A few surprises on the Chartered Professional Accountant September CFE Honour Roll

TORONTO, Dec. 5, 2017 – The Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada has released the 2017 Common Final Examination (CFE) Honour Roll and, as always, it contains a few surprises. A total of 5,581 candidates passed the national three-day, 13-hour evaluation, which is a critical component of the Canadian CPA certification program. 

Chief among the pleasant surprises was the success of John Wark of Crowe MacKay of Yellowknife, the recipient of the Governor General’s Gold Medal, the highest award granted for success on the CFE. A graduate of McGill University, Wark likes football, golf and camping in the great outdoors, according to this profile posted by CPA NWT/NU. 

Three of the four gold medal recipients defied convention by residing in smaller communities rather than large cities: Yellowknife, Conception Bay, and Châteauguay. 

Several candidates from the private and public sector made the list. Notable among them is Jason Koch, the assistant controller of Koch Ford Lincoln in Edmonton, a large car dealership run by the Koch family. Jason is the fourth-generation of Koch’s to work in the business. 

Congratulations to all successful candidates of the September CFE and the following members of the Honour Roll: 

2017 Common Final Examination (CFE) Honour Roll

Recipient of the Governor General’s Gold Medal and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada cash prize of $5,000 for the highest standing in Canada in the September 2017 Common Final Examination: Mr. John Wark, Crowe MacKay LLP, Yellowknife (NWT/Nunavut).

Regional Gold Medal Recipients

Recipient of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada Gold Medal and cash prize of $2,500 for the highest standing in Atlantic Canada in the September 2017 Common Final Examination: Ms. Monica Gregory, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Conception Bay South (NL).

Recipient of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada Gold Medal and cash prize of $2,500 for the highest standing in Ontario in the September 2017 Common Final Examination: Ms. Faghya Samra Shafiq, Ernst & Young LLP, Toronto (ON).

Recipients of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada Gold Medal and cash prize of $2,500 for the highest standing in Quebec in the September 2017 Common Final Examination: Mr. Kaihua He, Deloitte S.E.N.C.R.L./s.r.l., Montreal (QC); Mr. Philippe Sénécal, Chiasson Gauvreau Inc., Châteauguay (QC).

Other Honour Roll Members (alphabetical order):

Mr. Jesse B. Armel, KPMG LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Jérôme Antoine Xavier Blais, Bureau du Vérificateur, général du Canada, Ottawa (ON)

Ms. Chelsea Bohonis-Schiemann, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Miss Lorel Butalid, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Calgary (AB)

Mr. Elwin Y. H. Chen, KPMG LLP, Toronto (ON)

Ms. Sophia Chen, Scotiabank, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Richard Dasler, KPMG LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Mr. Richard Despatie, KPMG LLP, Ottawa (ON)

Mr. Thomas Drinkwater, KPMG LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Mr. Alexandre Duguay, Nexia Friedman S.E.N.C.R.L./LLP, Montreal (QC)

Ms. Camille A. Gardiner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Waterloo (ON)

Miss Kyla Gateley, MNP LLP, Saskatoon (SK)

Mr. Paul Gotaas, MNP LLP, Edmonton (AB)

Mr. Dylan B. Green, S + C Partners LLP, Mississauga (ON)

Ms. Shauna Hanson, MNP LLP, Grande Prairie (AB)

Mr. Félix Henri, Ernst & Young s.r.l. /S.E.N.C.R.L. / LLP, Montreal (QC)

Mr. Trevor Hodgins, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Ms. Abby J. Hu, Deloitte LLP, Kitchener (ON)

Miss Inez Huang, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Nicholas Hoi L. Hung, KPMG LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Andrew D. Johnston, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Waterloo (ON)

Miss Hardeep Kang, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Surrey (BC)

Mr. Kaunain Karmali, Ernst & Young LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Jason Koch, Koch Ford Lincoln, Sales (2003) Ltd., Edmonton (AB)

Mr. David (Chun Yu) Lao, Government of Canada — Department of National Defence, Ottawa (ON)

Mr. Cole Leonoff, KPMG LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Ms. Christine Liddell, KPMG LLP, Calgary (AB)

Ms. Amy Lin, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Ben Ma, CIBC, Toronto (ON)

Ms. Hailey Maksymic-Harris, Deloitte LLP, Calgary (AB)

Ms. Maude Massicotte, Raymond Chabot Grant, Thornton S.E.N.C.R.L. Brossard (QC)

Miss Aidan McKay, Deloitte LLP, Kitchener (ON)

Ms. Tara McLean, Major Drilling, Moncton (NB)

Ms. Brittany M. Murphy, Wormald Masse Keen Lopinski LLP, St. Catharines (ON)

Miss Annan Ni, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Louis-Vincent Paquet, Deloitte S.E.N.C.R.L./s.r.l., Quebec (QC)

Mr. Nathaniel Paquin, Revenu Québec, Laval (QC)

Mr. Rosario Pasceri, Crowe Soberman LLP, Toronto (ON)

Ms. Lissa Paul, Ernst & Young LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Mr. Nathaniel Port, Nexia Friedman S.E.N.C.R.L./LLP, Montreal (QC)

Mr. Paramveer Purewal, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Ms. Katherine A. W. Rieger, Deloitte LLP, Toronto (ON)

Ms. Karina N. Roopnarine, Manulife Financial, Toronto (ON)

Ms. Maria Seloza, KPMG LLP, Calgary (AB)

Mr. Philip Shalin, KPMG LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Thomas Simpson, KPMG LLP, Edmonton (AB)

Mr. Ryan Slater, KPMG LLP, Burnaby (BC)

Ms. Robyn A. Smith, Deloitte LLP, Ottawa (ON)

Mr. Michael Stuart, Deloitte LLP, Edmonton (AB)

Mr. Abid Syed, Deloitte LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. R. Reid Tarbush, Deloitte LLP, Kitchener (ON)

Mr. Benjamin Théroux, Bombardier Aéronautique, St-Laurent (QC)

Mr. Balakumar Thevakumar, Deloitte LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Mario Topalovski, KIK Custom Products, Concord (ON)

Mr. Erik Vagle, KPMG LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Mr. Nico Van den Hooff, Wolrige Mahon LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Ms. Elaine Y. T. Vuong, Deloitte LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Jordan T. Wall, KPMG LLP, Toronto (ON)

Ms. Sarah Wang, Ernst & Young LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Ms. Jennifer Wells, MNP LLP, Kelowna (BC)

Mr. Colin Woodworth, Ernst & Young LLP, Kitchener (ON)

Miss Yidi Xiong, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto (ON)

Mr. Adam Yan, PepsiCo Foods Canada, Mississauga (ON)

Mr. Man Yuen, Deloitte LLP, Vancouver (BC)

Colin Ellis is the editor of Canadian Accountant.