News

To celebrate Canadian Beer Day, we caught up with Phil Hipkiss (BAFM ’10, CPA, CA), the co-founder of Block Three Brewing Company in St. Jacobs, Ontario. In addition to the craft brewery, Hipkiss is also CFO and VP of Finance for the hearing aid manufacturer, WS Audiology.

Hop, hop, hurray! Cheers to another SAF Alumni Story.

For many, gone are the water cooler and lunchroom conversations that while mundane, were important in staying connected with colleagues. Workplace rituals we’ve long taken for granted have been removed by the pandemic. You would expect that these changes could be detrimental to every company’s culture, however, employees like Siddhi Purohit (MAcc’08) are currently very impressed with their employer’s culture and the values exhibited during the pandemic.

Boris Bong (MAcc ’94, MSc Finance (UK), CPA), like many of his peers completed co-op work terms in the field of accounting throughout his undergraduate career. After attaining his CPA designation, Bong sought a career path beyond accounting and pursued a Master of Science in Finance at the London Business School (UK). He then built his finance career by working in Canada, the UK and Hong Kong for EY, Barclays Capital, Prudential plc, Search Investment Group, and JP Morgan Asset Management. SAF caught up with our accomplished alum to learn more about his career path and his insights and observations of the financial industry in Asia, where he now resides.

Since we last caught up with Arthur Wang (BAFM, MAcc ’13) in 2019, his career hasn’t slowed down one bit. As an estate planning specialist at RBC Wealth Management Financial Services, Wang has been focussed on building and expanding his team, and on pursuing professional development opportunities. Most recently, he’s obtained his Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.

Two points Susan Uthayakumar (MAcc ’95) wants to make clear: Sustainability is not just a trend, and climate change is not an ‘if’ but a ‘when’. As president of the Global Sustainability Business Division at Schneider Electric, Uthayakumar advocates for diversity and green practices in business to not only save our environment but to stay relevant in the marketplace.

When running due diligence on transactions and tax planning on multi-million-dollar deals, what exists between Jocelyn Blanchet (MAcc '00) and Benjie Thomas (PDAcc '98) is a desire to deliver the best with a unique camaraderie and mutual trust.

However, it wasn’t always like that. They were once professional competitors, which began with their time at the University of Waterloo.

The value and potential profitability of being environmentally conscientious has placed more accountability on corporations to be transparent about how they get to their bottom line. Consumers and investors, and increasingly, younger investors are wanting to align their investment choices with their own values of environmental sustainability, equity, and human rights.

Like many freshman university students, Dinesh Balakrishnan (MAcc ’14) did not have a definitive goal in mind for his career. One certainty was his vision to build a career focused on supporting others and providing value. “A vague goal but I felt it resonated with my core, gave me purpose, and started to define what ‘success’ meant to me.” Graduating from Waterloo’s accounting and finance programs may not seem like the most direct pathway to a career in helping others, so the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) caught up with the 2020 SAF Young Alumni Award recipient to gain a better perspective of his circuitous career path.

In a year defined by the global pandemic, it is more important than ever to recognize and acknowledge those who have positively impacted our businesses and communities. Being named in 2020 as the School of Accounting and Finance’s (SAF) Alumni Achievement Award recipient, alum Pamela Steer (MAcc ’94, FCPA, FCA, CFA) is honoured by the recognition and will be using it as a way to benefit future students of SAF and the University.

Celebrating the 25^th anniversary with your graduating class is a milestone. Reunions provide opportunities for classmates to reconnect, engage, and reminisce. But for the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) Master of Accounting (MAcc) class reunions, it was also a call to action.