John Nagy, FCPA, FCGA

Vancouver-Trained National Leader Has International Ambitions for Profession

Work hard, have a good sense of humour, seek challenges and enjoy what you do. That's the core philosophy embraced by John Nagy, FCGA, and CGA-Canada's chair and CEO for 2003-04. A past president of CGA-BC, Nagy has been involved with the Association for a few years now — 22 to be exact. And he has some clear goals in mind for his year as chair and CEO.

"My first objective for the fall is a full and proper review by the Board of the strategic long-range plan so everyone understands where we want to go and agrees on the plan's goals," says Nagy in his characteristically straight-ahead style. "Secondly, I will be working closely with CGA-Canada's new [as of June] president and chief operating officer, Anthony Ariganello, CGA, to ensure a smooth transition as there is a great deal of information for Tony to assimilate quickly," he says.

Another goal Nagy has identified for the coming year is to provide a focused direction for CGA-Canada's international activities. "This will involve making sure both our goals and business plan to achieve them are clear," he says. "Our emphasis on international activities is quite important, as one of CGA-Canada's guiding principles is to act globally. And while we have an outstanding program, the market in Canada is limited, so we need to look beyond our borders," he adds.

Also high on his priority list is developing CGA-Canada's new research capacity. "I want to ensure that the research function as approved by the Board becomes effective and provides us with the benefits it is supposed to. I think that the term 'research' is a misnomer in some ways, as we are talking about advocacy support rather than pure academic research," he says. "It means we need to be in a better position to identify trends. We need to focus on timely topics and public policy issues — compiling information that will allow us to develop positions based on research and fact. We need to formulate quick responses and act as advocates for our members on a range of issues. For example, we need to be ready to respond immediately to announcements, such as the creation of the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB)," he adds.

Having a broad range of experience gained through years of involvement with the Association has provided Nagy with a rich perspective. He views CGA-Canada's biggest strength and biggest challenge as the ability to work effectively with all affiliates.

"The provincial and regional afflilates represent our members and it is within the affiliates that the bulk of the skills, knowledge and expertise of our Association lie. But the diversity of the various affiliates can also provide some of the biggest challenges. In many ways, the CGA Association is like Canada itself — comprising large and small players, all of which provide contributions, various perspectives and demands. It can be a challenge to balance all of the competing interests," he says.

But taking on challenges is nothing new for Nagy. He says one of the reasons he chose to pursue his CGA designation was that he felt the CGA program was one of the most difficult routes to a designation at the time. "The British Columbia Institute of Technology [BCIT] had a very strong and highly regarded program in accounting. Once I completed my diploma, I considered my options. I wanted a challenge and the CGA program was known to be tougher than some of the other courses of study," says Nagy.

"Now, as then, CGA-Canada has an excellent program and is a leader in accounting education. The competency-based model the CGA Program of Professional Studies is based on is very strong. Concrete evidence of this point has been provided by the results of the extensive practice analysis survey completed by CGA-Canada in 2003. And I believe one of the program's greatest strengths is that it is a challenging and tough program with high standards. I think that means a great deal, as those that graduate and are awarded the designation have proven something, more so than the general population at colleges and universities," he says.

Even so, Nagy admits he didn't initially set out to be an accountant. Back in the 1970s, he was working for a commercial bakery in Vancouver when his position was relocated to Alberta. He decided to move along with the job. Part way to Alberta and quite literally by accident, his life took a new direction. "I rolled my car and had to return to my parents' home in Vancouver," he says. "My mother was working for CIBC at the time and encouraged me to apply as a management trainee." He was accepted and began his career in finance as a bank teller. "As part of the program, I worked in various roles in more than 20 branches in B.C. over a three-year span," he says. It was during this time he discovered he had a real knack for accounting and decided to enrol at BCIT.

And while his decision to pursue a career in accounting may have been somewhat accidental, there's been nothing random about his professional success. After graduating from BCIT, he returned to the banking world for a few years. From there, he moved on to the role of office manager for an auto body repair shop, then decided to try his hand at public practice. "I hadn't originally thought about going into public practice as my experience at school led me to believe that it was very limited and too narrow in focus," he says.

But Nagy soon found the realities of public practice to be much more interesting than he had imagined. "There is a lot of variety in the work and the personalities you deal with," he exclaims. "I joined Brock Oakley's firm shortly after receiving my designation in 1980 and became a partner three years later. I bought the practice in 1987, purchased Margit Schroder's practice a few years later, and then merged with Reid, Hurst and Co. in 1999."

Reid Hurst Nagy Certified General Accountants is now one of the largest CGA firms in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, providing accounting, tax, management advisory and financial planning services to individuals, owner-managed businesses and non-profit organizations. The firm also provides expertise in the auditing of strata corporations and First Nations entities.

