I'm immensely proud of my Chartered Professional Accountant Designation and the value that it adds for me and for organizations. Accounting is no longer cranking an adding machine in a dark back room, no longer "teaching people to read financial statements" as a former colleague used to say.My Chartered Professional Accountant designation means I can see beyond the numbers, to look at the big picture and add value through taking financial information and seeing the impact that information has and potential for an an organization that information opens up. One key aspect of accounting that is often overlooked is that "teaching people to read financial statements" means you've failed to provide information in a meaningful way, in a meaningful manner and most importantly in a manner people can understand. Teaching people to read financial statements does nothing. Providing the same financial information so that your users can read it adds value and allows people to focus on their skills and areas of expertise.I've used my skills as a Chartered Professional Accountant to to take old, outdated financial systems and information and refocused them to make them more efficient both in terms of cost and time and more importantly more appropriate for the users of the systems and information. A former Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba once said "Everyone should have two careers, their professional career and their volunteer career" I believe in that 100% and give back by volunteering on several boards such as The CPA Manitoba Foundation, The Canadian Fencing Federation and the Alpine Club of Canada, and The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra.