Friday, April 4, 2025

The Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) is Canada's independent, public company audit firm regulator. Charged with overseeing audits performed by registered public accounting firms, CPAB contributes to public confidence in the integrity of financial reporting and is committed to protecting Canada's investing public. CPAB promotes audit quality through proactive regulation, dialogue with domestic and international stakeholders, and practicable insights to inform capital market participants. As a leading audit regulator, CPAB reinforces public confidence in Canada's capital markets.

CPAB was created in 2003 as a federal not-for-profit corporation by Canada's provincial securities commissions, the federal Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. CPAB is recognized formally by Canada's securities regulators through their National Instrument 52-108 Auditor Oversight. CPAB is also recognized under legislation in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. CPAB is an independent body which is not part of the self-regulatory arrangements for the accounting industry.

CPAB is headquartered in Toronto, with regional offices in Montreal and Vancouver, and employs approximately 70 professional staff. As of January 1, 2025, 242 firms were registered with CPAB. More information on CPAB can be found at: .

As a result of planned CEO succession, CPAB seeks a senior executive with exceptional leadership skill and a deep knowledge of the Canadian audit environment. The CEO will further promote and deliver on CPAB's success and reputation as Canada's world-class audit regulator. For a principled, visionary leader with superb relationship building and communication skills, who understands the applicable regulatory environment, this represents a significant opportunity to effect change and promote partnership within the Canadian audit and regulatory arena.

The Role

Reporting to the Board of Directors and based in Toronto, the CEO leads CPAB in achieving its mandate and vision as Canada's audit regulator, and has the passion and capability to drive continuous improvement, internally and externally. The CEO provides strategic leadership and is responsible for day-to-day operations and management of the organization. They also serve as CPAB's external face, representing the organization to its various stakeholders. In this context, integrity and reputation are paramount to CPAB's ongoing credibility domestically and on the world stage.

The CEO must balance strategic and operational choices while achieving business excellence in serving public needs. This includes making important regulatory judgments, appropriately disclosing inspection reports, and proactively developing and implementing an integrated communications and stakeholder relations strategy. They will represent audit regulation at the most senior level - forming effective relationships with audit firms, public company audit executives and board members, other regulatory bodies, provincial and federal departments and elected officials and relevant international bodies. To gain understanding of, and build consensus on industry perspectives, they will initiate discussion with diverse stakeholder groups, and through staff and members of the CPAB Board, maintain effective working relationships with external parties.

The CEO will engage with the Board of Directors in a thoughtful and constructive manner. Supporting the Board's governance responsibilities, they will ensure that it is provided with relevant and timely information and high-quality advice. In the same vein, their relationship with the Board will be characterized by openness, candour and transparency.

The CEO will be a very visible but humble internal leader, motivating employees and nurturing a culture of performance excellence, collaboration and talent management. Building on strong internal technical and cultural foundations, the CEO will be agile facing changing and fluid external situations. The CEO's team of direct reports oversees functions comprising External Outreach, Risks, Inspections, Enforcement, Law, People Officer, Quality and Finance.

The ideal candidate will be a senior and highly regarded executive of the deepest integrity with a minimum of 20 years of distinguished experience in finance, audit firm management or a compatible regulatory environment. Wise and thoughtful, they can envision long-term audit and regulator challenges, anticipate future opportunities and develop and implement strategies to address them. In addition to their industry experience, they have demonstrated leadership capabilities and an interest and passion for serving the public interest and corporate accountability. The ideal candidate will have earned their CPA professional designation or have been deeply involved with the CPA community. They will have a strong business orientation, outstanding communication skills and be a natural hands-on leader. Bilingualism is an asset.

Performance and Personal Competencies

Domain Experience
• Has deep knowledge of the accounting and audit industry and an understanding of the challenges of operating an audit firm in the Canadian context. Although not expected to be a technical expert on all relevant topics, they must have sufficient understanding to receive, assess and act on advice provided by staff, contribute to decision making in important situations and provide strategic directions.
• Must bring an appreciation for what it takes to be an effective regulator. This includes proven ability to exercise judgement about how to intervene proactively to achieve results from regulated entities, sometimes in the face of opposition, or to have been involved in challenging situations with regulated entities.

Strategic Leadership
• Has the ability to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support decisions in alignment with the organization's overall strategy.
• Maintains an up-to-date understanding of relevant industry and global trends impacting Canadian business.
• Balances the desire/need for broad change with an understanding of how much change the organization is capable of handling.
• Has sound judgement and unquestioned personal integrity.
• Is a thought leader who challenges CPAB to perform at an even higher level.
• Thrives when leading through a changing and ambiguous landscape.

Leading Teams
• Has a track record of team leadership and will develop and motivate CPAB's highly capable team in achieving CPAB's goals.
• Fosters a collaborative environment in which team members respect, challenge, and support each other to achieve superior organizational performance.
• Recognizes the importance of diversity in the workplace and ensures that the organization benefits from diverse thoughts, experiences, and expertise.
• Has a proven ability to recruit, develop and leverage the talents of others for current and future business needs.
• Inspires and achieves staff's commitment to advance CPAB's strategy.

Communicating, Building Relationships and Using Influence
• Acts as an influential advocate for CPAB, working smoothly and creating consensus across a wide group of stakeholders, internal and external, at all levels.
• Develops and maintains productive relationships with heads of audit firms, investors, and audit committee chairs, and other regulators in Canada and abroad; truly enjoys making and maintaining a wide set of connections.
• Is credible and poised, capable of commanding attention on issues of domestic and international importance in audit regulation.
• Maintains a high external profile and builds trusted relationships in a multi-stakeholder context to accomplish strategic objectives.
• Demonstrates the necessary diplomacy, clout and credibility to foster collaboration within and beyond the CPAB community.

Results Driven
• Plans and leads the implementation of the corporation's strategy and policies through the effective management of the firm's day-to-day operations.
• Adept at setting achievable but stretch goals for the organization and leading the organization to achieve them on a consistent basis.
• Manages effectively and efficiently all aspects of the firm: financial, human resources, operating systems and processes.
• Provides support to the Board to decide on strategic priorities, budget and staffing, and takes accountability for the overall business results.
• Showcases resilience and a balance in patience and action while promoting a culture of operational excellence.

Contact

If interested, please contact Russell Reynolds Associates at:

Please note that only candidates selected as part of the selection process will be contacted.

• 900-150 York St, Toronto, ON M5H, Canada