Get to know former CPA Alberta Board public member, Diane Pettie KC, ICD.D, in this extended Q&A. Diane reflects on her path to the Board, her experience during the unification of the profession, and why strong governance and public trust are vital to the profession’s future. A brief introduction appears in the summer 2025 issue of Dividends (landing late August)—but there’s much more to her story here.
Why is it important for a regulatory body like CPA Alberta to have public representatives involved in its governance?
I believe that having public representatives on a regulatory body like CPA Alberta is crucial for aligning the organization with its key stakeholders—the people of Alberta. Including public members like me (lay individuals not part of the regulated accounting profession) on the Board brings diverse perspectives that enhance transparency and balance, ultimately increasing public trust in the regulatory body.
There are many reasons why public members are important:
Diversity of thought
Public members bring different academic backgrounds and life experiences to the board table. For instance, I brought legal training, law practice with clients, knowledge of law regulation, and experience in the energy and chemicals industries. I also had prior board experience with the Calgary Region Arts Foundation and the Association of Women Lawyers (Calgary). These factors enhanced my effectiveness as a public member on the CPA Alberta Board.
Accountability and oversight
Public members supplement the board’s ability to maintain accountability to the public and ensure the regulator operates ethically and transparently. Their involvement serves as a check to balance the needs of the profession with the expectations of society as a whole. This role is crucial in fostering an environment of trust, where the profession can thrive while meeting its obligations to the broader community.
Greater public trust
When the public sees that CPA Alberta is not dominated by professionals with inside knowledge or vested interests, it boosts their confidence that the regulator is acting in the public’s best interest.
Public perspective
Public members represent the voice of the broader community (the people of Alberta), ensuring that decisions aren’t made solely through the lens of insiders. They help discourage groupthink or protectionist decisions that prioritize the profession over public welfare.
Ethical framework
In a high-stakes field like accounting and finance, having public members on the board helps bring societal values and expectations to the forefront in decision-making, avoids insular decisions, and takes a broader perspective than just technical accounting expertise.
Being outside of the profession, was there a steep learning curve when you joined the Board? What was the hardest part of the profession for you to understand?
There is always a steep learning curve when joining any board. You have to learn the business, the people, and the strategy, all while encouraging executives to implement the strategy and avoid short- and long-term risks.
My path to joining the CPA Alberta Board began in 1998 when I applied to join the Canadian branch of the international Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA). At that time, my General Counsel job responsibilities included corporate secretarial support to the board. After completing some forms and an interview, ICSA awarded me the designation of Fellow, F.ICS. In Canada, ICSA is now called the Chartered Governance Institute of Canada, and I hold the designation F.CGI.
In 2008, with my daughter departing for college, I decided to serve on some boards to give back to the community. Earlier in my career, I had served on a city board, the Calgary Region Arts Foundation, and I wanted to expand my horizons again. I started with training: I registered for ICSA’s Directors Education and Accreditation Program (DEAP). There were four of us in the DEAP cohort: the Board Chair (Jerry Richardson) and President (Joy Thomas) of the Society of Management Accountants of Alberta (CMA Alberta), a man from Barbados (the Institute is an international organization with headquarters in London under Royal Charter), and me. We were thoroughly trained on governance, finance, strategy, and risk and completed a written exam that included analyzing simple financial statements and computing financial ratios. I passed and received the Acc.Dir (Accredited Director) designation. Later, in 2010, I took the Institute of Corporate Directors course and received the ICD.D designation in 2011. These training courses significantly helped me with the learning curve at the accounting regulator.
Two years later, when one of the two public members at CMA Alberta was appointed to the bench in 2010, I was surprised to receive a call from Jerry Richardson inviting me to join the CMA Alberta Board as a public member. I gratefully accepted and began my journey to learn about the regulation of the accounting profession.
Previously, I had the pleasure of working closely with professional accountants serving in various roles, including treasury, credit, risk management, and internal audit. I found working with these dedicated professionals to be interesting and enlightening.
