MARCH 2005 ISSUE
Busy Chartered Accountant
Joins APEGGA Council
An array of governance, fiscal, volunteer and private-sector experience joins the table in the appointment of APEGGA Public Council Member Bill Grace, FCA. But it's what he doesn't bring to each issue that will prove just as important, says this active corporate director and consultant.
“I don't want to be glib about it, but I really am that man on the street insofar as the APEGGA professions are concerned,” says Mr. Grace, who took part in his first Council meeting Feb. 3. “I, along with the other public members, bring an outside, objective viewpoint to the issues, and I think that can be very helpful in Council deliberations and decisions. I'm totally independent.”
Mr. Grace is no stranger to group decision-making. Just keeping track of his schedule would prove a daunting task for most people.
He currently holds directorships with three publicly traded companies and a number of private ones, among them the Forzani Group, Stantec, Melcor Developments and Millar Western Forest Products. Several funds also benefit from his experience — he's a trustee and chairman of the Edmonton Pipe Industry's pension, and health and welfare trust funds, and a trustee with the Universities Academic Pension Plan. He's a public director on the Mutual Fund Dealers Association.
He's current chair of the Edmonton Concert Hall Foundation, and a past chair and current board member of the Edmonton Symphony Society.
Mr. Grace has also held a number of senior vice-president and chief financial officer positions in some major Alberta corporations, including Chieftain Development Co. Ltd., R. Angus Alberta Ltd. and Canadian Utilities Ltd. He then joined Price Waterhouse as a partner in 1988 and was the managing partner of the Edmonton office until his early retirement in 1994.
The list doesn't end there.
Mr. Grace was a member of the professional advisory group for the Alberta Tax Reform Commission in 1993. For four years he served on the Province of Alberta's audit committee. He was even a member of the Air Services/City Centre Airport Consultation Group in 2003 and 2004.
Mr. Grace has served his own profession, too. He's a former council member and past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta and also the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. And he's an elected fellow and life member of the Alberta and Ontario institutes.
Why add APEGGA to his resume?
“Because I'm a chartered accountant and interested in self-governance from the point of view of CAs, I'm interested in seeing how other professional groups work on behalf of members and society. And from what I've seen of APEGGA so far, I'm very impressed,” said Mr. Grace.
“But I think I can bring something to the table, particularly in the areas of finance and governance.”