Chapter 12

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/groupaction/whoswho.html

Summary
I approached this entry a little differently... I read the chapter, in particular, the career profile on Alfonso Gagliano and I knew that that name sounded familiar. So I started to do some googling and I found two sources, a Wikipedia entry on him and a CBC article on the sponsorship scandal that detailed his alleged involvement. The Wikipedia article states that he was the highest ranking Liberal member to lose his job. Then Prime Minister Paul Martin, fired Gagliano acting on information from the Gomery report. It is reported in Wikipedia that Gagliano sued Paul Martin for defamation of character and wrongful dismissal. It seems that controversy follows Gagliano, a NY Post article suggested ties to the mafia - ties that Gagliano denies. The CBC article reports basically the same thing as Wikipedia, save for the alleged ties to the mafia.

Connections
The connection is the person - Gagliano. The profile in the book illustrates that the knowledge and skills developed (logic, good organization and careful checking of facts) through the CGA program are valuable in his jobs as an accountant, a politician and as a business owner. In Gagliano's own words, his job as a politician calls for "tact, good decision-making skills, an ability to reason and the tendency to check and double-check something."

Reflection
I really do think that the skills developed in obtaining an accounting designation such as the CGA or CA etc. are valuable in accounting, business and other jobs outside of business. There is some irony in the situation that Gagliano is in and how the text portrays him as a good example of the value of accounting skills. It also illustrates that we can teach skills, we can discuss ethics but we can’t teach someone to be ethical. Is Gagliano really innocent – personally, I don’t believe he is. As a further thought, I think the authors of the book realized this contradiction and have since removed his career profile from the latest edition of the text. I guess that's what happens when we use a 15 year old book...