Helping practitioners understand how to share information around companies’ compliance with the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act will be the focus of a Natural Resources Canada public meeting hosted this week at Brock’s Goodman School of Business.

The event, Goodman’s 2022 CPA Ontario Centre for Public Policy and Innovation in Accounting symposium, is being offered in a hybrid format Friday, Nov. 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with guests joining in person in the Goodman Atrium and online.

ESTMA was enacted in Canada on Dec. 16, 2014, as part of a global effort to curtail bribery payments in the oil, gas and mining sectors. Until now, the focus has been largely on compliance with the Act. Moving forward, Natural Resources Canada is stressing enforcement and making reports more accessible for stakeholders.

“We are proud to host this important discussion on ESTMA at Goodman,” said Kareen Brown, Director of Goodman’s CPA Ontario Centre for Public Policy and Innovation in Accounting.

“The extractive sector accounts for the highest incidences of transnational bribery across all industries, with corruption occurring from awarding contracts and licenses to spending revenues,” she said. “The influence that bribery payments give to businesses and corrupt officials result in policies that exploit natural resources, increase conflict over revenues and compromise the public good.”

Brown said ESTMA aims to reduce corruption in the sector by increasing transparency so that governments can be held accountable for their countries’ natural resources.

“This symposium brings together experts to discuss its effectiveness and how it can be improved,” she said.

The presentations will cover a range of issues including a historical perspective of ESTMA, an overview of the new compliance program and data portal, insights from an auditor’s perspective, a discussion of human rights and securities regulation through the lens of conflict minerals, the current state of ESTMA research from a managerial perspective and the equity market reaction to ESTMA disclosures.

Session speakers are:

• Galit A. Sarfaty, Canada Research Chair in Global Economic Governance, University of British Columbia
• Ross Gallinger, President, RG Consulting
• Jason Manikkam, Deputy Director, Extractive Sector Transparency Office, Natural Resources Canada, Government of Canada
• Emily Nickerson, Team Lead Policy, Strategy and Partnerships, Extractive Sector Transparency Office, Natural Resources Canada, Government of Canada
• Jacques Radder, Director of Accounting Advisory Services at PwC Management Services LP.
• Barbara Sainty, Professor, Goodman School of Business
• Parunchana Pacharn, Associate Professor, Goodman School of Business
• Samir Trabelsi, Professor, Goodman School of Business

The session will end with an expert panel with Trabelsi, Radder and Nickerson being joined by Goodman Professors Paul Dunn and Fayez Elayan; Charles Cho, Professor and Erivan Haub Chair at the Schulich School of Business at York University; and Daniel Mule, Policy Lead, Extractive Industries Tax and Transparency at Oxfam America.

CPA Ontario members can receive seven continuing professional development hours for attending the event. In person registration is full, however anyone interested in attending virtually can register on the event website.