News 

From L to R: Jagdish Bajaj, Shivani Sharma Gupta, Sanjay Makkar, Bryan Jacobs,
Carmen Jacques, Rohit Prajapati, Jatinder Bawa, Manish Agarwal, Ginni Sethi & Pappur Shankar

In a world where competition is a norm in any career path, it has become imperative to acquire an extra edge in professional training to make a mark and to succeed. The Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) is one such qualification that can, and does open up a world of opportunities in Canada. The Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organised an interactive session on CPA as a career option on November 18 at ICCC headquarters in Toronto.

Welcoming the speakers and the participants to the session, Mr. Sanjay Makkar, President, ICCC, said the event was organized to give members an in-depth knowledge of the qualification, and to help understand how the program can help people advance their career as CPA. The session, he emphasized, would shed light on the skillsets required for acquiring the qualification that would enable an aspirant to scale new heights.

Mr. Bryan Jacobs, in the introduction of the CPA program, said, “Becoming a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) is your ticket to a world of opportunities in accounting and finance.” He added, “CPAs are always in demand thanks to their financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight and management skills. The program will advance your knowledge, broaden your prospects and increase your earning potential.”

A panel discussion followed the remarks by Mr. Makkar and Mr. Jacobs. Ms. Carmen Jacques, Student Recruitment Manager, CPA, Ontario, moderated the discussion. The panelists were Mr. Jitender Bawa, Mr. Manish Agarwal and Mr. Rohit Prajapati. The discussion revolved around the following questions:

• What tips do you want to share with the audience to help them better position themselves for employment in the finance and accounting sector?
• How important is the CPA designation to getting a job in finance or accounting?
• What are the skills and competencies you believe are absolutely essential for competing in today’s job market?
• What advice would you give participants for gaining these skills?
• What was your path to landing your first professional job?
• Describe the hurdles you have had and what you did to overcome those hurdles.
• What do employers look for in successful candidates?
• Tell us something that you wished someone had told you before you started your career.
• Give us your thoughts on Mentorship.
• In today’s competitive career search how could I make myself stand-out as a strong candidate?
• As an Internationally Trained Accountant and recently arrived how can I compete in my career search with someone who has been here for a while?
• In today’s competitive career search how could I make myself stand-out as a strong candidate?

All the panelists shared their views on these questions. 

 Click here for more photographs: CPA as a career

From L to R: Pappur Shankar, Abu Becker, Arun Srivastava, Marti Anne Falcone,  Navi Dhami, Ross Richard, Sumeet Malik, Sanjay Makkar & Raza Hasan

Export Development Canada (EDC) is Canada’s nodal agency for all aspects of export promotion, and it helps Canadian entrepreneurs at every stage of the export process – right from the initial steps of exploring the global markets to arranging for finances to commence global trade.  Over the last decade, as it has expanded its scope of operations, EDC has built a formidable alliance with the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) in promoting Canada-India trade, especially amongst Canadian small and medium businesses.

To inform new members and refresh memories of longtime members of the ICCC, the Chamber organized an information and networking session about the EDC at ICCC’s new global headquarters in Toronto on 12 November 2015. The objective of the session was to inform and educate members about the EDC, and provide a platform for Indo-Canadian entrepreneurs with aspirations to expand their operations to global markets to interact with officials from the EDC.

Mr. Sanjay Makkar, President, ICCC, while welcoming the EDC officials to the Chamber, recounted the long association that the Chamber has had with the export promotion agency. “EDC is our Partner in Success, and has supported many of our projects over the last decade. It has supported Indo-Canadian entrepreneurialism by promoting our annual awards, and sponsoring other programs. It will also be playing a prominent part in our forthcoming India Mission 2016.” 

He then informed the audience of the forthcoming India Mission in January 2016, and gave a brief overview of his recent meeting with the new federal economic development minister Hon. Navdeep Bains. “Our Chamber is committed to creating opportunities for small business owners, and assist them in exploring global and in particular the Indian market,” he said. The ICCC President emphasized that a large number of the Chamber’s members are small business owners or professionals who have their own practice; therefore, a program with such a theme would be of great benefit.

Led by Ms. Marti Anne Falcone, Regional Manager, Asia, the EDC team also included Mr. Sumeet Malik, Mr. Ross Richard and Mr. Navi Dhami. In addition to providing a broad overview of the EDC’s operations, they answered questions pertaining to working capital and risk mitigation when conducting businesses globally. Answering questions the EDC team emphasized why the agency is important in protecting the overseas investment and also for doing due diligence of the companies with whom the Canadian SMEs would like to start businesses. They also answered the India specific questions raised in the session. 

From LtoR: Pappur Shankar, Nani Pradeepan, S K Sharma, Sanjay Makkar, Prabhakar Rayaapa & Dharma P Jain

In the 21st century, energy has come to signify multiple concepts – development, growth, sustainability, and cost efficiencies. A necessary ingredient in every human endeavor, energy is necessary for development and growth, but as the 20th century showed us, unbridled use of energy can leave a trail of devastation for us and especially for our future generations. So, energy has come to signify conservation, sustainability and cost efficiencies.

