Under his leadership, CPA Canada partnered with the federal government in a high-profile campaign to secure a Canadian office for the new global sustainability standards body. (Imahe: CPA Canada). |
TORONTO, July 3, 2022 – The former President and CEO of Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada has been named Regional Director – Americas of the International Sustainability Standards Board. Charles-Antoine St-Jean spent less than two years at the helm of the National Association of Canadian Accountants before CPA Canada announced in November 2021 that he would step down in March 2022.
In our Sunday News Roundup dated April 4, 2022, we wrote: “We anticipate that Charles-Antoine St-Jean, the recently deceased President and CEO of CPA Canada, will be appointed as the new Head of the Montreal Sustainability Standards Office. . St-Jean will work from the ISSB’s Montreal office, “with responsibilities that include connecting the ISSB’s work to the broader Canadian sustainability ecosystem,” according to a press release from the IFRS Foundation.
In addition to St-Jean’s appointment, the IFRS Foundations have:
- signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the public sector facilitated by Montreal International on behalf of the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec;
- began operations in Montreal with the June 2022 Trustees meeting and initiated activities to support the full ISSB presence on site, which would include staff and recently announced ISSB members Jeffrey Hales and Michael Jantzi ;
- the planned initial meetings of the ISSB will be held in Montreal in October and December 2022; and
- confirmed that the inaugural ISSB Symposium will take place in Montreal, with dates to be confirmed.
Much done for sustainability in two short years of tenure
St-Jean took over the leadership of CPA Canada from Joy Thomas, who served as President and CEO for four years until 2020, a period during which Thomas’ accomplishments were overshadowed by incidents that drew media attention. In 2019, a series of technology failures disrupted the writing of the Common Final Exam, which has been dubbed the Fyre Festival for accountants. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, CPA Canada reported that its website had been hacked.
Under Thomas’s leadership, however, CPA Canada has made significant strides in raising awareness of climate change and reporting on sustainability, despite the traditionally conservative views of its members. In 2018, for example, CPA Canada partnered with Natural Resources Canada for a $1.45 million climate change awareness campaign. The national accounting body has also published numerous reports and partnerships.
A former National Partner of EY Canada, St-Jean was a veteran of public accounting and standards, having served as Comptroller General of Canada and Chair of the Public Sector Accounting Board. Under his leadership, CPA Canada partnered with the federal government in a high-profile campaign to secure a Canadian office for the new global sustainability standards body.
His surprise departure was announced less than two weeks after Montreal was named one of three global hubs for the new Frankfurt-based accounting body. The nomination of Pamela Steer, named Former Chief Financial Officer of the Year for her work at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, was made in April 2022.
By Canadian accounting staff.
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