Right around the time Nagy moved into public practice, he began his volunteer commitment with the Association. "I started as a tutor with CGA-BC," he recalls. "But my first real involvement came in 1985 with a seat on CGA-BC's Public Practice Committee," he says. Nagy chaired the Public Practice Committee in 1996 and is proud of the work the committee accomplished. "We developed a comprehensive public practice manual and turned it over to CGA-Canada," he says. That work continues to form the bulk of the manual in existence today.

Nagy has been on the CGA-BC Board of Governors since 1993 and has also chaired CGA-BC's Strategic Planning Committee and Education Committee. He's been a member of numerous CGA-BC committees and task forces. At the national level, he became a member of the CGA-Canada Board of Directors in 1996 and has served as the Executive Committee's First Vice-Chair(2002-03), and Second Vice-Chair(2001-02). He has chaired several committees, including the Strategic Planning Committee (2001-02), the Finance Committee (2001-02), the National Professional Standards Committee (2002-03) and the Public Practice Committee (1993-94). In addition, Nagy has served on a range of CGA-Canada's other committees and task forces. He was awarded the FCGA designation in 1998.

His board and committee work has not been limited to CGA. He has also served on the Real Estate Council of British Columbia, the Accounting Practices Advisory Committee to the BC Ministry of Finance, and the Accounting Standards Oversight Council of Canada.

Nagy is not afraid to admit he has strong views. When asked about his leadership style, he responds with one word — argumentative. Not your typical answer, but then with a broad smile, he elaborates. "If I feel strongly about something, I'll try to convince others of my position. But I do keep an open mind and can be convinced of the opposite perspective if it is based on a strong argument supported by fact. I try to lead people rather than pushing or micro-managing them. I believe in empowering those around me and providing management with the leeway and flexibility to manage," he says.

As for his personal philosophy, Nagy thinks humour is extremely important in virtually any situation. "I don't want my life to be grey, and humour adds colour," he states emphatically. "And my Dad was a great mentor — he always had a very clear vision. One of his favourite sayings was 'Know what you know and, more importantly, know what you don't know.' I use this principle a lot in my business life. For example, I've never been unwilling to tell clients that I don't know something and will get back to them with an answer."

Over the years, his mentor in the Association has been Bruce Hryciuk, FCGA, a past president of CGA-BC and also a past chair and CEO of CGA-Canada. "Bruce moved through the Association a few years ahead of me. He has given me huge amounts of advice regarding issues at both the provincial and national levels," states Nagy appreciatively. "Bruce's basic philosophy — work hard and play hard, there's a time for both — fits well with mine," he adds.

When it comes to playing hard, Nagy takes to the softball field. For the past couple of years, he has co-coached his 17-year-old daughter Tammy's softball team. "Working with the team is one of my biggest enjoyments," he says. Prior to stepping up to the coaching plate, Nagy served as treasurer for his son Nick's (now 19) scout troop — the 4th Richmond Scouts, as well as the Richmond Georgia Scout District.

His extensive commitment to the Association over the years has meant that many of his social engagements are connected to Association business. He says he and his wife of 21 years, Laura, have made many friends through his involvement. And while he doesn't have much time to read for pleasure, Nagy counts James Michener and Terry Pratchett among his favourite authors. (Terry Pratchett is a British author of humorous science fiction and is most famous for his Discworld series of books.)

As for current issues facing CGA-Canada, Nagy views the public practice rights issue as "the most critical challenge we face as an Association." He says getting through the final stages of closing the public practice rights file in the four remaining provinces is an issue that affects CGAs in every part of the country. "If it is not resolved quickly, we could end up with serious challenges to the profession as a whole. Consequently, CGA-Canada needs to assist Ontario, Quebec, PEI and Nova Scotia in obtaining full public practice rights in any way we can," he states emphatically. [Editor's note: This interview was conducted one week prior to the Ontario Government's announcement on public accounting reform and the establishment of a reconstituted Public Accountants Council (PAC). Once established, the council will be charged with developing new licensing criteria for public accounting in Ontario, thereby opening up public practice to CGAs. The next step is for the government to draft the enabling legislation.]

Does Nagy have any concluding words about the year ahead? Absolutely. "We've always been a forward-looking association. We've taken some big risks over the years, but it is part of what makes us progressive. I would like to continue with that forward-looking, risk-taking philosophy and vision for the future. After all, we have the best education program and the best accounting designation in Canada. Now that's something to be proud of."

This article originally appeared in the November–December 2003 issue of CGA Magazine. 

In June 2013 John Nagy, FCPA, FCGA, joined the CPA Canada Board of Directors.