In an effort to create awareness about the need for energy conservation, the Energy Committee of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organized a workshop on Energy Conservation – Conventional & Renewable. Surinder Sharma and Nani Pradeepan, both energy sector veterans, and members of ICCC’s Energy Committee were the key presenters at the workshop.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Makkar, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) emphasized upon the single-minded focus of the Chamber’s new leadership in organizing programs that are relevant to the members. He lauded the role of Pappur Shankar, ICCC’s director of energy and mining in taking the initiative to organize a program on a subject of such topicality. Makkar said that the creation of the new ministry of Climate Change and Environment by the Trudeau government indicates that is focused on an issue that has acquired major dimensions that need urgent resolution.  

Pappur Shankar, in his welcome remarks, said that the committee will continue to focus on both commercial and social aspects of the subject of energy and conservation. He said the committee will also be organizing an event focused on the mining sector.

In his presentation, Surinder Sharma provided insights into increasing carbon emissions and its impact on climate change.  The role of business in ‘sustainability’ and how to use Energy Audits and Technology Measures to improve the business bottom-line by saving energy and bringing a ‘Culture of Conservation’.  He also gave a broad outline of the Incentive Programs offered by Hydro Companies to make projects viable.

Sharma is the Founder and CEO of Power Saving Systems Inc. - a leading service provider and Energy Consultants for the saveONenergy programs offered by Enersource Hydro Mississauga, Toronto Hydro and PowerStream that assists the Industry and Small Businesses to conserve energy.  He has presented several workshops in this field, conducted energy audits and operates the Small Business Lighting Program of Toronto and Mississauga.

Nani Pradeepan followed Sharma. He provided insights into harnessing solar power is important for our energy future - providing energy diversity, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and decreasing carbon emissions. Government of Ontario’s Feed in Tariff programs pay premium for property owners and businesses for the solar electricity they generate. This makes solar energy not only a way to generate clean electricity but also but also financially rewarding.

Pradeepan is the Managing Director of New Dawn Energy Solutions – an energy technology company based in Markham, Ontario that provides turnkey solar and energy saving solutions in Ontario and abroad. Nani is a professional engineer in the province of Ontario. He possesses bachelors and master’s degrees in electrical engineering. His specializations are in solar, small wind power systems, energy optimization and project management.

Participants at the workshop	Participants at the workshop

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ICCC team with Kevin Fox of Ontario (2nd from right) and Nicolas Falcone of City of Toronto (5th from right)

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Makkar, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) said that the focus of the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) committee has been to offer programs that are relevant to the members of the Chamber. He emphasized that a large number of the Chamber’s members are small business owners or professionals who have their own practice; therefore, a program with such a theme would be of great benefit.

Jagdish Bajaj, Vice President, Programs and Events, in his welcome remarks, also pointed out that the unprecedented participation of members and guests in the program clearly showed that the Chamber was on the right track in bringing relevant programming to its members and stakeholders.

In his presentation, Kevin Fox of the province of Ontario provided an understanding of the competitive procurement of goods and services conducted by the Ontario government. Fox gave insights about how suppliers can successful bid for procurement contracts through a brief review of the procurement process.

He also informed them about how to gain access to procurement opportunities through the province’s portal – ontario.ca/tenders, and how to respond to a Request for Bids and how to market to the Ontario government. The Ontario government buys a wide range of goods and services from businesses of all sizes and types. When making purchasing decisions, the Ontario government must ensure that it manages public funds efficiently and effectively. The goal is to achieve the best value for the public money that is spent.

Fox is a Senior Procurement Consultant in the Program and Policy Support Branch of the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, Supply Chain Ontario made a presentation on ‘How to Do Business with the Ontario Government’. Fox has had extensive procurement experience with provincial, federal and municipal government organizations throughout his former corporate career.

Nicolas Falcone followed Fox. Falcone is the Coordinator, Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance with the Purchasing & Materials Management Division of the City of Toronto. In his presentation, Falcone explained the procurement process by the City of Toronto. His presentation touched upon the following agenda: the purchasing activities of the City of Toronto; the role of purchasing and materials management division; online call document system, and procurement contacts within the City of Toronto.

Falcone is a Certified Supply Chain Management Professional (CSCMP) and a Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM). During his Supply Chain Management career in both the public and private sectors he has gained extensive Public Purchasing experience from working in various capacities for the municipal government and in the education sector. He also has considerable private sector procurement experience gained from working in the safety products/distribution/services industry. 

From l to r: Falcone, Brahmbhatt, Fox, Makkar, Dhanjal	Makkar with the guests speakers

 ICCC team with Pierre Cléroux: (From l to r): Jagdish Bajaj, Abu Becker, Kanwar Dhanjal,
Pierre Cléroux, Sanjay Makkar, Pappur Shankar, Sanjay Brahmbhatt