The Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC) recognized members of the Board who retired in June 2015 and June 2016, for their invaluable contribution to the ICAC Board and to the accountancy profession in the region. The recognition awards were presented to the six recipients at the annual President’s Dinner held during the ICAC’s 34th Caribbean Conference held at the Ramada Princess Hotel & Casino in Belize.
The event was attended by approximately 300 finance professionals and business leaders from the Caribbean, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The outgoing ICAC Board members, who were recognized for their tremendous contribution to the ICAC and to the advancement of the regional accountancy profession, were:
Ronald Alli, a Managing Partner of Jack A. Alli, Sons & Co., who served as President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana (ICAG) from 1993 to 1998, and as President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean from 1997 to 2001. He was reappointed to the ICAC Board in June 2013 as Alternate Director for Guyana and served in this position until June 2015. Ronald continues to serve as co-Chair of the ICAC’s Governance Taskforce.
Vintoria Bernard, who was first appointed Alternate Director to the ICAC Board in June 2011 and was elected Treasurer in June 2013. She served as Treasurer for two years from 2013-2015. She retired from the ICAC Board in June 2015. She also served as Chair of the ICAC Publicity Committee and as a member of the RMU Sub-committee and Awards Selection Committee of the ICAC. A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ) since 1987, Vintoria Bernard is a past president of ICAJ and a Fellow of ACCA and the ICAJ. She is the Managing Partner of Vintoria Bernard Chartered Accountants and has been in practice since 1991.
Reece D. Chipman, a past president of the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) and who is currently Managing Director of SMS Chartered Accountants. Reece was first appointed to the ICAC Board as Director for The Bahamas in June 2010, a position he held for two years. He was reappointed to the ICAC Board as Alternate Director for The Bahamas in June 2013 and served in this position until June 2015. During his tenure on the Board, he served as a member of the ICAC Education & Joint Seminars Committee as well as the Technical Committee.
Derek Mohammed, immediate past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad & Tobago (ICATT), who was first appointed to the ICAC Board in June 2011 as Alternate Director for Trinidad. He continued to serve in that capacity until he retired from the Board in June 2016. He is currently a partner with Deloitte & Touche (Trinidad & Tobago) and a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK.
Brenda Lee Tang, who served as ACCA’s Affiliate representative on the ICAC Board for five years from 2011 to April 2016. She was a member of the ICAC’s Award Selection Committee and played an integral role in building strong stakeholder relationships among ACCA members and students, as well as with the ICAC, national institutes and employers across the region.
Lyle Handfield, who served as CGA Canada’s Affiliate representative on the ICAC Board for nine years, from 2005 to 2014, when he bade farewell following the the unification of Canadian accountancy bodies under the new CPA (Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada) entity. During his tenure on the ICAC Board, he served with the ICAC Task Force appointed to review and amend the Articles of Association. Lyle was also an active member the working group appointed by the Board, to formulate an Affiliation Agreement aimed at maintaining harmonized standards within the regional accountancy profession.
In addition to his invaluable contribution as a member of the ICAC Board, Lyle also played a key role in building strong relationships among CGAs, and other key stakeholders in the region. In acknowledging the award which was received on his behalf by Anthony Pierre, ICAC Vice President & Director for Trinidad & Tobago, Derek Mohammed stated, “I will truly miss all of you and am very touched by the gesture. My greatest blessing in life is all the wonderful people I have met and friendships that I have fostered in my life’s journey…. I will always remember my time at ICAC with the fondest of memories and will always do my part to support in whatever way I can…”
In a note of acknowledgement, Brenda Lee Tang also expressed appreciation for the award and for the ICAC’s recognition of her contribution. “Thank you for allowing me to provide input over the years and for giving me the opportunity to make a contribution to the accountancy profession. I believe that ICAC will continue to make significant strides in the years ahead,” said Brenda, who pledged her continued to support to the organization.
Vintoria Bernard expressed her gratitude to the ICAC President and the ICAC Board for the recognition, adding that it was a pleasure to have served the regional institute during her tenure on the Board.
