Council seeks candidates to support the ongoing advancement of the profession in Ontario
CPA Ontario members in good standing are encouraged to contribute to protecting the public interest and the effective governance of the profession in Ontario by running for election to CPA Ontario’s Council. This year, there are four seats available for election. The roles and responsibilities expected of a Council member are outlined below.
2026 Priority Skills, Attributes and Experience
Consistent with the responsibility of CPA Ontario’s Council to oversee an orderly and strategic 2026 succession process, as outlined in Regulation 3-1: Council Nomination and Election Process, Council has identified the priority skills, attributes and experience that will complement Council’s existing skill set. This process is designed to help Council deliver on its mandate to protect the public interest, advance the profession and ensure CPAs lead business and society forward.
The priority skills, attributes and experience identified by Council for 2026 are:
- Strategic and Transformational Leadership: Experience in planning for change; forward-thinking with respect to industry challenges and technology disruptors; innovative thinker with a track record of executing and operationalizing ideas.
- Emerging Technologies: Understands the technological forces reshaping business, education and society, including how AI and other emerging technologies are disrupting business models and working environments. Examples include: experience across educational technology, automation, nanotechnology, cognitive science, robotics, blockchain, big data and/or AI.
- Board Experience and Governance: Sits on a corporate or nonprofit board, a tested director who is knowledgeable about governance best practices; has served on a board committee or as an officer of a board or board committee.
- Business Acumen: Tested leader who brings an understanding of business situations and financials; successful track record analyzing situations, leading complex operations and managing teams.
CPA Ontario is committed to strengthening the profession and believes that equity, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to that success. We encourage nominations from eligible CPA Ontario members who represent the full diversity of communities across Ontario.
Identified candidates
CPA Ontario’s election process follows best practice by including the identification of candidates with the skills, attributes and experience necessary to address succession planning and meet the rapidly changing needs of the profession. This process is formalized in Regulation 3-1: Council Nomination and Election Process.
Under this process, all candidates are interviewed by CPA Ontario’s third-party governance advisor to understand their skills, attributes and experience. They are then presented to a committee of Council with a recommendation on which candidates they believe would benefit from a second-round interview by the committee.
Following the conclusion of all interviews, the committee of Council identifies those candidates they believe to have expertise in the priority skills and attributes, and levels of experience needed, to support CPA Ontario and the needs of the profession. These candidates are clearly identified on the ballot and candidate information webpage.
CPA Ontario Council Roles and Responsibilities
Council's role is to oversee the effective governance of the profession in Ontario and to ensure that CPA Ontario delivers against its strategic priorities. The CPA Ontario Council consists of 12 elected members and four public representatives appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
Key Duties and Responsibilities of a Council Member
- Protect the public interest.
- Advance the profession.
- Ensure the integrity and independence of CPA Ontario’s self-regulatory processes.
- Act consistently in accordance with the values and ethics of the profession.
- Set and approve the strategic direction, related priorities and corporate performance management framework.
- Approve the annual business plan and budget.
- Provide guidance and support to the President & CEO and senior team in the implementation of the strategic plan and annual business plan.
- Ensure the development of a risk management strategy and plan.
- Monitor and evaluate financial performance and ongoing operations, including overseeing the annual audit with regard to fiduciary duties.
- Appoint, set the compensation of, manage the performance of, and evaluate the President & CEO.
- Act as ambassadors on behalf of the organization.
Time Commitment and Committee Structure
There are four regular Council meetings a year, each generally held as an all-day meeting. Council members are expected to attend a minimum of 75% of Council meetings in person.
Council members are expected to participate on a minimum of one Council committee (the four standing committees are Finance & Audit, Governance & Nominating, Human Resources and Risk).
Council members are expected to thoroughly examine all pre-read material, attend committee meetings (in-person or by electronic means) and participate as necessary to fulfill any other Council obligations (AGM, Council elections process, etc.).
How to Submit a Nomination
Any CPA Ontario member in good standing is eligible for election to the Council by completing the nomination package. Please follow the process below to submit a nomination:
- Review these instructions carefully.
- Complete the following nomination package documents:
- Nomination Form
- Acceptance Form
- Candidate Statement (750 words maximum)
- Candidate Biography (500 words maximum)
- Be sure to save the Nomination and Acceptance forms as PDFs and the Candidate Statement and Candidate Biography as Microsoft Word documents before filling them out.
- After all election materials are submitted and prior to voting, each candidate will partner with our third-party firm to create a 150-word “short biography.” This will appear next to the candidate’s name on the online voting ballot and there will be a link to their full Candidate Statement and Biography on the CPA Ontario website.
- CPA Ontario reserves the right to edit materials in the biography and statement as required for uniformity of presentation and space.
- Complete and submit this form to begin the background check process for Criminal Record and education verification.
- Attach a high resolution digital colour head and shoulders photo (4” x 4” of 300 dpi) to be used on the CPA Ontario and voting websites. Please ensure your photo:
- Is well-lit with natural or soft studio lighting.
- Contains a neutral background (solid light/white/grey).
- Has enough space around the head/shoulders to allow for cropping.
- Complete the background check form and submit all four nomination package documents, along with the colour photo to Dhusya Ganeshamoorthy by no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, July 20, 2026. Nominations must be in writing, signed by two CPA Ontario members in good standing and be certified by the candidate.
