The Winners in the 2014 Voluntary Sector Reporting Awards have been announced

TORONTO, Feb. 6, 2015 /CNW/ - Canada's most prestigious charitable financial reporting awards program has selected its 2014 winners. The Voluntary Sector Reporting Awards (VSRAs) announced five winners from 15 finalists from across Canada today at an awards luncheon in Toronto.

"If you want to know who some of Canada's best charities are, then all you have to do is look at the VSRAs. We honour the best charity annual reporting. These are charities that have excelled at transparency and accountability. Congratulations to all our winners," said George Boland, Associate Director of the CPA-Queen's Centre for Governance, which organizes the VSRAs every year in partnership with the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

Grant Thornton is the event's exclusive accounting firm sponsor and the National Post the media sponsor for the program.

The awards, now in their seventh year, recognize Canada's best non-profit annual reports.  New expanded rules allowed national and international charities across Canada to enter the VSRAs, as long as those organizations have a significant presence in Ontario. More than 140 charities were nominated. The winners each received a prize of $5,000.

The winners in the five categories are:

International Organizations
Canadian Feed the Children
(Awarded Exemplar status)

National Organizations
March of Dimes Canada

Ontario-only organizations

Total revenues over $10 million
Vita Community Living Services/ Men's Sana Families for Mental Health 

Total revenues from over $1 million to $10 million
United Way of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington
(Awarded Exemplar status)

Total Revenues up to $1 million
Aurora Cultural Centre

"We continue to be impressed with the number of worthy charities receiving recognition through the Voluntary Sector Reporting Awards. It clearly shows that the VSRAs are having a positive effect on financial reporting in this province and across Canada," said Brian Leader, FCPA, FCA, Vice-President of Learning at the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

More information about the VSRAs is available online at www.annualreportaward.ca.

About the CPA-Queen's Centre for Governance at Queen's School of Business
CPA-Queen's Centre for Governance's goal is to raise the bar on Canadian governance research with respect to transparency and financial accountability and convey that research's implications to academics, students and the public at large.  Situated at Queen's School of Business www.business.queensu.ca one of the world's premier business schools, the Centre conducts cutting edge basic and applied research on governance dealing with such issues as fraud prevention and detection and improving the quality of Canadian securities' regulation.

About the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario
CPA Ontario protects the public interest by ensuring its members meet the highest standards for integrity and expertise. CPA Ontario serves and supports its more than 80,000 members and approximately 20,000 students in their qualification and professional development in a wide range of senior positions in public accounting, business, finance, government, not-for-profits and academe. Certified General Accountants (CGAs), Certified Management Accountants (CMAs) and Chartered Accountants (CAs) are now unified under the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation. Chartered Professional Accountants are valued by organizations of all types and sizes for their financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, management skills and leadership. For information on the profession, visit cpaontario.ca. To become a CPA in Ontario, visit gocpaontario.ca.

About Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton LLP is a leading Canadian accounting and advisory firm providing audit, tax and advisory services to private and public organizations. We help dynamic organizations unlock their potential for growth by providing meaningful, actionable advice through a broad range of services. Our charities and not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) sector group is one way we serve the communities in which we live and work. Our skilled team brings extensive knowledge of charities and NPOs to every engagement as we work to help you reach your goals.

SOURCE The Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario

John Suart, [email protected], [phone]