CMA BC Vancouver Chapter

April 8th - CMA Vancouver Chapter Wine Tasting with Farmstead Wines

We are incredibly excited to partner with Farmstead Wines and the Vancouver Club for a very special networking event on April 8th.  It's called a "wine tasting," but Farmstead has the capacity to make this event into an entire combination of elements that go beyond wine.

Wine:  Even though these elements go beyond wine, let's start there.  A little over a year ago, The Georgia Straight published an article entitled "Farmstead wines offers some spectacular wine finds."  Jurgen Gothe, contributor for Uncorked, the Straight's wine column, describes the Domaine Gauby Vieilles Vignes Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Blanc (2005) as "...one of those wines you want to pour for your wine-snob cousin who took a course in France last year; ask him to identify it."  The wines for tasting will be fantastic.

Mastery:  As Management Accountants, we spend a majority of our time engrossed in the day-to-day of our businesses.  While we are surely excellent in our crafts, there's something inspiring about stepping into someone else's world and being given a glimpse into someone else's expertise.  I've followed Farmstead on Twitter for some time and read their blog regularly for the past year - we will learn a lot on this spring night without any doubt.

Sustainability:  Like most things that are hand crafted in traditional fashions, we can talk about sustainability.  When Anthony Nicalo founded Farmstead Wines, it was as much about the farmer as it was about the wine.  Through organizations like Farmstead, you are able to take a look at small farmers and purchase at sustainable prices.  In general, Vancouver is very much about sustainability and joining us for an evening with Farmstead Wines is a great window into many farming practices that many of us don't even know are disappearing.

Casual & Luxurious:  The venue for this event is the Vancouver Club.  While denim and athletic wear aren't acceptable for this event, you'll find the Vancouver Club to be a wonderful venue.  The who's who of the recent Winter Olympics recently took up residence at the club and it's carrying that momentum forward through its new renovations and renewed service excellence.  

$725 in Prizes!  We will be giving away one ticket to the upcoming CMA BC Member's Conference.  With a series of blog posts about the conference upcoming, this will be a great professional growth opportunity.

There you have it - every reason to attend our Wine Tasting on April 8th.  Tickets available through the link below!

All photos:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/farmstead/ / CC BY 2.0

Sign up for HST Training - NEW HST Rules released

Here is a link to the newly released Place of Supply, Self-assessment and Rebate Rules regarding the BC HST Implementation which commences July 1, 2010 - only 4 months away.  We are expecting legislation any day now. http://www.fin.gc.ca/n10/10-014-eng.asp

Does HST impact you and your business and you want to know more?  Sign-up for the training session being run jointly by Ryan and the CMA Vancouver Chapter on March 25th at 7.30am to 11.00am.  Click here to register: http://hstmar10.eventbrite.com

Sign up soon so you don't miss out! This session has proven so popular we have moved to a bigger room as the event originally sold out in under a week!  The event is being held at the Vancouver Club.  

Don't forget the CMA Vancouver Chapter's other very timely training titiled "Business into the United States - How tax issues drive business decisions".  Do you have business in the US or employees working across the border? If so you understand the tax rules are complex. Consider attending this session presented by Mark Mitchell an experienced tax professional who has worked in both Canada and the US and advised extensively on both business and personal tax matters.

This session is being held on April 21st from 7.30am to 9.30am also at the Vancouver Club.  Click here to register: http://crosstazapr10.eventbrite.com

Upcoming Chapter Events on HST and Cross Border Tax Considerations

I'm thrilled to announce that Chapter CPLD Opportunities continue with events in both March and April.

In March we address HST with a 3 hour session on everything you need to know about the changes coming into effect July 1st. In April we turn our attention to the Tax Considerations of doing business across the Canada/US Border. You can learn more and register for both of these events by clicking the bellow links

Further blog posts will also cover the events in more detail.

Taste Fantastic Wine and win a free ticket to the 2010 Leadership Conference

Ready to have a new taste experience? Would you like to try some unique and delicious wine? Come join us on April 8th for a very exciting networking social event!

Farmstead wines will be providing a bit of history as you taste various wines from small family vineyards, hand-crafted by the very farmers who cultivate the grapes:

"The wines in the Farmstead Wines collection are each hand-made, through natural methods, in small quantities. We work with the farmers who grow the grapes themselves AND make the wine. We use a set of strict selection criteria that are very difficult to meet individually, let alone together. It makes our search for great wine difficult, yet immensely pleasurable. "

For more information on Farmstead Wines, please follow the link below:

http://www.farmsteadwines.com/

As an addition incentive, everyone who attends the event will be entered to win a ticket to the 2010 Leadership Conference which is being held in May!!! The ticket is worth $625 - $725, so why not enjoy some wonderful wine, engaging conversation and networking and have a shot at winning a big prize?

Tickets for members are $50 and you can register by clicking below!

*Please be aware of the dress code below. There is no denim or athletic wear allowed.

“Smart casual attire" for men means shirts with collars and sleeves or turtleneck sweaters and tailored slacks. Seasonally, knee length tailored shorts are permitted provided shoes (not sandals) and knee socks are worn. Sweatshirts, jeans or warmup suits are not permitted, nor is apparel with advertising messages or slogans,denim of any colour, cargo pants, collarless shirts, hiking style boots, boat or athletic footwear. Running shoes or sandals are not permitted.

"Smart casual attire" for women means shirts with collars or blouses, collarless shirts with jackets and tailored slacks or skirts. Seasonally, knee length tailored shorts or sleeveless summer dresses are permitted. Again, Sweatshirts, jeans or warmup suits are not permitted, nor is apparel with advertising messages or slogans, denim of any colour, cargo pants, hiking style boots, boat or athletic footwear.

