Smythe Ratcliffe - Vancouver Chartered Accountants

It is with deep sadness that the Partners of Smythe Ratcliffe Chartered Accountants announce the passing of Bob Cole.

Bob graduated from UBC with a Degree in Agriculture. He quickly changed his focus, articled with a national firm of Chartered Accountants in Vancouver and Prince George and became a CA in 1974.

In 1980, along with five other CAs, Bob established Smythe Ratcliffe, now one of Vancouver’s leading mid-sized firms.

Bob has always been in assurance services, working closely with clients to provide high quality services with an emphasis on technical advice in accounting, auditing and taxation matters.

Bob has served as a member of the Canadian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board; the Task Force on Illegal Acts; he chaired the Public Interest and Integrity Committee’s Task Force on Public Interest Entities; has served for several years on the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC Practice Review and Licensing Committee, and has chaired the Accounting Standard’s Board Committee on Differential Reporting since 2000. He has addressed the Accounting Standards Board and the Accounting Standards Board Oversight Council on Differential Reporting matters on several occasions and he co-wrote a paper for the Canadian Tax Foundation on the implications of changing accounting standards on taxation. These accomplishments among others, earned Bob his fellowship (FCA) within the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants during 2004.

In the community, Bob has been very active in the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron serving in several capacities including Commander of Pacific Mainland District and is a member of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and the Vancouver Estate Planning Council.

In his spare time, Bob also had a little fun successfully traversing the exams to earn himself a US Certified Public Accountant designation and also the designation of Certified Financial Planner.

Oh, and why "a host of golden daffodils"? To Bob, an office without flowers is like a car without gas, little more than another place to sit.