ACCA canada orientation guide

ACCA Canada ORIENTATION GUIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST ACCA MEMBERS AND STUDENTS ARRIVING IN CANADA INTRODUCTION There are over 1,900 ACCA members and affiliates and over 800 ACCA students in Canada presently Many ACCA members are employed across Canada in public accounting firms such as KPMG, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers Others are employed in various other industries, including government agencies, Human Resources and recruiting, manufacturing, oil & gas, etc ACCA Canada is engaged in a number of initiatives designed to raise awareness of ACCA with the business community, such as a high profile conferences, articles and advertisements in major business magazines and newspapers, and Sustainability Reporting Awards Other ACCA members in Canada are also very supportive of new members arriving to Canada so prospects for ACCAs are improving While the ACCA designation does not have statutory recognition in Canada for the practice of public accounting, opportunities exist in various industry sectors, public practice and government agencies Members will need to demonstrate their skills and training to Canadian employers and recruiters, and be prepared to promote awareness of the quality of the ACCA designation For convenience, summary information about the standard of the ACCA qualification is provided below ACCA is governed by the regulations of the UK Companies Act which state that the final level of the examinations must be at least equivalent to a three year UK degree Completion of Parts and of the syllabus provides the option for students to apply for a BSc in Applied Accounting awarded by Oxford Brookes University The Part examinations are comparable to that required in the final examination of a UK Masters degree Should you have further questions concerning the ACCA program, please contact ACCA's global customer service centre or ACCA Canada office: ACCA Connect Central Quay 89 Hydepark Street ACCA Canada 55 St Clair Ave West Suite 255 Glasgow G3 8BW United Kingdom Tel: 011 44 141 582 2000 Fax: 011 44 141 582 2222 E-mail: info@accaglobal.com Toronto, ON M4V 2Y7 Canada Tel: 416 966 2225 Fax: 416 967 6320 E-mail: info@ca.accaglobal.com This guide has been produced by ACCA Canada office Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this booklet is accurate and up to date at the time of publication ACCA accepts no liability for inconvenience or loss caused by the publication of any out of date or inaccurate information, January 2010 ON ARRIVAL On arrival in Canada we suggest that you: Contact ACCA Connect to update your mailing and employment details Alternatively, you can this yourself through the ACCA website and your MyACCA login If you not update your details, you will not receive correspondence from the Canadian office, as well as newsletters and information about various activities and events in Canada Apply for your SIN (Social Insurance Number) number and apply for the GST (Goods and Services Tax) rebate – request the forms for new immigrants for both of these from the Canada Revenue Agency Apply for child tax benefits if applicable The form is available from the Canada Revenue Agency Apply for your driving licence Open a Canadian bank account Prepare your resume (CV) in Canadian format (see examples at the back of this guide) Prepare your portfolio showing references from various sources i.e bank and character references as well as those referring to previous employment Be prepared to take any reasonable job offered to get some initial experience in the Canadian workplace Consider taking a part-time job or contract work until you are established here The Canadian job market is actually far more geared to this kind of employment in the 21st century, even for all levels of senior financial management and members should be prepared to adapt, if necessary, to this job market 10 Utilize some of the resources not-for-profit agencies and employers have been developing to assist ‘New Canadians’ to find t and supervised the renovation and construction of 3,000 square feet of office space in London and Toronto, resulting in better utilization of space, and improved office efficiency Served as a member of the SAP/R3 Implementation Team responsible for Financial Accounting and Control Analyzed through the Cost Accounting system, historical cost information, current costs to benchmark and projected future costs of new and existing products to forecast gross margins Forecasted, at the corporate level, sales by territory and product to identify costs to gross margins and incorporated into the annual budget Monitored the discounts and rebates by customer to ensure they were in line with corporate policy Finance and Budget Manager (1979 – 1981)  Supervised a staff of 15 in Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Invoicing and Computer Operations  Prepared the annual budget and developed the entire system using Lotus 123 in order to distribute the budget over the 13 accounting periods for approximately 100 cost centres Cost and Budget Manager (1971 – 1978)  Computerized the manual cost system, creating a more timely and efficient process  Developed a daily efficiency reporting system for plant operations, indicating labour utilization and material consumption compared to standard Prior to 1971 supervised accounts receivable and cost accounting EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT     CGA designation Numerous managerial, business and technical courses Proficient in Windows 98, Microsoft Office (Excel, Word), Lotus 123, WordPerfect 6, internet and email Working knowledge of PowerPoint and Access COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT  President of London Bookers Board of Directors (current)  Ward Chairperson London Charitable Society door to door campaign  Member of London YMCA (current)  Past President London Chapter of Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario and current member   Past President of Grand Valley Chapter Administrative Management Society Past member of Smith College - Business Administration - Management Studies Program Advisory Committee SAMPLE RESUME #3 TONY L BROWN FCCA 342 Juniper Crescent London ON N5A 3E9 Phone: (519) 444-3333 E-Mail: tony@met.ca CAREER SUMMARY Product Management and Senior Marketing manager with 20 