Public Trust Committee

The PTC serves the public interest by promoting further national harmonization of the profession’s self-regulatory policies and practices.

Role of the PTC

The PTC oversees the ethics standards and self-regulatory processes of the CPA profession.

The ethics standards are based on five fundamental principles that govern the behaviour of all CPAs:

• professional behaviour
• integrity and due care
• professional competence
• confidentiality
• objectivity

The detailed ethics standards are embodied in the profession’s Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) and are monitored and enforced through the profession’s self-regulatory activities. 

Protecting the public

The PTC’s structure assists the profession by identifying and addressing issues in a consultative and timely process. The PTC reports to the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) board through the profession’s Council of Chief Executives (CCE).

Harmonization of the profession’s policies and processes

The PTC supports improved harmonization of the profession’s policies and processes to protect the public by:

• recommending policies and strategies to uphold public confidence and trust in the CPA profession
• monitoring international developments in ethics
• reviewing and responding to proposed changes to independence and other ethics standards
• monitoring the development and renewal of the profession’s harmonized RPC
• monitoring the development and renewal of the profession’s regulatory requirements and processes, including disciplinary and practice inspection processes
• identifying matters which have or may have an impact on the public’s trust and confidence in the profession and to research and address them
• communicating and promoting any recommendations to improve the public’s confidence in the profession to the CCE and ultimately to those charged with governance of the profession
• approving the terms of reference of committees or task forces created under its auspices

Learn more about the PTC’s terms of reference.

The PTC is empowered to:

• initiate, review and commission research, and consult with appropriate parties within and outside the profession
• authorize committees and task forces that do the same
• adopt harmonized independence standards for CPAs, in both English and French, and ensure they are kept up to date

Committee membership

CPA Canada’s PTC was established in June 2014. 

The committee is a standing committee of the CCE and is subject to a five-year mandatory review to be performed by the CCE. The committee will consist of the following:

• a chair, normally a member of the CCE and appointed by the CCE
• one member of each CPA member region as defined in Article 6.1(a)(ii) of the CPA Canada By-Law Number 1, as amended September 27, 2016, namely British Columbia region (B.C. and Yukon), Alberta region (Alta., N.W.T. and Nunavut), Western region (Sask. and Man.), Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic region (N.B., N.S., P.E.I., N.L. and Bermuda), and one of these members must be a member of the CCE
• at least three public representatives
• additional members as required

No CPA member region as defined in Article 6.1(a)(ii) of the CPA Canada By-Law Number 1, as amended September 27, 2016, should have in excess of three members, including public representatives.

The public representatives and additional members will serve for a three-year term, once renewable, and staggered to provide continuity.

Current members

Chair

• Janet Gillies, CPA, CA 
  Ontario

Members from CPA Member Regions

• Anita Wilson, CPA, CA
  Manitoba
• Geneviève Beauchemin, CPA Auditrice
  Québec 
• Joe Hunder, Dip Ap, BA, LLB 
  Alberta
• Kathleen Franklin, CPA, CA
  Nova Scotia
• Stella Lam, CPA, CA
  British Columbia

Public Representatives

• Barry Sheppard
  Newfoundland and Labrador
• Naresh Agarwal, PhD
  Ontario

Secretariat

• Michele Wood-Tweel, FCPA, FCA
  CPA Canada