I always loved being a SAF ambassador even before the SOAP program, because I love being able to reach out to younger students to lead, inspire, or even just answer a few questions because that's exactly what I needed when I first got here: a friend. In my first year, an upper year SAF student gave me a lot of guidance which helped me overcome my fear of not being good enough for the program. Right now, after being at so many events, I think my goal for the rest of my time as a SOAP ambassador is to help students be confidence in themselves and strive to stand out and be different from everyone else. There are so many unique, talented students involved in a variety of things (such as violin, singing, playing different sports) that don't believe their experience is relevant.
I want to encourage students the way that I was encouraged, to be confident in myself for having different experiences and using them to drive my career where I want it to go.
SOAP is such a huge leadership opportunity and it's given me exactly what I was hoping for and more. It's different when you're just in class learning about accounting and finance, because the only place you get to apply your knowledge and evaluate yourself is through exams. But when I'm talking with students at events, or even working with other SOAP members, I really get to channel all the knowledge and experience to have meaningful conversations about the program, or my career aspirations. One thing that SOAP really exercises is communication skills - we have to be able to answer questions, give guidance and inspiration, and sell the program. This is invaluable, because whether I'm in my academic courses or at co-op, it's so important to be able to put my thoughts and ideas to words and deliver effective presentations. This type of communication is such an important step to becoming a leader, because this is how you begin to lead and inspire people, which is how you really start to make a difference and deliver value in your work, school, and relationships.
I never really noticed how well my AFM courses prepare me for the work that I do on co-op until this term.
Before, I was never that passionate about accounting and finance courses - it was always something that I had to just get through. But now, being at work, I really start to understand that these courses were tailored to prepare me for work - I've learned exactly the amount of knowledge I need to be able to perform the tasks that I'm asked to do, and understand the concepts I need to know on the job. I work in audit, so when I'm at a client and I'm looking through their accounting and day-to-day transactions, my courses are the reason I understand what's going on, allow me to read financial statements and identify problems, or raise questions and suggestions.
Unlike most students at SAF, I came into the AFM program with absolutely no business experience or courses behind my back (my high school was more math-science oriented, and had no business participation). Coming from an arts background, I chose the program randomly without knowing anything about it - a gut instinct that this is where I should go. Hence, when I got here, I was pretty overwhelmed with how well prepared a lot of the students were - high marks, already equipped with strong resumes and summer jobs or experiences. In the first half of the year, a guy I knew looked at my resume and said to me "Your resume is shit, why are you in this program?"
I was extremely upset and discouraged at first, but because I had hit "rock bottom", I stopped trying to fit in and "yolo"d a case competition application by submitting a rap. Long story short, I got accepted, won second place, and won the favor of a PwC recruiter who was at the event that day. She absolutely LOVED hearing about my different background and experiences, and I was able to easily stand out and secure a co-op job in the firm (pretty much skipping the stressful 2A jobmine process).
My lesson learned? Dare to be the black sheep of the crowd by standing out and not letting the others break your confidence in yourself.
I work as an associate in the audit group, for PwC (pricewaterhousecoopers) in Toronto. I'm never really at the home office since I'm always out at the client, but a typical day for me would be:
I arrive at the client at 9 am, I'm usually with a team of 2 or 3 others (a senior associate, experienced associate, and sometimes a manager or another coop). If it's the first day on the job, I usually get on-the-job coaching by a senior who basically guides me through my work; otherwise, everyone just goes straight to their business and works on their part of the audit. The work itself is independent, since we do our own parts, but it all goes together into one audit file that the manager and partner oversees and reviews. There's a lot of communication going on between everyone because it's so important to make sure that everyone is on the same page, no one is lost or confused, and to keep track of everyone's progress so we can be sure that the job gets done on time. Throughout the day, there will be a lot of times where I have to talk to the client with questions or asking for files. This can be challenging sometimes because as a co-op student, it's always so important to be professional, knowledgeable, and constantly trying to establish relationships with the client to add value to your work. Finally, I'd have to say my favorite part of the day is lunch time because it's the one hour where I can really get to know my team members (or even the client sometimes!) on a more personal level, when we talk about non-work related things such as our weekend plans, TV shows, or office drama!!
My goals following graduation...have changed many times. Which is completely normal, since once you get your CA/CPA, there's so many available options and opportunities. Personally, I hope to stay at PwC and work my way up as far as I can until I get a better offer for an industry job (e.g. controller at a company). If I do stay at the firm, I would love to try switching into consulting and deals, or pursue forensic accounting and obtain a FA designation (forensic accountant). I used to want to be a lawyer, and with my audit experience, I feel that being a forensic accountant would be a nice medium of the two. I enjoy investigative work and would love to be an expert in legal cases and help present in court.