Additionally, the use of cell phones in the club is restricted to private booth areas dedicated for such use.

2010 CMA Sun Run Team - Message from Stuart Mah

Greetings past and interested runners!  We have 15 spots to form the 2010 CMA Sun Run team.  If you are interested in participating in this annual event, please register at:

 

http://www.vancouversun.com/sunrun/2010+registration+details+coming+soon/1882770/story.html

 

and follow the instructions for "Team and Members: Corporate" / "Join Team - team members only".  Choose our team name, "CMABC - Vancouver Chapter", and the rest is pretty much self-explanatory.

 

Prior to the run, there will be a team picture which takes place at the corner of Georgia and Seymour.  I hope to see you out there flexing your quads!  Any questions, send me an e-mail at stuart.a.mah at shaw.ca.

 

Happy training!

Stuart

March 18, 2010 - Breakfast Networking at the Vancouver Club

After an incredibly successful inaugural Breakfast Networking at the Vancouver Club in February, we are returning on March 18th.  This is a fantastic venue for breakfast networking and the turnout in February was really reflective of the enthusiasm these events have gained.  With that in mind, space is limited and we expect a sell-out crowd.

You can register at EventBrite (below) and we look forward to seeing you.  Please also take a moment to review the dress code for The Vancouver Club Members and Their Guests.  They request "Smart Casual Attire" and this is defined on their site if you'd like specific clarification.

Chapter CPLD Event a Success

On January 19th Mackay & Company hosted the first Chapter CPLD event of the year.

Joanna Joniec, CMA explained the difference between insolvency, bankruptcy, bankruptcy protection and protection under the CCAA. Joanna then took us through various rights of debtors or creditors including some great examples.   Jonathan Ross gave a good procedural overview of debt collection and taking of security, elaborated well on various factors to consider and shared some best practices.

 A huge thank you to Joanna from MacKay LLP and Jonathan from Davis LLP for presenting to the Vancouver Chapter on Bankruptcy and Insolvency.  The presentation was very informative and timely.  There was also a great question and answer period after the formal presentation; including drinks at the bar afterwards!

The Vancouver Chapter is always on the look out for hosting future events.  Please let us know if there are any topics that you would be interested in attending a presentation on or if you would like to volunteer to present on a topic of your choice.

Vancouver Chapter's Holiday Social Benefits Greater Vancouver Food Bank

In early December the Chapter hosted its third annual Holiday Social and on December 23rd we delivered the goods to the Food Bank.  Doug Aason, Director of Community Investment at the Food Bank attended the social and gave any number of reasons to donate to the cause.  

The Food Bank:

•  Receives no government funding
•  Has 3:1 buying power - for every $1 donated, they can buy $3 worth of most foods
•  Feeds more than 25,000 people per week - nearly half are children

His case was compelling and our Chapter really stepped up.

Three of the Chapter Directors, Stewart Marshall, David Olson and Dave Macdonald met with Doug just prior to Christmas to deliver a cheque for $2,241 and a half dozen boxes of food.

It was our best showing out of the three years the event has been held and Doug has let us know that he's looking forward to next year. 

We're a good party and also great contributors!

2009 Holiday Social Success!

Thank you to all of the guests, volunteers, door prize donors and sponsors of the 2009 CMA BC Vancouver Chapter Holiday Social.  With 130 attendees, the event was a complete sell out and there were as many new friendships made as old friendships revisited for many.

A very special thank you to the volunteers who put the event together on the day-of and leading up:

• Kathy Rogers
• Felicity Bandic
• Amy Sohi
• Lisa Lehwald
• Lily Luu
• Leaha Bedhar

David Olson led this year's event and did an excellent job in pursuing sponsors, door prizes and ensuring we had up-to-date content for the space here on this blog.  Kudos also to our current Chapter Chair, Stewart Marshall, for getting this project rolling.

This year's sponsors were great supporters and we're very glad to have had the support of each of them in 2009:

• Sprott-Shaw Community College
• Nature's Path
• Scotia Bank
• WPCG

Also, thank you to all those who donated door prizes including:

• CDot Networks ($150 gift certificate for Cioppino's)
  
• Shangri-La Hotel (Lunch for 2 at the MARKET by Jean-Georges Restaurant) 
• Marriott Pinnacle Hotel (1 Night Free Stay)
• Overwaitea Food Group (Gift Basket)
• A-Power Computer Ltd. (Asus Netbook Computer & 5 x $20 gift vouchers)
• WPCG (Weekend Accommodations in Whistler) 

With each event being bigger and more successful than the previous year, we look forward to next year's event with great excitement!

    

 

Holiday Social is SOLD OUT!!!

We are very pleased to announce that the 2009 CMA Vancouver Chapter Holiday Social is SOLD OUT.  A very heartfelt thank you to this year's sponsors and all of those who are attending in support of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.  This is a group on the ground addressing a fundamental need in our own backyards and they will be very grateful for our support once again.

This will surely be a great event and an excellent opportunity to connect with your fellow Chapter members prior to the New Year.  With 130 total attendees, we can expect a packed house and lots of holiday cheer.

For those who did not get their tickets in time, the upcoming Santa Clause Parade is an excellent opportunity to support the Food Bank.  In addition, we will be hosting December's Coffee and Muffins at Licious in Bentall IV on December 17th.  This will be the last Coffee and Muffins of 2009 and we hope to see you there!