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PDNews: Instructor Series
Beyond Numbers · April 2001 by Deborah Folka, MA, APR
It’s Great When They Get It...
 When the students “get it,” there’s no greater feeling for a teacher, according to Warren Dueck, CA,
an instructor in American taxation
for the Chartered Accountants of
BC’s Professional Development Program.
“It’s very rewarding to present material to
a class and get good response and dialogue,” Dueck explains. “That means I’ve succeeded. I’ve been able to get the material across in a way they understand.”
Dueck has written several of the courses on American tax for the Institute’s PD Program and currently teaches seven titles
in the series. Some of the courses are half
or full days and one is an Executive Breakfast. The US Tax Foundation series is a three-and-a-half day course covering US personal and corporate tax information in a modular format. He also co-presents a course about the tax implications of immigration to or from the US, and teaches US Tax 101 which provides an overview of business taxation in the US. It has been a popular course for CAs in industry, especially those considering expansion to the US.
Dueck began teaching at Seattle Pacific University where he was an adjunct professor in the early 1980s. Prior to that he had also taught in-house while working for Peat Marwick (now KPMG) in Seattle from
1980 to 1984.
“I found I really liked teaching,” he says. “It’s fun to interact with people, and it can be challenging, too. If you have to explain something to a group of people, you have to first thoroughly understand it yourself. That makes teaching what we practice a great way to stay current.”
Born in Chilliwack and raised in Abbotsford, Dueck attended Briercrest Bible College in Caronport, Saskatchewan, for two years in
the mid-1970s. The basketball team that he captained at college won the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championship in 1977. He later transferred to Seattle Pacific University, graduating in 1979 with an undergraduate degree in religion, and, he
says, “a heavy dose of accounting courses.”
In 1980, Dueck completed a graduate degree in accounting at the Wharton
School at the University of Pennsylvania
in Philadelphia before returning to Seattle
to work for Peat’s. He earned his CPA designation in Washington State in 1981.
“I left Peat’s Seattle office in 1984 to
return to Vancouver to work in the family business, which is international real estate development,” he explains. “After four years away, I knew I wanted to be back in public practice, so I joined the Vancouver Peat Marwick office in 1988.”
Dueck moved to Ernst & Young in 1990
as the first US tax partner in the firm and obtained his CA designation in 1991. He was a partner with Ernst & Young until 1998 when he struck out on his own.
He’s also used his teaching skills to coach minor hockey, soccer, and basketball. He led his oldest son’s midget hockey team to a second-place finish in Greater Vancouver. He is currently the coach of his son’s grade nine basketball team at Hugh Boyd Secondary School in Richmond. The team’s mid-season record is 29 and 5, with a perfect 10-0 record for league play, Dueck reports.
“Teaching in the PD program has given me
the chance to develop my teaching skills and to overcome that fear we all have of speaking in public,” he says. “It is very empowering to conquer that fear and learning to address an audience is always useful.”
Once a Teacher, always a teacher?
 She can’t seem to stay away from the
classroom. Shan Thomas, CA,
has taught for the Institute’s PD Program and the School of Chartered Accountancy since the mid-1980s, but her career in teaching goes back further than that.
“I got my teaching certificate in 1978 at
the University of British Columbia after completing my undergraduate degree there in biochemistry in 1976,” Thomas explains. “I then taught math and science in high schools throughout the Okanagan.”
Thomas pursued a graduate degree in science at the University of Northern Colorado, and graduating
in 1981, having taken some accoun-ting courses along
the way.
“My next career move
was unusually logical, but
I actually made a list of
options—law, medicine, accounting—and because
I’d always been curious
about business, I started taking courses towards
my CA,” Thomas explains.
“It was a good decision.”
She worked for Deloitte & Touche in Prince George while articling and got her designation in 1986, having moved to Nanaimo in 1985. Thomas went out on her own in 1989 and sold her practice 10 years later.