- Materials not received by the deadlines will not be accepted or made available to the membership, and the nomination will be rejected.
- Candidates must adhere to the word count restrictions established for the Candidate Statement and Biography. Portions of responses in excess of those word counts will be excluded from the published materials.
Nomination and Election Process
Once fully completed nomination packages are received by CPA Ontario, and background checks are approved, CPA Ontario’s third-party governance advisor will contact all candidates to schedule a mandatory, one-hour virtual interview focused on the candidate’s skills, attributes and experience.
All candidates are presented to a committee of Council by the third-party governance advisor with a recommendation on those candidates they believe would benefit from a second-round interview by the committee.
Following the conclusion of all interviews, the committee of Council identifies those candidates they believe to have expertise in the priority skills and attributes, and levels of experience needed, to support CPA Ontario and the needs of the profession.
On September 8, candidate biographies, statements and photos will be posted to the CPA Ontario website. Those candidates identified by Council as having the skills, attributes and levels of experience needed are clearly identified on the ballot and candidate information webpage.
Each candidate shall be entitled to solicit votes for their election to Council beginning two business days after the later of: (i) the close of nominations, or (ii) confirmation of the candidate’s eligibility by the Office of the General Counsel, provided the candidate complies with all applicable policies and regulations, including but not limited to the Campaign Policy.
Thank you for considering a nomination for Council and for your commitment to the profession.
For questions, please contact General Counsel Tom Litzgus by email.
Frequently Asked Questions
- All candidates must submit a fully complete nomination package and pass mandatory background and education verification checks.
- CPA Ontario’s third-party governance advisor will then contact all candidates to schedule a mandatory, one-hour virtual interview focused on the candidate’s skills, attributes and experience.
- All candidates are presented to a committee of Council by the third-party governance advisor with a recommendation on those candidates they believe would benefit from a second-round interview by the committee.
- Following the conclusion of all interviews, the committee of Council identifies those candidates they believe to have expertise in the priority skills and attributes, and levels of experience needed, to support CPA Ontario and the needs of the profession. These candidates are clearly identified on the ballot and candidate information webpage.
- Voting is open to all eligible members on September 9, 2026, with election results being announced at the Annual General Meeting of the Members on September 17, 2026.
- CPA Ontario’s election processes are reviewed each year.
- CPA Ontario’s election process follows best practice by including the identification of candidates with the skills, attributes and levels of experience necessary to address succession planning and meet the rapidly changing needs of the profession. This process is formalized in Regulation 3-1: Council Nomination and Election Process.
- All candidates are interviewed by CPA Ontario’s third-party governance advisor to understand their skills, attributes and experience. They are then presented to a committee of Council with a recommendation on which candidates they believe would benefit from a second-round interview by the committee.
- Following the conclusion of all interviews, the committee of Council identifies those candidates they believe to have expertise in the priority skills and attributes, and levels of experience needed, to support CPA Ontario and the needs of the profession. These candidates are clearly identified on the ballot and candidate information webpage.
- No changes have been made to the Council nomination and election process for this year.
- Each year, Council assesses the skills, attributes and experience of current Council members. This information is used to identify the skills, attributes and experience that may be lost by Council members ending their terms and that will help ensure CPA Ontario delivers on its mandate to protect the public interest, advance the profession and ensure CPAs lead business and society forward.
- Candidates believed by Council to have expertise in the priority skills and attributes, and levels of experience needed, to support CPA Ontario and the needs of the profession are clearly identified on the ballot and candidate information webpage.
- All eligible CPA Ontario members are encouraged to run for Council and all candidates, regardless of Council identification, have equal rights under the election process.
- The Campaign Policy applies to all candidates seeking election to Council and establishes rules with respect to the solicitation of votes and the use of campaign materials and endorsements. The Policy also sets out consequences for non-compliance.
- Candidates are permitted to solicit votes provided they do not engage in mass solicitation by telephone or email. Under the Policy, candidates must, among other things, comply with all applicable privacy laws, the By-law, the CPA Code of Professional Conduct, regulations and other policies of CPA Ontario, and must uphold the highest standards of professionalism.
- Provided the requirements of the Policy are met, candidates may post on their social media for the purpose of increasing awareness about their candidacy.
- The Policy further provides that CPA Ontario will not provide the telephone numbers or email addresses of members to candidates for the purpose of soliciting votes.
- Campaigning rules ensure that the members’ privacy rights are respected and that candidates have a reasonable platform to solicit votes during the election process.
- All candidates will be interviewed by CPA Ontario’s third-party governance advisor. Following these interviews, this advisor will make a recommendation to a committee of Council on those candidates they believe would benefit from a second-round interview.
- All questions will be tailored to the backgrounds of the candidates in relation to the prioritized skills, attributes and experience identified by Council.
- Yes. It is also important to note that Council re-evaluates the prioritized skills, attributes and experience every year.
- Yes. Council encourages all eligible CPA Ontario members to run based on their unique background and expertise.
- Yes. All candidates are required to participate in the interview and vetting process. This includes mandatory criminal record and education verification checks and an interview with CPA Ontario’s third-party governance advisor. These requirements are formalized in Regulation 3-1: Council Nomination and Election Process.
- No. A recommendation is made by CPA Ontario’s third-party governance advisor based on those candidates they believe would benefit from a second-round interview.
- The Notice of AGM will be sent by email in early September and will also be available on CPA Ontario’s website.