SPEAKERS
Anita Cyr, CPA, CA
Associate Chief Accountant @British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC)
Anita Cyr is the Associate Chief Accountant at the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC), providing accounting expertise on financial information required by market participants and monitoring developments in national and international accounting standards, auditing standards, auditor oversight, and sustainability standards. She also liaises with professional accounting bodies and communicates with issuers and their advisors in matters related to financial reporting requirements. Anita also works on CSA policy initiatives, including the Climate-Related Disclosure Project. She recently returned from an internal secondment managing the BCSC’s Financial Reporting team, which is the group who monitors three categories of disclosure filings – financial reporting, insider reporting and reports of exempt distribution. Anita’s also worked as a Senior Securities Analyst in the Corporate Finance Division of the BCSC, and worked at PwC prior to joining the Commission.
Heidi Scorgie, CPA, CA
Regional Vice President, West @Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB)
Heidi Scorgie is the Regional Vice President, Western Canada. She leads CPAB’s Western Canada inspections team and focuses on building relationships with key regional stakeholders in BC and Alberta, including other regulators, audit committee chairs and directors of regional reporting issuers, to advance their understanding of the importance of audit quality and CPAB’s regulatory role. Prior to CPAB, Heidi was a partner at a global accounting firm in South Africa and Canada. She led audits of public companies in and was the professional practice director for the British Columbia and Alberta regions. Heidi is a passionate supporter of children and their families with congenital heart conditions, she serves as a board member for the Children’s Heart Network.
Andrew Creech, CPA, CA
Director, Capital Formation @TSX Venture Exchange
Andrew Creech is the director, Capital Formations, at the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange). He has primary responsibility for the Listings Department in Vancouver and is also a member of the Exchange's Executive Listings Committee. Andrew is responsible for a multidisciplinary team of professional and administrative staff, including geologists, lawyers and accountants, who are dedicated to listing quality applicants on the Exchange, and enhancing the reporting and dissemination of information from public issuers. Some of these duties include reviewing major transactions, coordinating new listings, and working with industry stakeholders to facilitate issuer transactions. Andrew is also a Chartered Accountant. Prior to joining the Exchange in 2004, he was in public practice at a Vancouver firm.
Erez Bahar, CPA, CA, CPA (WA)
Partner, Public Company Audits @Davidson & Company LLP
Erez is a Davidson & Company LLP lifer, having joined the firm’s public audit practice fresh from university in 1999. Along with his CA and CPA (WA) designations, Erez holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia.
Erez is ambitious and hard-working, leading his team of determined accountants by example. He services a broad range of industries and spent a large part of his career travelling the world for his clients. Within the firm, Erez serves as a leader of the firm’s public audit practice, helping clients go public or maintain their public listings. Erez’s most important job in his life is being a father to his beautiful three sons.