Pickering CA student captures Ontario Gold Medal

20 Ontario students earn honours in Canada-wide CA exam

Toronto (December 7, 2009) – Jacob Bell of Pickering captured the Ontario Gold Medal as the top writer of the Uniform Evaluation (UFE) in the province. A total of 20 Ontario CA students placed on the prestigious 51-member National Honour Roll, making 2009 a very good year for this province. Overall, a record 1,363 Ontario CA students have successfully passed the UFE, one of the world’s most challenging professional entry examinations.

The UFE, written in September, is a national three-day evaluation that assesses competencies including essential knowledge, professional judgment, ethics and the ability to communicate. The UFE is an important component of the CA qualification program, which includes prescribed education, practical experience and examination requirements. Only those who complete this entire program successfully are entitled to use the internationally recognized designation of Chartered Accountant, a profession known for superior financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight and leadership.

Jacob Bell articles with Ernst & Young LLP in Toronto and has a Honours Bachelor of Business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University. “When I first started I didn’t know a lot about the CA designation and how much you can do if you achieve with it. The range of career possibilities offered by the CA designation really appealed to me,” he said. “Winning the Ontario Gold Medal was very much a bonus. I was surprised. When you see the number of people writing the UFE it seems like really long odds.”

The following 19 other Ontario UFE writers have also achieved recognition on the 2009 National Honour Roll:

Erik Arnold, KPMG LLP, Toronto
Amanda Breen, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Pickering
James Brooks, KPMG LLP, Toronto
Valerie Chung Sik Yuen, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Mississauga
Kevin Fung, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Markham
Stephanie Gates, Collins Barrow LLP, Peterborough
Jordan Giblett, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto
Lauren Ho, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Toronto
Lauren Kehl, RSM Richter LLP, Brampton
Aakrit Kumar, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Mississauga
Marion Ma, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto
Jeffrey Masse, Ernst & Young LLP, Kitchener
James Nakai, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Unionville
Philip Nightingale, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Guelph
Robert Russell, BDO Dunwoody LLP, Barrie
Joshua Schel, English & Jones LLP, Fonthill
Tristan Smith, KPMG LLP, Waterloo
Matthew Unruh, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto
Zeying (Jane) Wei, Ernst & Young LLP, Hamilton

“Congratulations to all of the successful Ontario candidates and, in particular, our Gold Medalist Jacob Bell ,” said Rod Barr, FCA, President and CEO, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. “Qualifying to become a CA is a very challenging process and the resulting career is rich in rewards and opportunities. I am confident that all of the students will make great contributions in their future careers and will uphold the high standards of the CA profession.”

Interviews with Honour Roll students and/or photographs are available on request.

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About the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario:
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario is the qualifying and regulatory body of Ontario’s 33,000 Chartered Accountants and 5,000 CA students. Since 1879, the Institute has protected the public interest through the CA profession’s internationally recognized standards of qualification and the enforcement of its rules of professional conduct. Ontario CAs contribute greatly to international and domestic investor confidence in the soundness of the Ontario and Canadian economies. The Institute’s website is: www.icao.on.ca and the student website is www.guidetorulingtheworld.ca.

For more information, please contact:

Perry Jensen
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario
416-969-4271 or 1-800-387-0735 ext. 271
pjensen@icao.on.ca