Crowe MacKay CEO, Bruce Picton, shares the firms involvement with the institute of the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA). Together, the CPA and Crowe MacKay, are making a difference across Western and Northern Canada.

At Crowe MacKay LLP, a hallmark of our history has been "giving back". Our firm is proud of the great work we do to help make our communities better places. The "torch" of community service continues to be passed to our new teammates with impressive engagement.

We also pride ourselves on "giving back" to our profession. Recently, Ken Laloge joined a long list of Crowe MacKay FCPA, FCA's. These Crowe teammates have made significant contributions to both their communities and our profession over their career.

Gary Cook has been awarded the Impact Award for his exceptional service to the CPA Education Foundation.

Many of our teammates continue to contribute significantly on Provincial/Territorial CPA boards and committees. Recently, Matthew Bannister was recognized for his part in continuing the leadership effort that our Crowe MacKay LLP Yellowknife team provide to CPA.

I've been asked to share my experience with "giving back" to our profession. I've had the opportunity to work with CPA Alberta over the course of my career. It has been a rewarding and educational journey for me. I've learned that we get out of our profession what we put in.

My recent involvement with the CPA Education Foundation (CPAEF) as a board member and the current Chairperson has been a privilege.

CPAEF has evolved impressively over the past few years. The organization has become a positive force through unification of the profession in Alberta. CPAEF and CPA Alberta have developed a tremendous collaboration in favor of present and future CPA's.

The CPA Education Foundation's Mission is to positively impact accounting education opportunities and those that inspire and develop future Alberta CPAs. I have been extremely impressed by the Boards commitment to forwarding our Strategic Priorities. We are blessed with a terrific CPAEF management team lead by our Chief Executive Director, Rachel Miller, FCPA, FCA. The entire management team exudes enthusiasm and commitment.

CPAEF is the core charitable organization of the CPA profession in Alberta. CPAEF, with the unwavering support of the CPA's in Alberta, advances accounting education through the strong support of post-secondary business education and over 100 student scholarships. CPAEF connects with students from high school to CPA's in an effort to promote access and success in accounting education. CPAEF teams with CPA Alberta to advance the profession's reputation.

Some significant accomplishments of the CPAEF in 2018 include;

• a record-breaking year in scholarship applications,
• a record-breaking year in student participation in events,
• and continuous work towards the No Limits initiative.

The No Limits initiative encourages and supports indigenous Albertans seeking careers in business and accounting. This is just one of the CPAEF programs that I enthusiastically support and believe in. I am excited by our Crowe MacKay LLP involvement with the No Limits initiative. Our scholarships and support of indigenous students is making a difference. Seeing the CPAEF team working with AFOA is consistent with our firm's approach, which has for many years been working extensively with indigenous communities and businesses. We respect the work done by AFOA and are excited to see the legacy Indigenous Learning Gathering emerge from No Limits. The collaboration with the University of Athabasca to expand accounting offerings to indigenous students is exciting for Alberta.

I am watching an increasing engagement of Crowe MacKay with CPA Alberta. We have Crowe teammates attending Bowl-a-rama and CPA Connect events. We recently had a team attend the Business of Cannabis presented by CPA Alberta. Our team is sharing and connecting with CPA's through this engagement.

Early this year, the CPAEF board introduced the Hesje CPA Knowledge Centre, a virtual hub for knowledge sharing for CPA's to support individuals, communities, and accounting education across Alberta. This was made possible due to the unprecedented $1 million donation from business leader, Brian Hesje, FCPA, FCA.

I recently had an opportunity to address the CPA Alberta Board. We are very fortunate to be members of a profession with dedicated peers, selflessly committing to improvement and sustainability of our profession. CPA Alberta has been a steadfast partner of the CPA Education Foundation. The future of this profession matters to me.

I am a proud CPA, CA and I'm excited to see the evolution of our profession. I have two great kids and many friends who are part of CPA Alberta. I encourage young CPA's to consider the many opportunities available to contribute to CPA Alberta's bright future.

Learn more about the CPA Education Foundation and how you can make a difference in the future of the accounting profession.