Accounting_Issues

Gone fishin' By Tamar Satov Scott Huffman and Robb Mann are in the same boat - literally. As professional anglers, the St. Catharines, Ontario CAs spend 40 days a season together on the water, and they're quickly making a name for themselves on the tournament circuit. Since few business professionals participate in tournament fishing, it was a surprise to Mann and Huffman when they met at the St. Catharines Bassmasters Club in 1998. "Someone suggested that as a CA, I could be club treasurer," recalls Mann. "Then Scott said, 'Hey, I'm a CA, too!'" Their common career backgrounds (Mann, 36, is a public practitioner with R. K. Shaver; Huffman, 41, is the internal controller for Mountainview Homes) helped them become friends and, with the permission of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, to compete as Team CA. "When you're in a boat with someone for 10 hours a day, you've got to be compatible," says Huffman. "I spend more time with Robb than with my wife sometimes," he adds with a laugh. It has proven to be a good match; the pair has won many club tournaments and made a number of top-five showings in local tournaments, including first place in last year's millennium Spring Bass series in Buffalo, New York. A tournament win usually requires a total weigh-in of about 16 to 20 pounds, which means an average of about three to four pounds per fish. "Most fishermen never catch a five-pound bass in their lives," says Huffman. "We caught about 100 five-pounders last season." Huffman and Mann, who have about a dozen sponsors between them, are also partners in Trophy Angling Guide Services, which operates bass, musky and pike guide services on lakes Erie, Ontario and simcoe. In addition, they promote the sport by conducting seminars at trade shows and participating in local fishing days and casting competitions for kids. The two chartered accountants believe their education gives them a competitive edge as anglers. "The CA mentality of problem solving really carries over to fishing," says Huffman. "You have to analyze various situations - the bodies of water, the type of fish, where you want to focus your efforts, the water temperature, weather patterns - you have to decide what is important and what's not. It's almost like writing a comprehensive exam." Whatever the key to their success, Huffman and Mann are on a roll. Last season, they achieved both goals they had set for themselves. One was to break even - not a small task considering the $1,000 entry fees that they pay for the larger tournaments, where about 125 teams vie for possible winnings of $60,000. The other goal was to qualify for and compete in the Classic tournament, which Mann describes as the Superbowl of fishing. This year, the two CAs have set their sites high - aiming to win the Classic (and the hefty $15,000 prize attached to it). The tournament will be held this fall on Rice Lake, near Peterborough, Ont. "We've got the skills we need, and I think we can do it," says Mann, but quickly adds, "if we finish in the top five, we'll be happy." Resume 1987 Huffman obtains CA designation 1988 Huffman becomes controller at Mountainview Homes in St. Catharines, Ont. 1989 Mann joins firm of R. K. Shaver in St. Catharines 1996 Mann obtains CA designation 1998 Huffman and Mann meet at the St. Catharines Bassmasters Club 2000 Compete together in various events; win tournament in Millennium Spring Bass series, New York; place third and fifth in Phoenix Open, Ont. 2000 Take on name Team CA Gone Fishin’ Summary Scott Huffman and Robb Man are both CA’s which are participating in tournament fishing, and they have proven to be an excellent match for each other. Huffman and Man met each other at the St. Catherines Bassmasters Club in 1998 and have been on the same team since then. Man which is 36 , is a public practitioner with R.K Shaver, while Huffman , 41 , is the internal controller for Mountainview Homes. Their common career and education backgrounds make them the perfect team on the water. Both Huffman and Man are Chartered accountants and you can say they have the same mentality when it comes to analyzing and solving problems. Scott and Robb have won many club tournaments including first place in the Spring Bass series in Buffalo, New York. To win a tournament you usually require a total weight in of about 16 to 20 pounds says Huffman. Huffman goes on to say “Most fishermen never caught a five pound bass in their lives”, while they have caught about 100 five pounders last season. What differentiates Scott and Robb from their competition is their education. Both Scott and Robb believe that their education gives them a competitive edge as anglers, because the CA mentality of problem solving carries over to fishing. By having the CA mentality Scott and Robb have a strategic plan when out fishing, they analyze the various bodies of water , the type of fish, the water temperature & the weather patterns. Scott and Robb have been on a roll lately, placing very well in their tournaments. They also have a positive mindset, which helps them stay on track. Scott and Robb prove to be a really good team and they hope to win the Classic tournament which is held on Rice Lake. The newspaper article is explaining how the 2 CA’s, Scott and Robb are more effective in their fishing strategy because of their education and career backgrounds. By having that CA mentality they have an advantage over other competitors. They analyze everything around them in the water to be able to have the highest success rate of catching fish. Becoming a CA requires a lot of post secondary education, at least 6 years of post secondary study and work. The CGA , CMA , and CA organizations require their applicants to acquire a university degree and complete 2 to 2 ½ years of specialized courses and work experience. The CGA association is very well known for its distant education, and it helps students to remain employed