Bills 38 and 44 - CMA expertise in service of the community

MONTREAL , Sept. 23 /CNW Telbec/ - The Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec welcomes the government initiative allowing educational institutions in Québec to form real boards of directors. According to François Renauld, FCMA, President-Executive Director of the CMA Order, "this initiative will only improve the governance of Québec's educational institutions and ultimately increase their independence and accountability."

Adequate representation within a board of directors is essential to the sound functioning of an organization. That is why the CMA Order immediately supported the new rules. "For the Order, the presence of a majority of independent members on the boards of directors is crucial because these members will be able to make both strategic and well-informed decisions, while reducing the risks of conflicts of interest," added François Renauld.

Expertise should be the main criteria considered when choosing the directors. Mr. Renauld added, "By both appointing board members from the area in which an educational institution is active and ensuring that at least 60% of them are independent, the boards of directors will as a result benefit from wide-ranging expertise and competencies. In addition, the CMA Order believes that the added independent members will contribute in tangible ways to the decision-making process, because the boards of directors will be able to draw on their vast experience in a number of areas of expertise."

Furthermore, the Order agrees with the mandatory creation of governance, ethics, audit and human resource committees, which are normally found in boards of directors that draw inspiration from best governance practices. For the Order, "it is critical for at least one member sitting on an audit committee to have accounting or financial expertise. This requirement is especially valid for the boards of directors of universities that may need to have audits performed of financial statements and documentation related to operating and capital expenditure budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars," stated François Renauld.

François Renauld also noted that through their role, CMAs are well positioned to understand and analyze the issues facing boards of directors. The vast majority of CMAs are partners in private and public organizations rather than private practices. As a result, they are less likely to maintain professional client-employee relations with educational institutions. For that reason, they constitute a sizeable pool of independent directors.

"The CMA Order is convinced that the implementation of the measures described in Bills 38 and 44 will benefit all actors concerned. We welcome once again the government's determination to introduce such measures," concluded Mr. Renauld .

About the Québec CMA

Order The Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec, which has more than 9,000 members and candidates to the profession, provides leadership to the CMA profession through the enforcement of high standards intended to enhance the performance of organizations. CMAs create value within organizations through an integrated and systematic approach to strategic and financial management.

Hyperlink to the brief (in French only):

http://www.cma-quebec.org/~/media/Files/CentreDoc/divers/2009/090813_MemoireDeLOrdreDesCMA_fr.ashx

For further information: Julie Desjardins, Coordinator, Marketing and Media Relations, Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec, [phone], ext. 239, [email protected]