years experience in the High Tech field Proven success in managing strategies and programs from conception, through development and onto execution Effective in achieving results by generating common focus through coaching, team building and objective setting in an often changing environment BUSINESS EXPERIENCE ABC Limited 1997-1999 General Manager (1998-1999) Control Room Display Systems Business Unit Managed all business unit activities including Sales, Product Management, Marketing Communications and Support Worldwide mandate with budget responsibility of $30 million  Spearheaded the development and execution of an Integrated Business Plan that addressed all aspects of the business including Market Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Product, Sales, Distribution, Marketing, Support, etc This created the foundation for success for the Business Unit, generating over $20 million in revenue in 1998  Redefined the sales and distribution strategy resulting in a more focused and more cost effective means of selling, distributing and supporting Control Room display solutions Director of Marketing (1997-1998) Projection Systems Division Responsible for all aspects of Marketing including, Product Management, Marketing Communications, Sales Order and Support with a staff of 24  Created a new Product Management Process including Job Description, Skills Definition and Objective Setting, giving the team a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities  Defined and introduced a customer focused approach to determining market/product requirements, enabling the company to develop and deploy the industry’s first large screen projector built specifically for the Rental/ Staging Market, achieving major success in its first seven months of introduction  Initiated and managed the creation of new templates for sales tools designed to increase sales productivity within the direct and indirect channels These tools helped standardize presentations and they reduced inconsistencies in the selling stories  Defined and deployed numerous formal marketing processes for Product Requirements, Releases/Launches and Pricing which resulted in quicker time to market Released approximately 30 major products and 45 minor enhancements over a two year period resulting in new sales records for the months of July ’98 through to December ’99  Conducted market research and analysis of the worldwide installed base of Control Room projectors in order to develop a clearly defined sales and distribution strategy  Defined and supervised the creation of an internal and external Internet Home Page designed to improve the availability of information and sales productivity Recognized as one of the best Home Pages in the industry RST LTD 1979–1997 Director, Product Management (1993–1997) Image and Payment Systems Business Unit, Woodbridge Managed a staff of up to twenty-one Product Managers in their efforts to successfully define, develop and deploy solutions for the worldwide Document Imaging and Item Processing markets  Led restructuring initiatives through five major reorganizations within a twelve month period, maintaining focus on program deadlines while improving Employee Satisfaction from 45% to 85% during a time of tremendous insecurity and change  Identified market requirements for the European and emerging markets (e.g., France, UK, South Africa, India, China) Combined with our ongoing success in North America we became the industry leader in worldwide ship share and installed base (i.e., 60%)  Supervised thirteen major releases and the creation of an internal and external Internet Home Page, increasing revenue by 22% over 1996 results (i.e., $110M vs $90M) while maintaining one of the highest gross margins in the company  Defined and implemented a better way to track and report monthly sales activities and developed an aggressive plan to ensure that maximum revenue was realized Product Manager/Senior Product Manager (1984-1993) RST Document Management System and Item Processing Solutions, Woodbridge Accountable for the commercial success of a number of product lines within the RST financial product portfolio Included market research, competitive analysis, the creation and execution of Business Plans, Product Requirements and Product Releases while working as a team member with all of RST’s externally and internally focused organizations  Developed a new sales and distribution channel for RST’s first document imaging solution, known as RST DMS, achieving $300 million in worldwide sales within three years of introduction  Defined and created two major releases/launches of the RST DMS within the first two years of introduction  Conducted extensive market research for a major replacement program resulting in:  Establishing a new benchmark within the corporation for Business Planning  Creating well defined Product Requirements  Having minimal change to the Product Requirements during the development phase     Developing the product on schedule and within 10% of budget Creating a very focused and well understood release/launch of the product Increasing installed base from 65% to 73% and annual ship share from 70% to 76% Achieving $31 million in annual revenue  Becoming the sole provider for this kind of solution in the world Product Marketing Manager (1981-1984) Retail Systems Division, Woodbridge Created, developed and managed sales and marketing plans for various products sold to the General Merchandising and Hospitality segments of the Canadian retail industry  Redefined the target markets for the General Merchandising and Hospitality vocations within the division This resulted in reducing the sales staff by approximately 35% within two years while maintaining a steady growth in sales and a dramatic increase in profitability  Released ten new products within two years Each product proved to be successful in increasing market share and profitability for the division Sales Representative (1979–1981) Retail Systems Division, Woodbridge Sold cash registers and computer systems to the retail trade located in South Western Ontario  Increased sales by 30% within the assigned territory within one year EDUCATION Degree: Honours Business Administration (BBA) Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario Major: Industrial Marketing PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Internal and External