TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An Ontario student in the national Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) program has captured the Canada Gold Medal as the top performer in the Common Final Exam (CFE).
Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA Ontario) congratulates Torontonian Lawrence (Qianyu) Zhang on achieving the national honour. Zhang’s accolade in the CFE capped an impressive academic showing for Ontario CPA students, who dominated the national examination.
The CFE is the culmination of the rigorous two-year graduate-level CPA program. Success in the program opens the doors for students in a broad range of roles. From the music industry to fighting cybercrime, from influencing laws to rethinking currency, CPAs are renowned as trusted financial experts and thought leaders.
In this year’s CFE, Ontario CPA students excelled. Of the 68 students whose performance earned them a place on the prestigious National Honour Roll, 51 per cent (35) were from Ontario. Overall, 44 per cent of all students who successfully completed the CFE (2,692 of 6,163) were Ontarians.
Gold medalist Zhang, who has a Master of Accounting (MAcc) from the University of Waterloo and works at MNP LLP Mississauga, said he chose the CPA designation to hone his financial talents while also developing other key business skills.
“The CPA path developed my technical expertise in a variety of subjects, such as audit, tax, finance and strategy,” he said. “It also had an additional focus on enabling competencies such as problem-solving, teamwork and communication. These skills will help me prepare for a successful career in any industry and will be useful in other opportunities such as volunteering.”
The exam not only includes important disciplines like accounting, finance, governance, strategy, and assurance, but also evaluates professional skills such as critical analysis, decision-making, and professional judgment. Only those students who both pass the CFE and complete their practical experience requirements earn the CPA designation.
“Congratulations to the National Honour Roll students and to all our students who passed the CFE,” said Carol Wilding, FCPA, FCA, President and CEO of CPA Ontario. “Our CPAs are renowned as trusted financial experts, strategic thinkers and business leaders. These graduates are now armed with the skills, ethics and insights to navigate our increasingly complex, ever-changing business landscape. We look forward to these students benefitting Ontario for years to come, by protecting the public interest and elevating our CPA community.”
In addition to the CFE Honour Roll, CPA Ontario has awarded Thomas Budnick with the Kenneth Victor Chernick Award. Established in 2017, this award is given to a CPA Ontario student who demonstrates distinguished performance on the CFE while working in the Federal Public Service in Ottawa. Thomas Budnick, who works for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa receives $3,000. Second-place finisher Joshua Brown, of the Department of National Defence, receives $2,000, and third-placed Sabrina Trieu, who works for Health Canada, receives $1,000.
The 2018 Ontario CFE writers on the National Honour Roll:
Canadian Gold Medalist
Ontario Gold Medalist
ZHANG, Lawrence (Qianyu) MNP LLP, Mississauga
University of Waterloo
AMIN, Mariam
Deloitte LLP, Toronto
Schulich School of Business, York University
AOKI, Tatsuya
Ernst & Young LLP, Toronto
University of Toronto
BALL, Chris
Segal LLP, Toronto
Wilfrid Laurier University
BUDNICK, Thomas
Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, Ottawa
University of Ottawa
CHAU, Zoey
Lipton LLP, Toronto
University of Waterloo
CHIUMERA, Michael John
Collins Barrow LLP, Ottawa
Carleton University
COOPER, Andrew
Allied Properties Management LP, Toronto
Ryerson University
DIBIASE, Nick
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto
Wilfrid Laurier University
EDGE, Paul
MNP LLP, Brockville
University of Waterloo
FRASER, Devin Jospeh
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Ottawa
Carleton University
HERSICS, Braden Vincent
Grant Thornton LLP, Hamilton
McMaster University
JIANG, Xing Xu
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto
University of Waterloo
LEE, Bryon Y.H.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto
University of Waterloo
LENG, Xue
Deloitte LLP, Vaughan
University of Waterloo
LI, Jessie Kexin
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Concord
University of Waterloo
LIU, Anqi
Deloitte LLP, Toronto
University of Waterloo
MAO, Zhengquan
Deloitte LLP, Toronto
University of Toronto
MORRA, Andrew
Commonwealth Fund Services Ltd., Toronto
Wilfrid Laurier University
MOSER, Sarah
MNP LLP, Waterloo
Wilfrid Laurier University
NAGRA, Suman
Ernst & Young LLP, Toronto
Brock University
NGUYEN, Kim Tran
Deloitte LLP, Toronto
University of Waterloo
NISAR, Amna
Deloitte LLP, Toronto
University of Toronto
ON, Jannie
KPMG LLP, Vaughan
Richard Ivey School of Business, Western University
SAMAROO, Alex R.
Collins Barrow LLP, Ottawa
Carleton University
SHI, Annie
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toronto
University of Waterloo
SMITH, Shannon
GGFL LLP, Ottawa
University of Waterloo
SUN, Lily
Deloitte LLP, Vaughan
University of Waterloo
SWANSON, Jim
Deloitte LLP, Toronto
Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario
TAM, Amanda
Ernst & Young LLP, Toronto
University of Waterloo
TANG, Qi Ying
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto
University of Waterloo
WANG, Allen
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto
University of Waterloo
WILDHABER, Kim Martin
BDO Canada LLP, Dryden
Lakehead University
WONG, Kenneth
Ontario Public Service, Toronto
University of Toronto
YEUNG, Macy
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto
University of Waterloo
About the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario
We protect the public. We advance our profession. We guide our CPAs. We ensure that our 90,000 members and 21,000 students meet the highest standards of integrity and expertise. We help them stay ahead of global market trends and abreast of regulatory change. CPAs represent a globally recognized, premium designation. Our Chartered Professional Accountants are valued by organizations in all industries for their financial expertise, strategic thinking, management skills and leadership. cpaontario.ca.
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Stephanie Woodward
Director, Communications
Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario
416 969.4271 or 1 800 387.0735
swoodward@cpaontario.ca