When I joined the CMA Alberta Board, I was the Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of the publicly traded Canexus Income Fund and was fortunate to work closely with some wonderful professional accountants. We worked in teams to prepare and vet the quarterly and annual Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the board’s approval and reporting to unitholders. We also prepared Prospectuses for financings and policies to manage delegations of authority and treasury and finance functions, and handled whistleblower complaints, among other things. From my work, I thought I understood accountants.
I did not, however, understand how the accounting profession was regulated or how it differed from what I had experienced as a member of the Law Society of Alberta. There were significant differences that I grew to understand well. I also did not understand the competitive challenges of people who were offering unregulated accounting services. Mobility for accountants was another challenge that differed from law (which is rooted in jurisdiction).
I had a learning curve to understand the future strategy of CMA Alberta and the differences between the three distinct professional accounting designations (CA, CMA, and CGA). In law, our training in law school has some required base courses—such as Torts, Contracts, Commercial Law, Criminal Law, Trusts, Corporate Law, Constitutional Law—and many optional courses—such as Family Law, Wills and Estates, Oil and Gas, Taxation. Everyone graduates from law school with either an LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) or a J.D. (Juris Doctorate). In Canada, you then work for a year (or in some cases, 15 months, which I did, articling 10 months with the Alberta Court of Appeal and five months with a law firm), articling as a Student-at-Law, which is an internship under a supervising Principal (who is a senior lawyer). By specializing in an area of the law, you become proficient through practice, but you do not receive a designation in that area of the law. There is no separate designation for Commercial Law, Corporate Law, or Family Law.
I also had to learn who all of the people were in the CMA Alberta organization, as well as in the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and the Certified General Accountants of Alberta (and their respective provincial counterparts and the federal organizations associated with them). In law, the Law Societies regulate the profession and deal with disciplinary matters, and there is another national body, the Canadian Bar Association, with provincial chapters, which offers networking and practice seminars. Another separate organization offers the bar admission courses and administers the exams. In the accounting profession, each provincial regulatory body offers educational training and regulates the continuing professional development requirements. CPA Canada performs research on business issues and on standards (for accounting, audit, and assurance), but it does not perform the same role as the Canadian Bar Association performs for law. Another significant area to learn was all of the different ways to enter the profession (through various post-secondary institutions and technical colleges, universities offering preparatory courses) and the courses and practical experiences that accountants had to pass to qualify for their designation.
At the time I joined the CMA Alberta Board, discussions were already underway about merging the three designations into one. I was fortunate to almost get in on the ground floor of these discussions, so I learned as we went along. I was a public member for CMA Alberta on the Alberta Accountants Unification Agency formed in 2012 and worked closely with the public members from the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Joan Hertz, KC) and the Certified General Accountants of Alberta (Dr. Michael Robinson) as the Governance Task Force to recommend the Governance structure of the new merged regulatory body and the Unification Agreement that set out the framework for the merger. The Agency became the Chartered Professional Accountants Alberta Joint Venture after the Bill for the merger was passed by the Alberta Legislature as the Chartered Professional Accountants Act, SA 2014, c. C-10.2 (which replaced the Regulated Accounting Profession Act, RSA 2000, c. R-12). I served on the Human Resources Committee in 2015 and on the CEO Selection Committees in 2012 and 2015.
What perspective did you try and bring to Board deliberations?
My primary point of view focused on enhancing the public’s trust in the profession. I tried to bring an outsider’s perspective to the Board, aiming to ask questions that might not occur to those deeply immersed in the profession. Through this approach, I could help challenge assumptions, provoke fresh thinking, and ensure that Board decisions considered the wider public interest and the profession’s priorities. My legal background and experience with governance also allowed me to evaluate decisions with a focus on accountability and long-term impact, especially during discussions about the unification of the accounting designations. Balancing the technical, regulatory, and strategic aspects of the accounting profession with the need to remain accessible and understandable to the public was a perspective I consistently sought to represent.
How did the profession change during your terms on the CPA Alberta Board?