“I really like the management consulting side of the practice, so that’s what I’m concentrating on now,” she says. “Turn-around assignments are the most interesting to me.”
After teaching for the ICABC’s School
of Chartered Accountancy, she describes her migration into the PD Program as “a natural progression.” She has developed and taught
all the accounting courses and most of the audit courses, done some mentoring, and written the Review & Compilation Engagement Course.
“I like teaching, and being trained as a teacher has helped enormously,” she points out. “Teaching for the Institute also allows me to
be part of my profession and to meet my CA colleagues who come from all different walks
and perspectives.”
She says she also finds it provides her with flexibility, which helps to balance her professional and personal lives. “We have a blended family with four children, so I spend lots of time as
a hockey/soccer/golf mom,” she points out. “That means I need flexibility in my work environment.”
Recently, Thomas says she realized just how long she had been teaching Institute courses when a CA approached her to say “you taught my dad.” She hastens to add that the “dad”
in question was a mature student.
“It also forces you to stay technically current,” she says. “I’m sure I wouldn’t have the self-discipline to keep totally up-to-date on my own, especially as a sole practitioner, but this way I’ve had 15 years of studying the Handbook. Who says accountants are boring?”
Thomas says she always learns something from her teaching.
“This year, I’m working on developing and presenting PD courses for the federal and provincial offices of the Auditor General,”
she explains. “It’s new for them and very interesting for me.”
This article is part of a series of
profiles on the Institute’s Professional Development Program instructors.
If you’re interested in authoring or presenting a course through the Institute’s Professional Development Program, contact Director of Professional Development Moira Bryans, CA, at (604) 488-2640
or by email at bryans@ica.bc.ca.
WebWorks: New Features
by Rita Mikusch, ICABC Webmaster
Members Only
In early March, we added a Members Only section to the ICABC website. If you haven’t had a chance yet, please check it out! You’ll find it under the “CA Advisor” section.
All ICABC members and students have been given access to the Members Only area automatically. Your initial UserID and Password have both been set to your ICABC member number. You must use this 6-digit number (please include all initial zeros)! You can find your 6-digit member number on the address label of your monthly mailing (please note: member, student, and firm numbers were changed from five digits to
six in the spring of 1999).
You can change your Username and Password at any time by clicking on the “My Profile” link in the horizontal link bar below the title, though you must be signed in to do so. You can also use the “My Profile” page to update your email address. Your updated email address will automatically be added to the ICABC members database.
You do need to have cookies enabled on your web browser to access the Members Only section. The webserver uses these cookies to keep track of whether or not
you are signed in and are therefore allowed access to the Members Only section.
Online Members Directory
The ICABC Members Directory will
be available online in the Members Only section of the website when the print version is released in early May. The print version will be updated approximately every 3 years, while the website edition will be updated quarterly. If you would like to update your email address for the members directory, you can do so on the “My Profile” page of the website, or you can email our records department at records@ica.bc.ca. Email addresses will only be available in
the website version of the directory.
Government Affairs
Check out our new Government Affairs section, located under “CA Advisor.” This
is where you’ll find ICABC policy positions, the BC Check-Up, and the Public Policy Review, as well as speeches, news releases, and ICABC articles on the provincial budget and other government affairs.
Future Upgrades and Revisions
We’re constantly striving to improve
the ICABC website. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please e-mail me at: web@ica.bc.ca.
Member Benefits
Be sure to check out the Member Benefits section of our website for up-to-date discounts. For more information, please contact Sue Tees, Assistant to the Director of Member Services, at tees@ica.bc.ca.
Dues Reminder
Don’t throw out that mail!
Your annual membership dues were sent out at the end of March 2001. Anyone who does not receive their billing by mid-April should contact the Institute at (604) 681-3264.
Be aware that the deadline for payment is May 31, 2001. Late penalties are 10% per month of the dues balance outstanding.
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