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  • The Voices of Experience: Impromptu Conversations with Long-Serving CPAs

    The Voices of Experience: Impromptu Conversations with Long-Serving CPAs
    2025/06/05
    As part of its annual Elevate celebrations, CPA Alberta hosted the 2025 Chair's Long Service Awards ceremony on May 20. This year's celebration was in the form of a brunch at Edmonton's Fairmont Hotel MacDonald and was held to honour CPAs who had reached milestones of 40, 50, 60, and even 70 years as designated accountants. The Uncommon Sense team dropped into the brunch to chat with many of the honourees and reflect on their careers and the lessons they learned. Their insights, humour, and humility, honed through decades of experience as CPAs, make for enjoyable and thoughtful conversations, as you'll hear. In this "person on the street" episode, you'll also hear from CPA Alberta's Chair, Ruth McHugh FCPA, FCMA, as she reflects on the achievements and contributions of these remarkable honourees.
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    28 分
  • From Stand-out Student to Stand-out CPA

    From Stand-out Student to Stand-out CPA
    2025/05/29
    To earn one of the CPA Education Foundation's awards is a notable accomplishment for any student. To receive four of those awards, as CPA Sydney Eyre did during her time as a student, is an unprecedented achievement. Sydney joins us on this episode of Uncommon Sense to talk about her multiple-award-winning performance as a student at the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business, her success in earning her CPA designation, and her current role as a Manager at Ernst and Young. She describes how some time studying in Scotland helped her to develop confidence as a student, and how she used that confidence to build her career and to become an enthusiastic spin cyclist and Spin Motivator. And, she reflects on what it was like to earn four awards from the Foundation. Her story is engaging and instructive for anyone pondering their next steps—in their career or their life.
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    36 分
  • If You Can See Her You Can Be Her

    If You Can See Her You Can Be Her
    2025/05/22
    This episode of Uncommon Sense features Carolyn Graham FCPA, FCA, a 2025 recipient of CPA Alberta's highest honour, the Lifetime Achievement Award. In this conversation with host Chris Pilger, Carolyn discusses some highlights of her distinguished career, her incredible record of board service and other types of volunteerism, and her thoughts on leadership. She also reflects on her experiences as Board Chair of Edmonton's MacEwan University and on her commitment to creating paths for women to succeed in business. Carolyn's insights and perspectives encapsulate the knowledge she has gained from a lifetime of principled professionalism and leadership, and her story is eye-opening and instructive for anyone who wants to make a positive difference at work and in their community.
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    31 分
  • A CPA in the World of Biotechnology: In Conversation with Matthew Alexander CPA, CA

    A CPA in the World of Biotechnology: In Conversation with Matthew Alexander CPA, CA
    2025/05/15
    If you have ever wondered how the common fruit fly can be used in groundbreaking scientific work (and who hasn't wondered that?), then you'll want to tune in to this episode of Uncommon Sense, featuring guest Matthew Alexander CPA, CA. Matthew is Vice President of Finance and Administration at Future Fields, an Edmonton-based biotechnology company. In this conversation with host Jessica de Groot, Matthew talks about the exciting work Future Fields is doing in developing proteins from fruit flies and how this technology can be applied in the areas of food science, health, and the environment. Matthew describes this work in plain language, so you don't need to be a biologist to understand him as he gives listeners a peek into the fascinating world of contemporary biotechnology and talks about how Alberta is poised to become a leader in this field.
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    30 分
  • The Case for Case Competitions: A Discussion with Trish Stringer FCPA, FCMA, FCA

    The Case for Case Competitions: A Discussion with Trish Stringer FCPA, FCMA, FCA
    2025/05/08
    With over 15 years of experience as an accounting educator and student mentor at the U of A's Alberta School of Business, Trish Stringer FCPA has made a positive difference in the lives of thousands of students. And, her contributions to student learning don't end at the classroom door. She has devoted countless hours to advising and coaching student case competition teams, including many of those that have participated in (and often won) the CPA Education Foundation's annual Business Challenge competition. In this episode of Uncommon Sense, Trish talks with host Jessica de Groot about her career move from the boardroom to the classroom, the evolution of accounting education over the past decade and a half, and her experiences with advising student case competition teams. She reveals the keys to building a successful team and talks about the importance and value of case competitions—for students and for advisors alike.
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    33 分
  • From Accountant to Counsellor: The Unique Career Journey of Cheryl Pereira CPA, CA

    From Accountant to Counsellor: The Unique Career Journey of Cheryl Pereira CPA, CA
    2025/05/01
    CPA Cheryl Pereira's career path has taken a sharp turn in 2025—by applying her CPA skills and completing some recent further education, she has moved into the field of psychological counselling. With her training as a counsellor nearing completion, Cheryl is launching her own counselling practice focused on what she calls financial therapy. In this episode, Cheryl talks about what led to her moving into the field of therapy, her path to earning her therapist credentials, and the connection between people's personal finances and their psychological characteristics. And, while you might not think there's not much overlap between being a CPA and being a therapist, Cheryl draws on her own experience to demonstrate that the skills one acquires as a CPA definitely have a place in the field of counselling. Be sure to listen to this episode to learn more about Cheryl's fascinating career journey.
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    29 分
  • Looking Out For Your Investments—A Peek Into the Alberta Securities Commission

    Looking Out For Your Investments—A Peek Into the Alberta Securities Commission
    2025/04/24
    The Alberta Securities Commission (or ASC) has an important mandate: it oversees Alberta's capital markets and protects the investments of Albertans. The ASC plays a key role in countering fraud in the capital marketplace and educating Albertans on how to protect themselves when investing. In this episode, Brian Banderk CPA, the ASC's Chief Accountant, joins host Gord Beal to talk about the vital work of the Commission in fulfilling its mandate in a complex and ever-changing national and global financial environment. Brian also explains how the ASC works with its counterparts in other provinces to coordinate the regulation of capital markets across Canada. If you're an investor or thinking about becoming one, then you'll want to hear what Brian has to say in this informative and engaging discussion.
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    37 分
  • A "First Class" CPA: A Conversation with Vic Cheema CPA

    A "First Class" CPA: A Conversation with Vic Cheema CPA
    2025/04/17
    Many Albertans have heard about the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, better-known as AIMCo. But do you know what AIMCo's role is and what it does on behalf of the province? If you've ever wanted to learn more about this important organization, then this episode of Uncommon Sense is for you. Our guest is Vic Cheema, another of our featured guests in our "First Class" series, profiling members of the first-ever class of CPA graduates following unification of the accounting profession in Alberta in 2015. In this episode, Vic reflects on what it was like to be part of that historic class of CPAs in early 2016 and discusses his career path over the last decade, a path that has led him to his current role as Senior Manager, Private Investment Valuations at AIMCo. Vic fills listeners in on what exactly AIMCo does and how it protects the financial interests of Albertans. And, you'll get to hear Vic's perspective on that famous CPA "helicopter" commercial from 2015. (Spoiler alert: you might be surprised to hear what Vic has to say on this topic!).
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    39 分