Current students

They say the friends you make in university will be friendships that will last a lifetime — and the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) isn’t letting anything (not even COVID-19) come between that.

Integrated within the Accounting and Financial Management (AFM), Math/CPA and Biotech/CPA programs is an experiential learning initiative called “2YEx” (the two-year experience). The goal of 2YEx is to inspire engaged learners that support each other while honing their collaboration and teamwork skills.

It seems that nearly every segment of the population has received some form of COVID-19 government assistance. There’s the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, which provides $2,000 monthly to individuals who have stopped working because of reasons related to COVID-19. Businesses and not-for-profits may be eligible for the Canada Emergency Business Account, which provides interest-free loans of up to $40,000 (with 25 per cent potentially forgivable), along with two, separate wage subsidy programs. Students will soon receive the Canada Emergency Student Benefit, which is generally $1,250 per month for four months. But so far, the only relief offered to investors, which only applies to some, is a 25 per cent reduction in the minimum required RRIF withdrawal for 2020.

The global Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in multi-jurisdictional, government-mandated temporary shutdowns of many businesses deemed non-essential. This has cut an enormous swath out of the world’s capitalist economies. 

An unprecedented level of government assistance to both businesses and employees has followed. In Canada, key government measures include payments to businesses as an incentive to hold on to staff, as well as emergency cheques for millions of employees out of work because of the social distancing requirements now in place to try and reduce the spread of the deadly influenza. 

“We’ve got a lot of people who are staring at lost income from employment or businesses being shut down, and we’re trying to prevent hardships or economic collapse by providing something to them,” says Andy Bauer, an assistant professor with the University of Waterloo’s School of Accounting and Finance.

If you browse Kayras Engineer’s LinkedIn profile, you’ll notice his passion for volunteering.

Even during this time of isolation, the fourth-year accounting and finance student is finding ways to give back, leveraging his skills by offering free income tax services to the community and delivering groceries to those in need.

Facing an unprecedented global crisis, it’s natural to turn to taxes for comfort. As strange or unwanted a claim as this seems, our tax system reflects our societal wants and needs, and the behaviours we wish to encourage or discourage.

Professor Cody Buchenauer (CPA, CA, MAcc ’14) is a School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) alum with a remarkable career journey. From a student navigating through co-op terms to an industry professional holding a role as senior manager at EY, Buchenauer is now a full-time faculty member as well as a member of SAF’s co-op and experiential learning team. Bridging academia and industry to guide current students’ career paths as a passionate educator, his journey is a testament to the impact of the co-op experience offered at SAF.

Currently, Ho works as an associate in private equity at Brookfield Asset Management and he attributes the start of building his investor mindset to his experience at the University of Waterloo with the Student Investment Fund (SIF). SIF gave him and other SAF students the unique opportunity to invest with real money and get hands-on-training in equity valuation and portfolio management with guidance from industry experts and faculty mentors. This taught him about value investing that he then applied to his co-op role as private equity analystat the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and when competing in the CFA Institute Research Challenge.

On a bright sunny day at the TD Centre in Toronto, professor Adam Vitalis interviewed four SAF alums about their careers in the internal audit field. Internal audit is a critical component of effective corporate governance and risk management and plays an important role in helping organizations achieve their objectives while safeguarding their assets and reputation.

The School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) caught up with Laura Fong (MAcc '20) to chat about her career since graduation and her path to pursuing a career in tax. Fong, a Master of Accounting (MAcc) graduate, worked with Deloitte for all her co-op terms as a student. With the support and encouragement of her colleagues, she has happily stayed at Deloitte post-graduation. She continues to thrive in this positive environment as she grows her skills to become a great tax practitioner.