National Post (National Edition)
Centre raises standards of governance
The driving force behind much of Canada’s improved charity reporting can be traced back to the dedicated students, sponsors and faculty at the CA-Queen’s Centre for Governance.
David Saunders, dean at Queen’s School of Business, and Steve Salterio, director of the CA-Queen’s Centre for Governance, are two of the key figures responsible for the centre’s reputation as a leader in Canada for business and governance issues.
The centre was established in 2006 by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO) and Queen’s School of Business and it is known for cutting-edge basic and applied research dealing with issues such as fraud detection and prevention as well as improving Canadian securities regulation.
Mr. Salterio says the CAQueen’s Centre for Governance plays a key role as a world-class leader in teaching and in ensuring information is shared with organizations who set and follow the standards for governance in business and the not-for-profit sectors.
The centre also publishes summaries of findings in various publications.
“By examining issues of fraud in the not-for-profit sector we came up with some characteristics of the type of fraudsters that are active in not-for-profit organizations, so we’ve done applied research in the area and published it in practitioner-friendly journals.
“We’ve also taken this educational aspect to the broader community by featuring webinars on our websites about some of the findings that we have had. So we are definitely trying to reach out and inform the broader notfor-profit community of the things that we have found.”
John Suart, who serves as the marketing director for the VSRA awards, says there are a number of guides available online to show the leading academic research available from the CA-Queen’s Centre for Governance.
“It is one of the only places in Canada and certainly one of only a handful in North America that really do good quality research and then more importantly discussion on these issues. It has been a real catalyst for other academic research. Mr. Suart said webinars held by the centre attracted charities that benefit from the knowledge shared by Queen’s. “They are thirsty for this knowledge,” he says.