Montreal, April 22, 2010 – More than 1,000 people attended the annual CMA Graduation Ceremony held on April 17 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal to celebrate the accreditation of 318 new members.
As the Honorary President of the event, Andrew Molson, Vice Chairman of RES PUBLICA, pointed out, "during their career, new CMAs will have an opportunity to show how the tools that they have learned to master create value in organizations and contribute to establishing a culture rooted in intelligent risk management."
The Chair of the Board of the Order, Claude Paul-Hus, FCMA, General Manager, Société québécoise d’information juridique (SOQUIJ), reminded the new CMAs that they are entering the profession at a time when the greatest challenge worldwide is to reconcile social, economic and environmental needs. "This reality will force you to make full use of your analytical abilities and good judgment. Society expects you to be no less than models of excellence and integrity."
Prizes and honours
During the ceremony, several prizes and honours were awarded by the Foundation of the Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec, including the Fernand Cloutier Awards. These awards were presented to two teams of candidates, one from the regular path and the other from the executive path, which have earned the best results in the final step of the CMA accreditation process, the Report to the Board of Directors. The members of both of the winning teams received a medal of honour and $6,000 divided up equally. The winning team from the regular path included Marie-Lyne Beaudet, CMA, Accountant, Analysis and Taxation, Desjardins Securities; Émilie Bouchard, CMA, Financial Analyst, Danone inc.; Luc Charest, CMA, Controller, Entreprise TRA, and Zouhaier Hichri, CMA, Tax Specialist, Ernst & Young (Kuwait). As for the winning team from the executive path, it included Éric Albert, CMA, Executive Vice President, Stingray Digital Group; Andrée Desjardins, CMA, Director, Financial Policy and Systems, Transport Canada; Jimmy Fecteau, CMA, Manager, Transfer Payment Policies, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada; Jean-Yves Girard, CMA, Industrial Analysis and Development Officer, Industry Canada, and Chantal Pelletier, CMA, Logistics Officer – Comptroller, Department of National Defence.
The Foundation of the Order also highlighted the contribution of three master’s degree students to the advancement of accounting knowledge. Accordingly, Zoffirath Dissou, student in the Master’s of Science in Administration (M. Sc.) – Management Control program at HEC Montréal, as well as Véronique Guay and Évelyne Moreau-Godbout, both students in the Master's of Business Administration (MBA) - Accountancy program at Université Laval, shared fellowships for research in accounting totalling $9,000.
In addition, the Foundation of the Order awarded the 2009 Entrance Examination Grand Prize, accompanied by a $1,000 scholarship, to Louis-Philippe Desmarais, a graduate of HEC Montréal. As for the 2009 Case Examination Grand Prize, also awarded by the Foundation, it was won by two candidates who tied for first place in Quebec with a grade of 94%. Valérie Gagné-Rousseau and Andrée Lavoie, both graduates of HEC Montréal, received $2,000 scholarships each.
CMA Canada, for its part, honoured twelve members of the Order recently admitted to the prestigious group of Fellows (FCMA), a national distinction that recognizes the outstanding qualities and achievements of CMAs who distinguish themselves in their field and serve as role models. They are Robert Demers, FCMA, Vice-President, Operations, Quebec Region, Symcor Inc.; Michèle Desrosiers, FCMA, Partner in Charge of the Strategy and Performance Consulting Group, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton; Nayiri Dolabjian, FCMA, Evaluation Officer, International Civil Aviation Organization; Bernard Fortin, FCMA, Executive Director, Centre jeunesse des Laurentides; Lise Fréchette, FCMA, Director, Project Office, TELUS; Mario B. Gamelin, FCMA, Consultant; Martin Lamontagne, FCMA, Consultant; Claude Laurin, Director, Master of Science in Management program (M.Sc.), HEC Montréal; Marie-Josée Ledoux, FCMA, Professor and Head of the Accounting Sciences Department, School of Management, Université du Québec à Montréal; Rolland G. Morier, FCMA, Vice President, Finance & Administration, Iron Ore Company of Canada; Gilles Poirier, FCMA, Director of the CMA-MBA Executive Program, Université du Québec en Outaouais, and Yasmin Rivera, FCMA, Manager, Financial Services – Global Sales, Air Canada. There are currently some 575 people who hold this title in Canada, including 95 in Quebec.
The National Recognition Award presented by CMA Canada was given to DECIMAL for its outstanding contribution to the growth of the entire CMA profession and the advancement of management accounting.
Finally, Louiselle Paquin, FCMA, Chief Financial Officer of the SITQ, received the Mérite from the Quebec Interprofessional Council forher remarkable contribution to her order and the professional system in Quebec. Ms. Paquin sat on the Board of Directors of the Order for four years and chaired it in 1998-1999.
The Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec, which has more than 9,300 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.
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Photos available upon request, (medias only).
Source:
Quebec CMA Order
Contact:
Ginette Bourbonnais
Communications Department
514 849-1155 or 1 800 263-5390, ext. 246
g.bourbonnais@cma-quebec.org