I was first appointed to the CPA Alberta Board in 2015, effective with the date of the merger. At the five-year mark, the Unification Agreement called for a review of the merger. Issues arose regarding changes requested by the larger provinces (Ontario and Quebec) in the unified profession. These issues were discussed at the CPA Alberta Board and affected some of the working task forces that our personnel were involved with nationally. Other initiatives came along, including papers on the future of the accounting profession, regulatory issues, and the emphasis on the mental health of the profession through CPA Assist.
How does the CPA Alberta Board make a difference to the average CPA in the province?
The CPA Alberta Board plays a pivotal role in shaping the professional lives of CPAs across the province. Here are a few examples of how it makes a difference to the average CPA:
Licensing and regulation
CPA Alberta ensures that only qualified individuals are licensed to practice, maintaining the integrity and trust of the profession.
Professional development
It mandates and provides continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities, helping CPAs stay current with evolving standards, technologies, and best practices.
Ethics and discipline
It enforces a strict code of conduct and investigates complaints, which helps maintain public confidence in CPAs.
Support and resources
From career services to mental health support, CPA Alberta offers a range of tools to help members thrive professionally and personally.
In short, the CPA Alberta Board is not just a gatekeeper—it’s a partner in every CPA’s journey. It supports CPAs from the moment they graduate from candidates to full-fledged professionals.
How does CPA Alberta, with oversight from the Board, make a difference to the average CPA in the province?
Practical experience pathways
CPA Alberta administers the Practical Experience Requirements, offering two routes—Pre-Approved Programs and Experience Verification. These ensure graduates gain the necessary 30 months of relevant, progressively challenging work experience under proper supervision and mentorship.
Mentorship
Every candidate is paired with a CPA mentor who provides guidance, feedback, and support throughout their practical experience journey. This relationship is key to developing professional values and competencies.
Career services
CPA Alberta provides job boards, networking events, and career counseling to help new grads find meaningful employment and grow their professional networks.
Community and networking
Through events, conferences, and local chapters, CPA Alberta fosters a sense of community and encourages peer support and engagement among new professionals.
Wellness and support resources
Recognizing the pressures of the profession, CPA Alberta also offers mental health and wellness resources to help members maintain balance.
It’s a comprehensive ecosystem designed to help new CPAs not just survive but thrive.
What was the most meaningful or consequential work the Board did during your tenure?
Probably the most meaningful work that the Board did during my term was in supporting the unification of the profession. Without the Board solving problems and removing roadblocks, the merger of the profession likely would not have been completed. The Unification Agreement that the Governance Task Force prepared in Alberta was used as an example in other provinces to complete the unification of the profession.
While stereotypes can vary in their accuracy, were there any prior assumptions about professional accountants that were either proved or disproved when you worked so closely with a number of CPAs?
This is a great question because accountants are so often unfairly typecast! The classic stereotype paints CPAs as buttoned-up number crunchers with pocket protectors and a single-minded obsession with spreadsheets (or alternatively, as members of the mob, doing creative accounting like Ben Affleck in the movie The Accountant). But when I’ve had the chance to work closely with CPAs, I have always found them to be bright, creative, and great team players. Their professional training makes for great partners who work collaboratively to solve problems.
One big assumption that often doesn’t hold up is that accountants are dull or lack creativity. In reality, many CPAs are impressively strategic and deeply analytical, especially in roles like advisory, forensic accounting, policy drafting, or tax planning, where thinking outside the box is practically part of the job description.
Another common assumption—that they’re introverted or poor communicators—was frequently disproved. Most of my accountant friends and colleagues are outgoing and socially adept. Yes, accounting requires precision and focus, but client-facing CPAs in public practice, or the Chief Financial Officers in organizations, are often strong presenters and skilled at translating complex financials into plain language. I saw this skill demonstrated over and over again in my CPA teammates, both at my job and on the CPA Alberta Board.
That said, some stereotypes did prove to have a kernel of truth: the profession attracts detail-oriented individuals who value structure and accuracy. But that’s more of a superpower than a flaw, right?
