Celebrating 50 Wonderful Years of Membership: Denis Bogle, CGA

“Fifty wonderful years,” this is how Dennis Bogle, CGA, describes his experience as a certified general accountant. He has had a rewarding career and when asked if there is anything he would have liked to change he replied emphatically “absolutely nothing!” He enjoyed every moment working as an accountant.

Dennis was born on September 12, 1927 in a small town called Britannia Mines, just north of Vancouver, British Columbia. He grew up with his parents and seven siblings, six brothers and one sister. He recalls the thrill of travelling to Vancouver to see the “big city” and his excitement in seeing cars and other motorized vehicles. Finally, at age 19 he moved to Vancouver.

His dream was to become either a lawyer or an historian but his plans to attend university could not be realized so he entered the wonderful world of work. Three months exposure to finance while employed at a bank in Vancouver marked the beginning of his career in the business world.

Later moving to the Western Canada Steamship Company in Vancouver, where he was initially employed as a mail delivery boy, he was promoted to AP clerk. It was while serving in the AP position that a family friend suggested that he opt to explore the possibility of becoming a certified general accountant. He took the qualifying courses, which allowed him to gain enrolment into the CGA program. In 1956 he obtained the CGA designation.

Dennis worked at the shipping company for nine-and-a-half years where he transitioned through all phases of their accounting functions and eventually became their bookkeeper.

Through the various job changes and promotions he has gained a wealth of experience. He has worked as an assistant office manager, office and credit manager and acting general manager with Williams & Williams (Western) Limited, a manufacturer of metal windows. Later he moved on to become the office and credit manager for Auto Electric (Pacific) Limited, an automotive company in Vancouver. Later he was transferred to their corporate head office in Toronto where not only did he become their controller, but also a member of CGA Ontario.

The last 12 years of his formal work life was with Andco Anderson Limited, an engineering construction company in Burlington.

His work experience spans various sectors from banking, mining, automotive, manufacturing and construction. Also, he transitioned from manual to computerized accounting processes in the early 1970s. In the early days computing was learned by a combination of observation and being self-taught. How far we’ve come to be where we are today!

With his blood fully infused with accounting, Dennis has moved into retirement and still holds various volunteer accounting positions in his community. He is the secretary/treasurer for a fraternal organization in Hamilton. This is just one way for him to keep his knowledge current. He reads the association magazine and commends the new format. As well he reads Hamilton Chapter’s newsletter.

He is impressed by the coverage of the courses that are being offered by CGA Ontario and the depth of knowledge that is gained by CGA program students of today. He recalled that in the early days there were three sets of exams spanning three years that were written as five papers each year.

Dennis found his accounting experience to be most rewarding whenever he was in a position to give the final conclusion in an analysis or where given the opportunity to make recommendations. Certainly, it is getting management to accept his decision that has proven to be most satisfying.

Dennis advises CGAs to “Enjoy the accounting experience and take time to realize the benefits we are adding to our organizations.” It is his dream to see the accounting function become highly respected and not treated as a subsidiary function, as we should all be treated with the highest regard. His vision is to see the CGA designation recognized as the designation of choice in Ontario.

Since retiring in April 1986, Dennis has taken time to travel and catch up on his reading. He has maintained his love of history and this has been the deciding factor for the travel destinations he chooses. He keeps busy with subjects on world or political history and shared that he has more than 60 books waiting to be read and he still continues to collect. His last read was the Commonwealth of Thieves which outlines the birth of Australia. This book was selected with a view to learn more about the country of his father’s birth. He has also read most of the books that were written by various prime ministers from around the world.

At 79 years young, Dennis attributes his youthful appearance to his early morning walks within the perimeter of his village. During the summer he is forced into gardening, as this is a legacy trait from his father.

It was certainly an honour to have been assigned the exciting task of sitting with Dennis Bogle at his home and to have him share his wealth of knowledge and experience as a 50-year veteran member of the Association. It is an inspiration for us as CGAs to strive for accomplishments like his, and to look for rewarding as well as more challenging experiences in accounting.

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