Unlock the secrets to building a thriving accounting firm. Learn strategies for client management, operational efficiency, and team building to achieve greater profitability and freedom.
This interactive round table brings together experienced professionals to share insights and real-world perspectives on professional ethics, leadership integrity, and best practices across today’s changing work environments.
Participants will explore how ethical reasoning, communication, and accountability build credibility and trust within professional relationships. Through case-based discussion, the course examines ethical gray areas, the impact of technological change, and how professionals can maintain integrity under pressure while aligning personal values with organizational expectations.
The conversation delves into key challenges such as conflicts of interest, confidentiality, decision-making under uncertainty, and the role of culture, diversity, and inclusion in maintaining ethical workplaces. Attendees gain strategies to enhance transparency, foster open dialogue, and lead with empathy and fairness.
This session goes beyond compliance — it’s about ethical self-awareness, reflective leadership, and practical judgment that drive sustainable success in professional practice.
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Topics Covered
1. The Foundations of Professional Ethics
2. Decision-Making and Accountability
3. Managing Conflicts of Interest and Confidentiality
4. Leadership and Ethical Culture
5. Professional Conduct in a Changing Environment
6. Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in Practice
7. Reflective Practice and Continuous Improvement
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The CPA Small Practitioners’ Forum was created to offer an inviting, semi-causal, and easygoing professional development weekend that provides substantial professional development value to small practitioners. All profit earned by the CPA Small Practitioners’ Forum is donated to the Alberta CPA Education Foundation, so you are helping young people in Canada get scholarships for university. All these courses are reviewed by the delegates at the Forum in Banff annually so we have a great lineup that is adjusted every year to keep things relevant to small practitioners. If you work at a public accounting firm in Canada with employees of 1-50 people, you are our target demographic and you should find this course useful.
Founder of Lauranne E. Rauk Professional Corporation
Laurie offers money and tax expertise to late-career professionals with layered business and investment interests, people like engineers, architects, and accountants who are nearing or in retirement and want to make thoughtful, informed financial decisions. Her practice is intentionally small to prioritize close client relationships. Her clients are more than capable of managing their finances, but they have better things to do with their time. Laurie provides real-time data and insights so they can see the impact of decisions before they make them. Laurie began her career with a decade at one of Canada’s largest accounting firms, working closely with private business owners. In 2007, she established her own firm to build deeper relationships with clients and create space to raise her two children. Today, she balances client work with reading, camping trips, and walks with the family’s rescue mutt. Laurie is always open to connecting with fellow practitioners for referral partnerships or shared learning.
Partner at True North Accounting
Dil obtained his CA/CPA with Deloitte and also spent time working as a Management Consultant. He uses that experience to help clients develop growth strategies for their own businesses. Dil received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta. In his spare time, he enjoys playing checkers and hanging out with his family.
Creator of the Accountant Success Formula™
Erik Solbakken is a CPA, Speaker, Business Advisor, and Creator of the Accountant Success Formula™. He worked in public practice for over 26 years, providing accounting, tax, and advisory services to incorporated business owners and their families. He discovered strategies that were so effective that they allowed him to triple his revenues and create a successful accounting practice, which he later sold for a multiple of billings. He now shares these strategies with other accountants around the world in his proven system, showing them how to maximize profits, attract the best clients, and get the time and freedom they deserve. A thought leader in his field, Erik’s system of approaching an accounting practice will show you how to: Maximize Profit: Stop chasing the money and maximize your profits in a fully leveraged way. Charge what you’re worth and make abundant income. Attract Ideal Clients: Attract the best clients who value you and will gladly pay premium prices for your services. You’ll get to selectively choose the clients you engage with and spend time on only the business activities you enjoy. Create a Life of Freedom: Grow a profitable practice while creating a work/life balance that supports your health and happiness. Work fewer hours and enjoy life more. You’ll have time for hobbies, travel, and being with your loved ones.
Senior Partner at GNA LLP Chartered Professional Accountants
As Senior Partner at GNA LLP Chartered Professional Accountants, Ghalib Abdulla leads a distinguished team of professionals to provide exceptional, customized accounting, tax planning, and consulting services to a diverse clientele from a wide range of industries, including oil and gas, environmental, real estate, and manufacturing, as well as privately owned companies, medical and dental professionals, non-profit organizations, individuals, and families. Ghalib earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary. He acquired his Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA/CA) designation over three decades ago. Ghalib co-founded the Canadian Federation for Citizenship, which is focused on homegrown leadership. He is a Member of the Accounting Advisory Council at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and is Past President of the Entrepreneurial Chartered Professional Accountants of Calgary.
This portal is provided as a training and development resource for City of Markham employees. Every course is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, is quantifiable in hours, and is verifiable — you receive a documented certificate of completion for every course you finish, stored on LearnFormula indefinitely.
If you hold a professional designation (for example in engineering, accounting, human resources, or law), courses may be counted as professionally relevant, verifiable learning activities toward your continuing professional development. Individual practitioners are responsible for confirming that an activity meets the requirements of their professional body. For questions about the City of Markham's training and development policies, please speak with your people leader or Human Resources.
