Controller's Management Program (Live Virtual - June 2027)

This program is being delivered in collaboration with CPABC and will be offered live in a virtual format.

Live Virtual Schedule

June 09, 2027 | 9:15 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
June 10, 2027 | 9:30 a.m. – 6:15 p.m. (1:1 coaching sessions: 3:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.)
June 16, 2027 | 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (1:1 coaching sessions: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.)
June 17, 2027 | 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

*All times are shown in Alberta Time (ABT). Please note that timings are subject to slight changes.

Important Deadlines

• Early bird price $2,350, available until April 9, 2027.
• Regular price $2,450, available from April 10 to May 10, 2027.

Overview

As a Controller, you not only provide financial expertise in your organization; you provide leadership as a key member of the management team. Building on the foundation of your technical skills, your management and leadership skills will take you and your organization to the next level. The Controller’s Management Program is designed to provide you with the theory, best practices, tools and skills to further sharpen your leadership and management skills.

Course Description

The program concentrates on four key leadership areas:

1. Self-awareness and self-management
2. Organizational perspective and influence
3. Managing and leading others
4. Effective communication for a variety of contexts

This highly interactive program will provide you with a unique experience and opportunities for you to network and learn from your peers. Through case studies, group discussions, exercises and role-plays representative of situations faced by controllers and financial managers, you will gain skills and confidence to increase both your personal and interpersonal effectiveness. Over this program you will gain critical insights into leading practices in management and leadership and have the opportunity to apply tools and skills to your work context, share experiences with your peers and take away actionable goals.

Special Features

• Leadership Assessment: Each participant is involved in two Leadership Assessments to help frame your role as a Controller today and provide an opportunity for individual growth.
  *360 Degree Leadership and Organizational Assessment
  *360 Degree Assessment of Strengths and the Role of a Controller
• One on One Coaching: Each participant receives the exclusive opportunity of having a session with a professional executive coach. This session allows for exploration of ways to improve your leadership capacity.
• Data-backed approach: This program uses up to date, verifiable research and theories using relevant casework.

Program Content

Controller as Leader

• Increase self-awareness and understanding of your leadership style
• Understand linkages between leadership and self-management
• Know what motivates you when things are going well and when things are not going well
• Understand different personality profiles and learn how to build productive work relationships
• Learn how to adapt your approach and leadership to your organization and team

Supervisory Skills

• Learn how to provide effective and timely feedback
• Understand how to align your staff with organizational goals
• Build your listening and emotional intelligence skills
• Become aware of unconscious bias and its impact on behavior
• Learn core coaching skills for managing performance

Team Dynamics

• Know how to create effective teams
• Learn how to conduct effective meetings
• Understand how organizational culture shapes team dynamics

Communication Skills

• Know how to adapt your message and delivery for specific audiences and situations
• Appreciate the importance of non-verbal communication
• Learn to effectively negotiate and collaborate with your colleagues
• Learn how to communicate assertively
• Become more comfortable with difficult conversations

Conflict & Change Management

• Learn how to identify the root causes of conflict
• Understand conflict behaviours in yourself and others, and ways they shape responses to conflict
• Know how to use conflict to build relationships
• Learn different ways to respond to conflict and how to choose your approach for a variety of situations
• Appreciate why change can be a source of conflict and how to overcome resistance to change

Pre-Work

This program contains pre-work that should be completed before attending the live classes. The approximate pre-work time required for this program is 3.5 hours. Note that the pre-work hours are already included in the total CPD hours listed for the program. Please click the image below to watch a brief pre-work introduction video.

Who Will Benefit

This course is for you if you are:

• Relatively new to a Controller or Financial Manager role
• Aiming to move up to the Controller role from another position
• Preparing to shift from a staff position or public practice into an industry management role
• Looking to sharpen your interpersonal and management skills

Terms & Conditions

Course Withdrawals

A full withdrawal or refund, minus an administration fee of $100, will be granted if the withdrawal request is received more than 30 days before the start date of an executive program.

If a withdrawal or refund request is received 15-30 days before the program start date, an administration and/or material fee of $1000 will apply for live virtual offerings and an administration and/or material fee of $1500 will apply for in-person offerings.

Refunds will not be granted if the written withdrawal/transfer request is received 15 days or less before the program start date.

*Some exceptions may apply and will be reviewed individually.

Please note that if the original payment was received greater than 180 days prior to the refund request, a refund to a credit card is not possible. A store credit will be issued for the total refunded amount.

Transfers

A transfer is permitted, minus an administration fee of $100, if the withdrawal request is received more than 30 days before the start date of the executive program.

If a transfer request is received 15-30 days before the program start date, an administration and/or material fee of $1000 will apply for live virtual offerings and an administration and/or material fee of $1500 will apply for in-person offerings.

A transfer request will not be granted if the written withdrawal/transfer request is received 15 days or less before the program start date.

Please note that if payment was received greater than 180 days prior to the refund request, a refund to a credit card is not possible. A store credit will be issued for the total refunded amount.

Participant Substitutions

Participant substitutions will only be accepted up to 30 days prior to the executive program start date. No substitutions will be accepted within 30 days of the first date of the Executive Program. Additional fees may apply. To request a substitution, please email pdregistration@cpaalberta.ca and include the course information, name of the original registrant with CPA Alberta ID and the name and CPA Alberta ID number of the replacement participant.

Participant No Shows

Attendance will be taken during the executive program. If you do not attend, you will be listed as absent, and you will not receive a certificate of completion.

Extenuating circumstances

Exceptions to withdrawal, transfer, or no-show policies may be considered under extenuating circumstances. These are situations that are unforeseeable, unavoidable, and beyond the control of the registrant. All requests for exceptions must be submitted in writing to pdregistration@cpaalberta.ca and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Attendance Policy

To receive CPD credit for in-person courses, your name must be on the registration list, and you must be present when attendance is recorded by the instructor, otherwise, there is no way of verifying whether you have attended a course or received the product. If your name is not on the registration list, you will not be permitted entry into the course.

Failure to attend an in-person course on the scheduled date, without prior notice, will be treated as a forfeiture of registration and will result in the loss of eligibility for a refund or transfer.

Completion and Certificate of Completion

Upon completion of all learning activities, a certificate of completion will be available to download through the Learning Management System. For in-person courses, conferences and executive programs there will be a delay in accessing the certificate of completion, as CPA Alberta verifies attendance.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many CPD Hours are associated with this Program?

There are up to 28 CPD Hours associated with this Program. 

Is there Pre-Work associated with this Program?

There are approximately 3.5 hours of pre-work time required for this Program. These pre-work hours are already included in the total CPD hours possible.

How and where do I access the Pre-Work for this Program?

All of the pre-work, instructions on completion, accommodation information and agenda can be found through the CPA Alberta’s Learning Management Portal: https://learn.cpaalberta.ca/.

Is there a Certificate available with this Program?

Yes. Participants who complete the Controller's Management Program will receive a Certificate of Completion.

Participants who have also completed the Controller's Operational Skills Program are eligible to receive the Controller's Executive Program Certificate. To obtain this certificate, please contact ExecutivePrograms@cpaalberta.ca.

CPA Alberta Controllership Executive Program Certificate

The CPA Alberta Controllership Executive Program Certificate is a two-component curriculum designed to provide you with the foundation for success. The Controller’s Management Program will focus on management soft skills, while the Controller’s Operational Skills Program will focus on core technical and operational skills.

You can choose to complete only one of these programs, but if you complete both components you will receive a certificate upon completion. Note that these programs can be completed in any order as they focus on separate and distinct skills.