Malaspina employee awarded Ritchie W. McCloy Award for volunteerism

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia (ICABC) has recognized Nanaimo’s Christopher Burnley, CA, for his contributions to the chartered accountancy profession with the Ritchie W. McCloy Award for CA Volunteerism.

Burnley is an accounting professor at Malaspina University-College in Nanaimo, who has worked hard to help build the reputation and legacy of the CA designation in his community.

After the University-College became a degree-granting institution, he and several of his colleagues undertook the enormous task of raising the accounting profession’s profile on campus. They also built relationships with local accounting firms and approved CA training offices. Due in no small part to the efforts of Burnley and his colleagues over the past seven years, Malaspina students now supply the majority of approved training offices north of Victoria. Alumni also work in the Lower Mainland and Alberta, and at other locations in North America.

In addition to helping increase awareness of the professional accounting designations, he has been instrumental in helping the BC CA Institute maintain a presence on campus. Now a full-time instructor at Malaspina, Burnley arranges various speaking engagements for the Institute’s CEO, president, and recruiting coordinator, as well as for CAs from industry.

"Chris’s contributions to the profession have been invaluable," says Richard Rees, FCA, CEO of the ICABC. "His efforts have helped build the accounting department at Malaspina, and have raised the profile of the CA designation at that institution. We are very pleased to honour him with the Ritchie W. McCloy Award for CA Volunteerism."

The Ritchie W. McCloy Award recognizes the value of a CA or non-CA's contributions to the CA profession, whether through an individual project or a series of activities. It was  established in memory of Ritchie W. McCloy, FCA, former CEO of the ICABC. In addition to their dedication to the CA profession, award recipients must embody values such as openness, honesty, and generosity.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia is the training, governing and regulatory body of B.C.'s 9,300 members and just over 1,300 CA students. For media inquiries contact Kerri Brkich at (604) 488-2625.