Kevin Johnston of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Calgary, Alberta has been awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal and the Chartered Accountants of Canada cash prize of $5,000 for the highest standing in Canada on the CA profession’s 2005 Uniform Evaluation (UFE).
“This is fantastic, I still can’t believe it!” said Johnston. “The UFE is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Nothing compares to it. It’s a challenging three-day exam testing all you’ve got – your course work, whatever you’ve learnt from your work experiences. I worked very hard to prepare for the UFE and I’m very happy with the results.”
Johnston was one of 1,862 candidates to pass this year’s UFE, considered one of the world’s more rigorous professional examinations and an essential step in qualifying to become a CA. The 23-year-old Calgarian originally started out in actuarial science until he tried some accounting courses and really liked it. Said Johnston, “I found it a good way to combine math and
actual business as opposed to just theories and numbers.”
New this year, was the option all students had of writing the UFE on their computer and submitting their answers electronically using a special “lockdown” software program. “Using the computer was definitely to my advantage,” said Johnston. “I found it so natural, as I use my computer all day at work – much better than arriving at answers on paper.”
The Chartered Accountants of Canada regional Gold Medal awards for the highest standing in the UFE (and cash prize of $2,500 each) go to:
– Renée Collier, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, St. John’s, Nfld. for the Atlantic Provinces
– Julie Bergeron, of Roy, Desrochers, Lambert, CA-SENC, Victoriaville for Québec
– Lucy Durocher, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto, ON for Ontario
CICA President & CEO David Smith, FCA, commented on the national results saying: “On behalf of the CA profession, I would like to congratulate all 1862 successful UFE candidates. The demand for CAs has never been greater and our new candidates are entering the profession at a very exciting time. With this though, comes the responsibility of upholding the CA profession’s highest standards of trust, objectivity and integrity – standards upon which our profession is founded. I’m confident these successful candidates will fulfill and exceed the public’s high expectations. Congratulations.”
The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), together with the provincial, territorial and Bermuda Institutes/Ordre of Chartered Accountants, represents a membership of approximately 70,100 CAs and 8,500 students in Canada and Bermuda. The CICA conducts research into current business issues and supports the setting of accounting, auditing and assurance standards for business, not-for-profit organizations and government. It issues guidance on control and governance, publishes professional literature, develops continuing education programs and represents the CA profession nationally and internationally.
