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Accountants enter workforce in record numbers
New Yellowknifer Dmitri Kazimirski among record 12 Certified General Accountants Association of the NWT and Nunavut grads this yearThandie Vela Northern News Services Published Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011
Kazimirski, recently hired in Yellowknife as a GNWT manager of financial report and collection, is among 12 graduates of the Certified General Accountants Association of the NWT and Nunavut program this year -- the largest number of new members in the North to date. "We've had some success as reflected in our record number this year of new CGA members into our association," said Jim Martin, chair of the association's education committee. "We feel that the record number this year is a reflection of the demand for accountants in the North and we're very pleased to be able to play our role in meeting these needs and supporting our students in advancing their careers." Although Kazimirski was able to rise to the role of director of finance over two decades practising uncertified in the south, he knew he would eventually need to get his designation for mobility, he said. "If you grow in one company from a lower position to a higher position, really nobody's asking you about professional designation," Kazimirski said. "But if you want to change place, usually employers ask you for professional accounting designation." Kazimirski took advantage of the association's distance training model to work in Toronto and Iqaluit as he pursued his certification. As soon as he passed the exam this spring, he was offered his position in Yellowknife, where he has lived with his wife since September. "I like this place, I like my job, the environment," Kazimirski said. "It's really interesting. I like Yellowknife. It's a very picturesque town." Also, admitted at the association's membership ceremony in September was Climate Muyambo, Mustansar Nadeem, Charles Dorais, Jay Hutton, Darren Wettig, Steven Abel, Andrew MacDonald, Nkiruka Umenwofor-Nweze, Robert Fraser, Derek Finstad and Zakar Hovhannisyan. While Kazimirski was able to complete the program within three years with advanced standing, students can enter the program straight from high school, and have up to 10 years to complete it. Through partnerships with universities including Laurentian, students typically complete the program with professional accounting designation in addition to an honours bachelor of commerce degree, Martin said. There have been years with as little as one graduate from the Northern association but industry demand, coupled with the association's increasing work with local colleges, has contributed to the growing number of graduations, he added. "This is a reflection of CGA working closer with the local colleges and I think we're going to see more growth in the future," he said, adding "the demand for professionally-trained accountants in the North and across Canada, is increasing. "There's increasing expectations from the public for increased accountability," Martin said. "It's becoming more and more of a very important thing for organizations to give assurance to the public if you're in government, to give assurance to your stakeholders if you're in industry, that you're following accountable practices. Accountants play a very important role in the accountability framework of organizations, in all sectors." The association currently has 124 members and is under the umbrella of the Certified General Accountants of Canada, which serves 76,000 accountants and students across the country and abroad.
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