Cover Story
By Patrick Schryburt
Leading the Way
to a Bright Future
The leaders of BC’s professional
accounting bodies look forward to
an engaged and dynamic CPABC
Galina Peshkova/iStock/Thinkstock
Modern organizational leadership
can include many diverse styles
and approaches, and as the leaders
of the ICABC, CGA-BC, and
CMABC can attest, the unification
of the three professional
accounting bodies in BC is proof
that different perspectives and
backgrounds can not only help
achieve organizational goals—
they can lead to even more
desirable outcomes.
14 CPABC in Focus • Sept/Oct 2014
O
ur two newly elected leaders for
the ICABC Council and CMABC
Board are Dan Little, CPA, FCA, and
Simon Philp, CPA, FCMA, respectively. They
join David Sale, CPA, FCGA, who became
chair of CGA-BC in January 2014. All three
have participated in their organizations’
leadership ladders, serving at the executive
level prior to assuming their current roles.
Dan and Simon have served on CPABC’s
Transitional Steering Committee (TSC) since
its first meeting in November 2012, and David
joined the TSC once the three-way merger
agreement was signed in May 2013. They
have already made numerous contributions
to unification, and are now poised to take
the unifying bodies forward to the next big
milestone: the official formation of CPABC,
which is likely to happen in 2015. Each is
passionate about the profession and excited
to take part in its evolution.
Dan Little, CPA, FCA
Dan Little is the managing partner of Hayes
Stewart Little & Co., a public accounting firm
with more than 50 partners and staff, and
offices in Victoria, Duncan, and Nanaimo.
Dan’s journey to become a professional
accountant started with an important detour
after university. While waiting to write the
admissions test for law school, he heard that
enrolling in the accounting program could
mean getting paid to go to school.
“It was tough to find a job at the time,” Dan
says, “so I changed course towards accounting.”
It proved to be a good fit, as he soon discovered that accounting interested him more
than law.
“Understanding how different businesses
work was fascinating,” he says, “and it has
kept my interest ever since. I love guiding my
clients through financial opportunities and
challenges. My work is always interesting
and never the same.”
As the managing partner of his practice,
Dan is also keenly aware that change is a
constant—particularly in terms of the intergenerational differences among partners
and staff, accounting rules and standards,
technology, and communication.
“Keeping the firm moving forward with all
these changes is a great challenge,” he says,”
but it’s very rewarding.