Boost your tax practice with CPA Canada's expert advocacy and resources. Navigate complex Canadian tax laws and leverage collective knowledge to excel as a small practitioner.
This session, led by John Oakey, Vice President of Taxation at CPA Canada, offers an insider’s look at how CPA Canada supports tax professionals across the country through advocacy, education, and community engagement. Drawing on his extensive experience at Baker Tilly and his leadership in shaping national tax initiatives, Oakey explores the evolving challenges of Canadian tax practice — from increasing legislative complexity and administrative uncertainty to resource constraints and AI transformation.
Participants gain a behind-the-scenes understanding of CPA Canada’s collaborative work with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Department of Finance, as well as the development of practical resources like the Tax 360° platform, designed to connect and empower practitioners. The presentation also reviews key advocacy wins, ongoing projects, and policy efforts shaping the profession — including responses to the Underused Housing Tax, Mandatory Disclosure Rules, General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) amendments, intergenerational business transfer rules, trust reporting and bare trust compliance, and the capital gains inclusion rate changes.
With a focus on how small and medium-sized firms can adapt to rapid tax evolution, Oakey emphasizes the need for standardization, automation, and responsible AI use, while illustrating the crucial role of CPAs in policy reform and national dialogue.
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Topics Covered
1. The Evolving Tax Landscape in Canada
2. CPA Canada’s Role and Advocacy Framework
3. The Launch of Tax 360°
4. Recent Tax Policy Files and CPA Canada’s Involvement
5. Innovation and the Future of Tax Practice
6. The Call for Tax Reform
7. Practitioner Engagement and Feedback
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The CPA Small Practitioners’ Forum was created to offer an inviting, semi-causal, and easygoing professional development weekend that provides substantial professional development value to small practitioners. All profit earned by the CPA Small Practitioners’ Forum is donated to the Alberta CPA Education Foundation, so you are helping young people in Canada get scholarships for university. All these courses are reviewed by the delegates at the Forum in Banff annually so we have a great lineup that is adjusted every year to keep things relevant to small practitioners. If you work at a public accounting firm in Canada with employees of 1-50 people, you are our target demographic and you should find this course useful.
Vice President of Taxation, CPA Canada
As Vice-President of Taxation, John Oakey leads CPA Canada’s Tax group, which influences the development of an equitable, effective, and efficient tax system in Canada, as well as delivers practical information and fresh perspectives on tax to members and the broader tax community. A strong proponent of tax education, John also aims to increase CPA Canada’s reputation as the preeminent provider of core tax education in Canada. John serves as a spokesperson for CPA Canada, both domestically and internationally, and acts in the public interest, providing tax-related information and perspective. He leads committees and working groups, consulting with the federal government regarding the development and administration of federal tax policies, while also providing thought leadership and education to CPA members.