Courses:  Numerous Technical, Sales and Marketing    topics Shared Values/Common Bond and Teaming Influence & Negotiation Effective Writing and Presentation Skills  Employee Targeted Performance Assessment    Financial Management Time Management Just-In-Time (JIT) Principles SUMMARY OF SKILLS Management Skills: Process Skills: Cross Functional Business Planning, Objective Setting, Coaching, Directing, Strategic and Operational Planning Market Research, Product Requirements, Product Development, Competitive Analysis, Pricing, Release, Deployment, Life Cycle, Sales and Support Technical Skills: Computer: MS Windows, Office, Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook and Exchange Familiar with Client/Server (UNIX, DOS, OS/2 and NT) solution issues COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS Chairperson, Woodbridge P.S Fact Finding Committee Vice Chairperson, Woodbridge P.S School Council 1998 - Present 1996 - Present Woodbridge Optimists Club Woodbridge Country Club 1990 - Present 1984 - 1997 Networking Your Way to the Top Networking has always been a great way of hearing about job opportunities that you might otherwise not hear about With some studies saying that up to 80-90% of jobs are found through the hidden job market, it’s important to know how, when and where to network Networking involves making contact with people and nurturing those relationships The experts at TorontoJobs.ca have come up with a few tips to help you in your networking: Always Be Networking Most people only choose to start networking when they’re looking for a new position If you network continuously, when you begin to look for a change in employment it won’t be something you need to switch on and off Your network may pay off even when you’re not expecting it Anyone Can Be Part of Your Network You don’t have to be speaking to a President of a multi-national company for you to be able to network with people who can help you Your network can consist of friends, family, relatives, previous and current associates, your hairdresser, banker or mechanic or former classmates or people you recently met at a party The list can be large Ask people who they know and you will be surprised as to how your network can expand Give and You Shall Receive If you let others know about job opportunities or things that might be of interest to them when they might least expect it, they might let you know of opportunities when you least expect it Be sure to pass on anything useful to your contacts when you see something that might interest them Organize Your Network! Organize your contacts so that you can stay in touch with them on a regular basis With contact management systems that are affordable and easy to use, you should be able to stay in touch with your network on a regular basis quite easily, even if it’s just wishing them the best during holiday periods Do What You Say You Will By not contacting people if/when you say you will, you are sending a message that you’re not that reliable Following up is so easy to do, requires a few minutes of your time and sends a very positive message about you Get Others Talking by Asking Questions Don’t fall in the trap of thinking that networking is telling others about yourself Networking is about sharing information If you’re not comfortable talking, ask questions about the other person – their background, experience(s), what they like doing, etc so a conversation will be easier to get started It’s Not Just Who You Know Your network consists of not just who you know, but also who your contacts know Keep that in mind that if you show you’re willing to pass on names of people you know, others will the same for you Build Relationships A relationship isn’t created by meeting someone once Stay in touch with people Create a rapport with them Make Yourself Available Go to Chapter meetings, volunteer or join networking groups There is never a shortage of places where you can meet people – ask around and you will be amazed at places where people are Make the time to go to these events, but don’t expect a lot the first time you meet someone Like sales, most of the benefit of networking doesn’t come in a first contact Thank People for Referrals Let people know the result(s) of their referrals, even if nothing happened It sends a positive message that you are thankful for the referral Tips at Networking Events When you go to networking events, keep in mind some simple things:  Bring business cards  Listen carefully to what others are saying  If you’re nervous about going to an event alone, ask a friend to join you  Make eye contact with the person you’re speaking with – don’t keep looking at who is coming into the room every two minutes  Shake hands and smile  Don’t talk with your mouth full!     Don’t fill up your plate with appetizers at a reception Don’t just meet one person and talk to that person the whole time….mingle Don’t flirt! Don’t use off-colour jokes! Conclusion If you stay in your own circle you’ll be limited to what opportunities you will hear about However, by continuously expanding your network you will hear about opportunities that you might never have imagined TorontoJobs.ca is a local job board serving the Greater Toronto Area and has been in operation since 2002 With millions of hits per month and growing, TorontoJobs.ca is best suited for candidates looking for opportunities and clients looking for the best candidates in the Greater Toronto Area You can contact TorontoJobs.ca at info@torontojobs.ca Careerjet is an employment search engine for Canada In one simple search, Careerjet gives the job seeker access to a massive selection of jobs that are compiled from various internet sources, saving the trouble of having to visit each site individually www.careerjet.ca ... questions concerning the ACCA program, please contact ACCA' s global customer service centre or ACCA Canada office: ACCA Connect Central Quay 89 Hydepark Street ACCA Canada 55 St Clair Ave West... Other ACCA members in Canada are also very supportive of new members arriving to Canada so prospects for ACCAs are improving While the ACCA designation does not have statutory recognition in Canada. .. 582 2222 E-mail: info@accaglobal.com Toronto, ON M4V 2Y7 Canada Tel: 416 966 2225 Fax: 416 967 6320 E-mail: info@ca.accaglobal.com This guide has been produced by ACCA Canada office Every effort