What is Financial Literacy in the Classroom?
The School of Accounting and Finance, with financial support from SagenTM, is partnering with high school teachers across Canada to support their students in developing the confidence and competence to make smart financial decisions as they begin their first job, earn income, and begin planning and saving for their future. We believe that exposing youth to financial literacy topics is an important first step in developing the habits and behaviours that contribute to financial well-being. We hope to spark curiosity and encourage students to ask questions and seek answers as they explore financial topics like saving and investing, borrowing wisely, planning and budgeting, and become more aware of what’s happening in the Canadian economy (and around the world). Beyond exploration, we encourage students to participate in the Financial Literacy Competition (FLC) to test and challenge their knowledge of these and other important financial topics and to begin to develop the habits that are the foundation for a healthy financial future.
Thanks so much for the fantastic news1 I appreciate the support and this will certainly help a lot with my educational plans
Thank you so much for organizing the FLC for our students. It was so wonderful to be able to offer an enrichment opportunity for them1 We will definitely be participating again next year!
Thank you to you, University of Waterloo, and Sagen for making the Financial Literacy Competition happen. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun during the competition
Explore our competition and resources
If you’re a teacher or student (or perhaps both!), explore our competition and financial literacy resources. Our competition and resources are available to enhance and support learning both in and out of the classroom, as facilitated teacher led activities or as student led self-study. When you and your students are ready, take on the challenge of our competition, the FLC, taking place twice per year in December and May. Thanks to the support of Sagen™, use of the resources and participation in the FLC are free.
Find out more by reviewing the Competitions and Resources links below:
In the News
DigitalEd story
The University of Waterloo Teaches Financial Literacy Through a Fun and Engaging Competition for High School Students Using Möbius.
Preparing future generations to live financially healthy lives
Finance leader and SAF alum Philip Mayers highlights the importance of giving back to the community by providing financial literacy lessons and supporting aspiring professionals.
Financial Literacy Month
Director of Financial Literacy in the Classroom, Tracy Hilpert, speaks with Mike Braga of Money Matters on Rogers TV about the importance of developing financial literacy and how our resources and competition can help.
Meet the Team
The SAF Financial Literacy Team
Co-Driector
Miguel King, MEd, MA, is an educator committed to teaching excellence and student engagement. Miguel's teaching background spans 18 years including high-school teacher, teacher-trainer, college instructor, and currently a lecturer at the University of Waterloo in the School of Accounting and Finance. Miguel's professional background includes working as an Assistant Registrar (Exams) at a multi-national testing agency, and as a Junior Psychometrician at the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI) where he managed a highly effective team of test developers in authoring and analyzing some of the largest financial services exams used across Canada. Miguel currently teaches Business Communication to first-year Accounting and Finance students combining years of teaching and industry experience to prepare students for excellence in written and oral communication in the classroom and beyond. Miguel's passion and service at the university revolve around creating space for Black and Indigenous students in higher education.
Co-Director
Robert Ducharme, BMath, MAcc, CPA, CA, obtained his CA designation in 1998 and has always been interested in teaching and learning. Rob graduated on the Dean’s Honour List from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Mathematics (1997) and a Master of Accounting degree (1997). Rob's public practice experience involved him in the financial accounting standards, management accounting and information technology areas of the practice, with the remainder of his time assisting with the assurance and taxation engagements. Client engagements focused in the areas of financial statement preparation and standards, budgeting, financial analysis, cash flow projections, complex accounting situations, taxation, consolidations, policy development, treasury management, bank relationships, systems management, and project costing. On the education side, Rob is currently a faculty member and lecturer with the University of Waterloo at the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF). He develops and instructs various financial and managerial accounting courses for CPA students, non-accounting majors, and professional development activities. Rob is also a supplement author for various financial and managerial accounting textbooks for post-secondary education, and is actively engaged with many student-oriented experiential learning clubs at the SAF including Financial Literacy in the Classroom (FLC), the University of Waterloo Accounting Conference Case Competition (UWAC), Not-Profit Organization Consulting (NPOC), and many others.
Administrator
Keidon Giles is the Competitions Coordinator at the School of Accounting and Finance after working full-time and part-time in the role of 'social media and web associate’ for the SAF Communications team as a co-op student since Fall 2019. As a UWaterloo alum in the Faculty of Health’s Recreation and Sport Business program, Keidon is excited to stay and learn at the University post graduation. As part of his role, Keidon will be assisting the Co-Directors in the administration of the Financial Literacy Competition, as well as assisting with marketing and promotion of the competition and its resources.
Founder
Grant Russell taught in the School of Accounting and Finance for many years before retiring in 2016. The FLC started from his passion for financial literacy education and his desire to inspire curiosity and encourage more students to pursue post-secondary education in accounting and finance. The FLC was born of his efforts in 2013 and has been a steady resource and co-curricular activity for high school teachers and students since then. Grant passed away in August of 2022.
Partner
SagenTM (formerly Genworth Canada) partnered with the School of Accounting and Finance in 2018 and has been providing the financial support that has made it possible for the growth of our financial literacy resources and competition. Hundreds of high school students have been recognized with awards and prizes for their success on the FLC and many more have taken advantage of the learning opportunity to participate in our competition, all thanks to Sagen's partnership and financial support. Sagen provides mortgage insurance to help make home ownership a reality for more people. We share an interest in promoting financial literacy and healthy financial habits and our continued partnership ensures that our resources and competition are available to more high school students and teachers each year.
Contact us
Stay informed by subscribing to our mailing list. We distribute regular communications about resources and our upcoming competition in the months and weeks leading up to each competition.
General inquiries and questions should be directed to saf-flc@uwaterloo.ca.