Strength in numbers

The compelling case for a new Canadian chartered accountant profession

The May 11 announcement of the proposed merger of CAs and , CMAs in Canada (and CGAs in Quebec) took the accounting world by storm. According to the carefully developed plans by these professional organizations' leaders, a new profession - 100,000-members strong working in three streams, adhering to the highest ethical and professional standards - would become reality on January 1, under the CA brand.

Even if surprising, the writing was on the wall. In the April and May issues of CAmagazine, the chairman of the Inter-Institute Strategic Planning Task Force, Steve Glover, wrote that the CA profession was …