while they study to earn course credits. Both the textbook and newspaper article explain how CA’s go through a lot of post secondary education to get to where they are and the post secondary education does influence their everyday thinking as to how to solve problems. The more post secondary education you have, the greater the chances are that you will become more successful in everything you do. This is because of the mindset you have developed over the years along with the problem solving skills that come with years of education. Scott and Robb take a more logical approach to fishing then their competitors because of their educational backgrounds , they analyze the factors which could help them be more successful than the others , while the other competitors probably don’t think over their strategy as much as Scott and Robb . Education is important in everyday life and it is what helps Scott and Robb to be more successful than others. From this news article I’ve learned that with post secondary education you tend to be more successful in everyday activities. I agree that Scott and Robb have an advantage from the other competitors because of their backgrounds and their CA mentality they have developed over the years. I think this issue affects the public positively because it makes students realize that with more post secondary education you are more likely to succeed in whatever you put your mind too. It goes to show that even though fishing has nothing to do with accounting you can still apply the problem solving and analyzing skills to perform well. UFE joins computer age For the first time ever, CA hopefuls have the option of writing the Uniform Evaluation on a computer. Last year, candidates could bring their laptops into the UFE for reference and calculation only. At this month’s exam, however, writers can also choose to type out their responses and submit them electronically. Here’s how it all works. “Lockdown” software, called Securexam (CA), is installed on writers’ laptops, restricting user access to permitted programs and files and temporarily disabling all other computer files, programs and peripherals. The software gives users access to the same reference materials that can be brought into the exam in printed form — the UFE versions of the CICA Standards and Guidance Collection and the Federal Income Tax Collection — as well as limited versions of Excel and Word. Computer use at the exam is optional, and those who bring their computers can still bring the allowable printed materials and calculator, and can also handwrite responses in whole or in part. Examinees who were interested obtained a practice version of Securexam (CA) this summer to help them decide if they wanted to bring a laptop into the UFE. They were asked to confirm, in writing, whether or not they intend to use a laptop, and if so, that they had loaded and successfully tested the software. Each day of the exam, writers will be provided with a USB key that they insert into a USB drive in their laptops. All the work they do in Word and Excel will be saved in an encrypted form to their computer’s hard drive and to the USB key every 60 seconds. The keys are collected each day, and the work is printed out each night and checked for completion. If the USB file is corrupted, the writer will be contacted immediately and the backup file will be retrieved from the computer’s hard drive. With the frequent backups, little work will be lost if the computer crashes, but there is one caveat: no extra time will be permitted if minor interruptions or incompatibilities occur. Each writer is expected to take all reasonable precautions The UFE is now letting CA hopefuls, to write their uniform evaluation on a computer for the first time ever. Last year , CA hopefuls were allowed to bring in their laptops into the UFE for reference and calculations only , but this year CA hopefuls are allowed to type out their responses and submit them electronically. The UFE has developed a software called SecureExam , which is installed on writers laptops , and it restricts access to only permitted programs and files while temporarily disabling all other computer files so that users can’t access any unauthorized material during the exam. The UFE SecureExam program lets users access the CICA Standards and Guidance Collection and the Federal Income Tax collection along with limited versions of Excel and Word. To avoid the users work to be corrupted, the writers work is encrypted and backed up on the laptops hard drive every 60 seconds, which makes it easy to recover and work that could possibly be erased. Computers are ideal for use in accounting environments these days. The “number crunching” activities that computers do very well are recording, sorting, calculating, summarizing, storing, displaying & printing. By using computers accountants are able to work more efficiently and better meet the demands that they might come about during their careers. The national accounting organizations require the students to acquire hands on computer experience beginning in the first year and they provide students with tutorials covering spreadsheets, accounting software and Windows applications. It is good to see computers being allowed to be used during the UFE since it makes it easier for the students taking the exam. This goes to show us how technology is improving our lives, because these days a lot of accountants do a large percentage of their work on the computer rather than writing it out. This proves to be beneficial since it is more efficient and accountants are able to finish more work in less time. I think this is beneficial to the public that the accounting organizations are leaning towards using technology during the exams because technology is there to help us become more efficient and it is the way of the future. By letting CA candidates to use computers for the exam , we are making life easier and more efficient