What is Canadian Accountant?

THERE are more than 200,000 Chartered Professional Accountants in Canada, in every region, sector and finance-related position, from junior analyst to CEO. Yet there is no independent news source for balanced reporting. No common forum for conversation and comment. No platform for content that will inform, challenge and inspire you.

Until now.

Canadian Accountant is your go-to source for news, trends and opinions relevant to the Canadian accounting profession and broader business community. We want to be your single source of truth for trends, tools, development and insight into the accounting story behind today's headlines.

We promise to be truthful. We promise to be balanced. We promise to be provocative. And we promise to be fresh, with at least one new story every day. And we promise to engage you and the wider business community on social media, through our channels on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. 

That all sounds good but what won't you do?

That's a great question. Diversity is the strength of the accounting profession. We can't be all things to all people. 

So we won't focus solely on the audit community. The vast majority of CPAs in Canada are in management accounting. You work primarily in the private sector — industry and manufacturing — and you hold a wide range of positions. And tens of thousands of you work in government and the broader public sector. We want to tell your story.

And we won't focus solely on technical information. Frankly, the Big Four do a bang-up job on standards and guidance. You don't need another source of technical guidance.

But we will provide value to practitioners. Roughly twenty per cent of you work in practice and that includes CPAs working for the Big Seven accounting firms. The SME practice field in particular is rapidly changing due to demographic and technological disruption and you need a forum to discuss those challenges and opportunities.

And we will provide value through the stories we choose:

• The best, most engaging and provocative bloggers
• Reporting on the accounting angle behind headline business stories
• A specifically Canadian focus on business and economic issues from coast to coast
• Stories that will inform, engage and inspire you, that will speak to the issues that are really on your mind

OK. I get it. And I want to be part of the conversation

Digital platforms are all about dialogue. We will grow based on your feedback, from the comments you post, to the pages you visit, to the links you click on. We will look different three days, three months and three years from now. Our growth depends on you. And, as we grow, we will continue to add new features driven by your input and feedback.

So join the conversation — and subscribe to our weekly newsletter review, released on Fridays, which lists all new content posted during the week, with hyperlinks to the online content. If you hadn't had the time to visit us on a daily basis, you can pick and choose the stories that appeal to you.

Welcome to Canadian Accountant. Now let the conversation begin.

Colin Ellis is the editor-in-chief of Canadian Accountant.