Montreal , December 2, 2010 – Some 240 people attended the first CMA Ambassadors Gala on November 19, which honoured the 65 graduates of CMA and CMA-MBA Executive Programs and new recipients of the title of Fellow.
In her speech at this occasion, Marie-Andrée Giroux, FCMA, Chair of the Order’s Board of Directors, pointed out that all of the guests had in common an attachment to the CMA profession, “a profession that symbolizes success, excellence and integrity.” While the Order is now working hard on updating its strategic directions for the next three years, the Chair of the Board made it a point to mention that the most important of all priorities is to continue to offer employers a product – the CMA product – that is perfectly adapted to their needs, which means that CMA training has to evolve in step with businesses. “Thanks to the close relationships that we have traditionally enjoyed with employers,” said Ms. Giroux, “I am convinced that the profession will continue to expand its sphere of influence and gain popularity.”
Eight outstanding ambassadors of the CMA profession
The achievements and success of the Fellows and the graduates of the CMA and CMA-MBA Executive Programs play an instrumental role in increasing the influence of the CMA profession. Both at universities, with Richard Fontaine, Professor at ESG UQAM, Jean-François Henri, Professor at the school of accounting of Université Laval, and Jean Lavoie, Lecturer at ESG UQAM, and in the business world, with Laurent Bleau, Assistant General Manager at Caisse Desjardins Atwater-Centre, Marie-Andrée Giroux, Vice President, Finance, at Roche Consulting Group, Yves Landry, General Manager, Canadian Operations, at the Canadoil Group, Roch Leblanc, Vice President and General Manager at American Biltrite, and Luc Richard, Director of Operations at Ubisoft – Quebec City Studio, the eight new Fellows (FCMA) recently named by the Order now join the 95 others who form the elite of the profession in Quebec.
65 new graduates of the CMA and CMA-MBA Executive Programs
As for the graduates of the CMA and CMA-MBA Executive Programs, this year’s 65 join the group of high-level financial managers who have opted for this exclusive combination of management and accounting in the executive training market. It is interesting to note that the CMA and CMA-MBA Executive Programs have not taken long to carve out an enviable portion of this market since their creation around ten years ago and have become a preferred medium of many foreign professionals to break into the job market. In fact, every year, people from or trained outside Canada make up 50% of the clientele of these programs, a reality that is very much on the mind of Kathleen Weil, Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities, who attended the CMA Gala specifically to praise the CMAs.
Prizes and honours
During the evening, the CMA Order Foundation also presented the Fernand-Cloutier Award to a team of candidates from the CMA and CMA-MBA Executive Programs that earned the best results in the final stage of the CMA accreditation process, which is the Report to the Board of Directors. The members of the winning team, which include Vincent Arlas, CMA, Senior Associate, Consulting and Deals, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Isabella Gasselsdorfer, Accountant , Lépine Group, Mita Patel, CMA, Financial Analyst, Management Reporting, TD Insurance, Ying Shu, Financial Analyst, AVEOS Fleet Performance, Dorina Sovejanu, CMA, Financial Analyst, Garda Security Services, and Vivianne Taylor, CMA, Business Analyst, Tembec, received a medal of honour and a $6,000 scholarship to be divided up equally among them.
Marc Journeault, CMA, Assistant Professor at the school of accounting of Université Laval and a doctoral student in economics and management at the Université catholique de Louvain, in Belgium, received a $20,000 Doctor of Accounting Fellowship from the Foundation.
Among the CMA Order’s main ambassadors of the profession is the company that won the National Recognition Award, AXA Canada, which was given this award for its outstanding contribution to the growth of the entire CMA profession and the advancement of management accounting.
Finally, Daniel Zbacnik, FCMA, Partner, Advisory Services, at KPMG LLP, received the Mérite from the Quebec Interprofessional Council for his remarkable contribution to his order and the professional system in Quebec. Mr. Zbacnik chaired the Board of Directors of the Order in 2003-2004.
The Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec, which has nearly 9,500 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.
Source:
Quebec CMA Order
Contact:
Ginette Bourbonnais
Media Relations
514 849-1155 or 1 800 263-5390, ext. 246
g.bourbonnais@cma-quebec.org