Biotechnology/Chartered Professional Accountancy

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Grow Your Expertise

Grow your expertise within the intersection of biological processes and new technologies. Gain knowledge and proficiency in financial management, accounting, auditing, and taxation. Companies value the transferable skills you’ll develop, especially in biotechnology – one of the most rapidly growing industries in North America.

Only Canadian program of its kind

4Paidco-op work terms

Work toward a CPA professional designation

Biotech/CPA Courses

Interested in seeing what your courses will look like during your undergrad? If so, take a look at our recommended Biotech/CPA course sequence.

Co-op

By alternating school terms with four paid co-op work terms throughout your degree, you can explore new career areas and types of employers as your career interests evolve.

Sample Co-op Job Titles	Sample Co-op Employers
Staff Accountant	The Hospital for Sick Children
Financial Analyst	Ernst & Young LLP
Supply Chain Analyst	Deloitte
Tax Consultant	Scotiabank
Assurance, External Auditor	Magna International Inc.
Wealth Management Financial Reporting Analyst	Bank of Montreal
Transfer and Administration Assistant	KMPG LLP Canada

Default Co-op Academic/Work Sequence

The following chart identifies the default sequence of study and co-op terms employed by our Biotech/CPA program.

Fall term (F) = September to December
Winter term (W) = January to April
Spring term (S) = May to August

WT = Work Term

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Study

Off

Study

WT1

Study

WT2

Study

WT3

Study

WT4

Study

Read student co-op blogs written by current SAF students.

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Professional Development

Success as an accounting and financial management professional requires much more than technical skills. The School of Accounting and Finance offers professional development activities that will help you focus on improving skills employers demand.

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SAF International Study Course

In an ever-expanding internationalized business world, having an international perspective can enhance your business acumen.

As an upper-year Biotech/CPA student within the SAF International Study Course, you’ll meet global business professionals (in-person and/or virtually) to learn about business practices and challenges that affect an internationalized business environment.

Read International Study Trip blogs written by current SAF students.

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Entrepreneurship

Join Velocity’s experiential innovation hub at the University of Waterloo. They provide information, guidance, and programs for the entrepreneurially-minded and tailored pre-incubator programs for aspiring startup founders. Their mission is to provide experiences that inspire and inform entrepreneurial students from all backgrounds and life experiences. Whether you have an idea, are working on a project, or have an early prototype, Concept wants to help you.

As an Biotech/CPA student, you can leverage Velocity by booking a coaching session, where you can meet 1-on-1 with founders or past startup employees who can give advice based on their past experience. These sessions can help you prepare a pitch or provide general guidance about the startup landscape. You can also get involved by checking out one of their intro sessions and events to learn more about the organization and what services will help you turn your idea into reality.

You may be interested in Working Sessions, which are small invite-only sessions that allow you to work with a Velocity Coach and dive deeper into a wide variety of topics. These are only available to students who have previously met with a coach or attended an intro session, so make sure to get involved and jump in.

Velocity $5K Grant

Every year, $20,000 in grants are awarded to students with creative and innovative tech ideas.

To earn the grant, students must apply and be selected for the semifinals to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges from the local startup community. Each applicant has 3 minutes to present and show the judges why they deserve a place in the finals. Ten teams compete in the finals for a chance to win, and four of those teams will walk away with a $5K Grant!

Professional Designations

CPA

Have you heard about Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs)? Are you familiar with what they do? CPAs play a key role within the economy. They offer a strong set of accounting and managerial skills required for today’s complex and evolving business world. They also possess a unique mindset and perspective that makes them “broad-minded” and “forward thinking”.

Interested in becoming a CPA? SAF offers four programs that hold the highest level of national accreditation through CPA Canada.

CBV

The second professional designation you can work towards in Biotech/CPA is a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV). As a CBV, you help determine the economic value of a business or company including finding the fair value. You'll also be able to determine the sale value, establishing partner ownership, and taxation. Find out how our Master of Accounting (MAcc) students receive advanced standing in the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (CICBV) program of studies.

CPA and CFA designation pathway

After Graduation

This program leads to the Master of Accounting (MAcc) program, which will qualify you to write the Common Final Evaluation (CFE) required to become a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).