• Chartered Accountants became the first professional accounting body to be recognized in Canada more than 125 years ago. Today, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants represents more than 71,000 CAs and 9,500 students in Canada and Bermuda
   
• Canadian CAs have reciprocal working agreements across the globe – countries like Australia, Belgium, England and Wales, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, and the United States.
   
• According to the 2005 Globe and Mail Report on Business magazine's annual listing of the Top 1000 Companies also reported that that companies with a CA in the CFO position, the average return on capital over the past five years was 5.4% compared to -0.16% for companies that did not have a CA in the CFO position.
   
• In 2005, 61 per cent of the Globe and Mail's Report on Business magazine's Top 1000 Companies had at least one CA on the executive team.
   
• All CA candidates must write and pass the Uniform Evaluation (UFE) which assesses the knowledge, skills and professional values required of a CA. The UFE is often cited as one of the world’s most rigorous professional examinations.
   
• Professional competency for a CA includes possessing a significant body of knowledge and the skills and aptitude to analyze, synthesize and apply that knowledge effectively. The specifics of what this competency entails are laid out in “The CA Competency Map” – all 192 pages of it.
   
• Approximately one third of CAs choose to work within industry, bringing their insight and expertise directly to business and non-profit organizations as CEOs, CFOs, financial strategists, and executives. Over half of Nova Scotian CAs are part of the management team of various organizations and businesses.
   
• The CA designation nationally recognized and internationally respected. CAs can practice anywhere in Canada and throughout the world because of CICA’s international reputation and its agreements with other accounting bodies.
   
• CAs are highly trained business professionals with a lot more than a university degree. They have completed a rigorous program of post-secondary academic requirements, a challenging final examination, and completed a minimum of 30 months of supervised training in various business settings.
   
• A primary focus of the CA training is to acquire a high degree professional JADE Skills - Judgment, Analysis, Decision-Making and Evaluation. These qualities are invaluable in whatever career a CA pursues and makes them a valuable member of any decision-making team.
   
• CAs offer a variety of services you may not have realized:

• Purchase and sale of businesses & business valuations
• Information technology and needs analysis
• Acting as a trustee for receivership, insolvency or bankruptcy
• Forensic accounting and litigation support
• Management consulting & developing management controls
• International business venture planning

• CAs make a commitment to career-long learning and professional development. This is mandated and supported by the professional governing bodies on a provincial and national level, and CAs are subject to mandatory practice reviews to make certain their knowledge is up to date.

Fact Sources:
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants: www.cica.ca
CA Advantage (CICA): www.caadvantage.ca
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nova Scotia: www.icans.ca