The Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants (CIIPA) recently held its Annual General Meeting to elect a new council and announce its plans for 2017. Elected to serve on the CIIPA council this year are David Walker, James George, Baron Jacob, Craig Smith, Joel Dodson, Mike Mannisto, Francois Lamontagne, Chris Gauk, Serge Berube, Peter Small, Rennie Khan, Ben Leung, Simon Conway, and Odette Samson. The appointed officers for 2017 are Peter Small as president, Joel Dodson as vice-president and Mike Mannisto as secretary.

Outgoing president Serge Berube outlined CIIPA’s accomplishments during the previous year, some of which included reaching an impressive new figure of 1,100 members; a CI $25,000 donation to the Ministry of Education’s mathematics programme; as well as recognising 27 young Caymanians, four who attained their accounting qualifications and 23 others who received either their Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in accounting at its 2016 annual gala.

Incoming president Peter Small also discussed some of the key areas which CIIPA planned to focus on during 2017. This included the continuation of its successful ‘We’re Here’ marketing campaign, showcasing the myriad of local roles available within the accounting industry for qualified professionals. The organisation also plans to carry on with its careers and mentoring programme – a volunteer scheme where CIIPA members are currently placed with students at ICCI and UCCI.

“This year particularly, we look forward to working more closely with ICCI in their ‘Smarten Up’ enrollment campaign in order to encourage young Caymanians to further their education,” said Mr Small.

CIIPA CEO, Sheree Ebanks, commented: “We could not function without the assistance of our volunteer committees. We organised 35 events in 2016, and 2017 is shaping up to be just as busy.”

The year ahead will also see further implementation of the important new Accountants Law, 2016, which became effective in November last year. CEO Sheree Ebanks discussed what this meant for CIIPA and the Cayman Islands: “With this new law and accompanying regulations, we are now in a position to work towards meeting the seven statements of member obligations required by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to ensure Cayman’s accounting industry is leading from the front in terms of international standards.”

CIIPA plans to conduct educational sessions this year on The Accountants Law and will begin an awareness campaign for the broader membership to inform them of their ongoing obligations under the Law.

CIIPA’s strategic objectives were also announced. These included to be a trusted and valued brand locally; to bring awareness of the CIIPA brand regionally and internationally, provide membership development and support, provide for high-quality practices by the accounting profession locally, support growth and development of all sectors of the Cayman Islands economy, and finally, to be an active and credible contributor on issues affecting the Cayman Islands and the accounting profession globally.

While looking ahead, Mr Small remarked: “CIIPA has seen tremendous growth in 2016 and we look forward to the leaps and bounds which 2017 has in store for us. We have proudly positioned ourselves as one of Cayman’s primary contributors to the quality of the jurisdiction and we look forward to continuing on this path.” opHow

PHOTO CAPTION:

CIIPA’s 2017 council. Back row, L-R: David Walker, James George, Baron Jacob, Craig Smith, Joel Dodson, Mike Mannisto, Francois Lamontagne
Front row, L-R: Chris Gauk, Serge Berube, Peter Small, Rennie Khan, Ben Leung, Odette Samson, Simon Conway (not pictured)