organization is underway.
• 1950s CGA-British Columbia and the University of British Columbia's School of Commerce develop an innovative five-year extension program, available on campus or by correspondence. The program is later adopted in other jurisdictions and becomes a national curriculum standard.
• 1964 Education program goes international: The education program is extended to the Caribbean and Bermuda.
• 1974 Code of Ethics enshrined: CGA-Canada approves what would become the Code of Ethical Principles and Rules of Conduct.
• 1977 Founding member of IFAC: CGA-Canada becomes a founding member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
• 1982 Name change to the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada.
• 1988 John Leslie's award: The John Leslie Award is established in honour of the association's founding president and Chair, and recognizes exceptional service.
• 1987-1991 Competency-based accounting education: A major revision of the CGA education program is completed. Competency-based objectives, management emphasis and integration of ethics and information technology become hallmarks of the revised program.
• 1998 Degree required: CGAs are now required to obtain a bachelor's degree prior to certification. Partnerships are developed with universities to provide distance-learning options.
• 2003 Asian links secured: CGA-Hong Kong is granted affiliate status. CGA education materials are offered at more than a dozen Chinese universities.
• 2006 Worldwide opportunities: CGA-Canada signs a mutual recognition agreement with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the world's largest and fastest growing accounting association.
• 2008 Centennial anniversary: CGA-Canada celebrates its 100th anniversary and the birth of the CGA designation.
• 2008 Mutual Recognition Agreement with CPA Australia: CGA-Canada signs a mutual recognition agreement with CPA Australia.
• 2009 Mutual Recognition Agreement with CPA Ireland: CGA-Canada and CPA Ireland sign mutual recognition agreement.