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Date: Sun, 13 Oct 1996 16:04:50 -0700
From: “Kenneth McVay, OBC”
Organization: The Nizkor Project
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OF CONCERN TO ACCOUNTING STUDENTS, ACCOUNTANTS,
AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC
CGA’S IN CANADA – WHAT’S WRONG WITH
THEM?
Over the past year, national media have been
filling the news with stories of major scandals involving
prominent CERTIFIED GENERAL
ACCOUNTANTS (CGA’s) in Canada .
In Alberta , the media have had a field day, reporting on
the fact that the Past President of CGA
Alberta, a CGA and FCGA, was under investigation on a
complaint by the HONGKONG BANK to the RCMP Commercial Crime
Division.The HK Bank was complaining about
William Mearns, who had been for 12 years the
Controller/Treasurer of the County of Red Deer, Alberta.
Mearns has now been charged with 14 serious criminal
charges, as reported in the Edmonton Sun, Red Deer
Advocate, and CFRN-TV. Among the charges are 5 charges of
uttering forged documents, another 5 charges of making a
false document, 2 charges of forgery, one more charge of
fraud, and one of theft over $5,000.00.
More than ONE MILLION DOLLARS is reported to be
missing, from the County of Red Deer, for which Mearns was
the County Controller/Treasurer.
In the past year Mearns and one of his businesses have
both gone bankrupt.
At the end of 1995, without any advice to the general
public or even to Members of CGA Alberta, Mearns was allowed
to SECRETLY RESIGN both his CGA and FCGA designations.
This seems to be a first for Canada, where an FCGA surrenders
what was supposed to be a prestigious designation.
Mind you, Mearns got his FCGA in connection with his work
in 1987-1988, where he was involved withthe admission to CGA Alberta of unqualified
bookkeepers, who were given the CGA designation, without any
requirement for education, qualifications, experience, NO
EXAMS, or even a requirement for
upgrading courses to bring them up to an acceptable standard.
CGA Alberta of course benefitted financially, from the huge
increase in dues and fees from these new members.
The Vancouver Sun and other national media recently
carried banner headlines regarding Roman Evancic CGA and
FCGA, who had got himself SHOT
!!This was apparently in connection with some business
partner and a collections problem. The news reported that the
assailant said, as he shot Evancic:”I’m from your stock
brokers. I understand you ripped him off” (per Vancouver
Sun – 11 January 1996).
And don’t forget the scandal exposed on national TV of
the Surrey,B.C. CGA, convicted of embezzling millions of
dollars from fellow parishioners of his church.
Are these published reports, as well as others, part of
the reason that the Maritime Provinces have successfully
maintained that CGA’s in those provinces
ARE NOT QUALIFIED to perform public audits?
Could it have something to do with the fact that an
unqualified CGA from Alberta could move to the Maritimes, and
even though unqualified, could still call himself a CGA
there?
Students of accounting in S.E.Asia, and the Caribbean,
who have to pay many thousands of dollars to obtain your
designation, how do you feel about
these “gwaliau” who got the CGA for
free?
Students of accounting, public accountants, members
of the public and financial institutions who are concerned
about credibility in the accounting profession are invited to
respond.
William Grosvenor
9208 – 137 Avenue , DEADMONTON, Alberta
CANADA T5E 1Y5
E-mail: [email protected]
