Events

ICABC, CA Speaker Series

by Austin Nairn

On March 23, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC hosted their bi-annual CA Speaker Series with the Leaders of Tomorrow Mentorship Program. This popular event gives young people an opportunity to hear from two highly accomplished Chartered Accountants about their respective career paths and the benefits of holding a CA Designation. Guests heard from Alan Peretz (Partner at Vancouver office of Deloitte and Touche LLP) and Peter Leitch (President of North Shore Studios and Mammoth Studios).

Both gentlemen emphasized the importance of having their CA Designation and the various doors it has opened for them. They also emphasized that while having a strong understanding of the financial side of business has been critical to their success, relationship building and strong communications skills has helped them take their career to the next level.

Both men described their respective career paths in sections. Alan's time at Deloitte has provided him the opportunity to work in numerous areas of the firm including Audit, Deregulation and even the sponsorship side of the 2010 Winter Games. Peter's time in film the industry has seen his companies excel during the best years in the history of the local market and contribute to projects like the X-Files, X-Men and the soon to be released A-Team Movie.

When asked what advice they can provide young people, Alan encouraged guests be open to opportunity and develop a high level of integrity, while Peter explained how building trust among colleagues (by providing the good news and bad news) can enable companies to make informed decisions in a timely fashion. In addition to being accomplished professionally, both men are tremendous community contributors as evident by their extensive volunteer commitments and willingness to address young people.

Following the program, guests enjoyed a casual reception and refreshments courtesy of ICABC. Mr. Peretz and Mr. Leitch were incredibly generous with their time as they answered a barrage of questions from those in the early stages of their career. The Vancouver Board of Trade would like to thank The Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia and both speakers for making this event possible. ICABC is an event sponsor of the Leaders of Tomorrow Mentorship Program and more information about all that they do is available here: www.ica.bc.ca.