Hello all new and renewing members. The CBA is excited to welcome you and also welcome you back. The following is a bit of information for the members.
History:
The CBA was originally formed in 1997 by an accountant in Ontario who was tired of getting non professional bookkeepers to do work for his clients. He wanted to build a membership of professional bookkeepers that he could call on from time to time and this would also facilitate other accountants. He ran the organization, which was called something else, Canadian Alliance of Bookkeepers (I believe), for six months and gave up. It was taking off and he did not have the time to manage it.
A bookkeeper in British Columbia took it over and it has gone through some incredible challenges over the years, like becoming the Canadian Bookkeepers Association and registered with Industry Canada. Leadership issues challenged this organization and almost shut it down, but we came back (several times) and now have a better understanding of what is needed in our industry for bookkeeping to thrive.
It has been run (and still is) by unpaid volunteers. These volunteers are usually board members who take charge of some of the tasks. Membership and benefits have always been a challenge, however, we are changing how that works, and adding to it.
The CBA is currently the cheapest organization for membership. This will be changing as we compile our new offerings to our membership.
What is next?:
We are still alive and kicking (cliché) and we are in process of changing up what services we will be providing to our members and how they will be delivered. This will take time as we need to look at the infrastructure (hire people to facilitate).
As most of you are aware there are three major Bookkeeping Organizations currently in Canada that facilitate the progress of our bookkeeping industry. The CBA is one of them. All three offer a "certification" for bookkeeping. To acquire this, the parameters vary with each organization. The CBA is the only organization that offers a tiered membership.
We have chatted about being recognized as a professional industry (like accountants) for quite sometime and there are pros and cons to it.
The following are two important items to consider:
One very important pro is that we could be licensed to do what we do. This would enable the bookkeeping industry to self govern. We could determine rates and hold bookkeepers accountable for their work. We feel (along with Small Business) fair accountability is lacking in our industry at present.
One very important con is that the Provincial Government, in each province, will be telling you how to do your business.......my business lawyer indicated that this was not necessarily a good thing.
Education and experience have always proven to be first and foremost in any industry.
One major focus will be on ensuring that bookkeepers have access to the best that Canada and the US has to offer in both.
Sound good? We like to think so.
Again, thank you for joining,
we hope you have a great experience with our organization and will want to stay.
Sincerely,
Member Services
