2013 ICABC UFE Honour Roll Students
Twelve BC students made the National Honour Roll on the 2013 Uniform Evaluation (UFE) exam: Dennis Au, Jasdeep Baidwan, Liam Gordon,
Mike Hilling, Jeremy Knoke, Mikhail Kuzmin, Meghan E. Lee, Graham Moir, Royanne Shawcross, Brittany Todorov, Michelle Yang, and Awin Ye.
Dennis Au
Liam Gordon
Birthplace & current city of residence:
Hong Kong, P.R. China; Vancouver, BC.
Birthplace & current city of residence:
Cape Town, South Africa; Vancouver, BC.
Employer: KPMG LLP.
Employer: Wolrige Mahon LLP.
What’s your favourite memory/moment of
the program? Getting to know my UFE study
buddies, Angel Chan, Corinna Chan, and Patrick
Wong. We challenged each other to succeed and, most importantly,
they forced me out of bed every day to study.
Who would you like to thank for providing support during your
studies? My family for their unwavering support; my brother, Charles
Au, who will always be my role model; my girlfriend and best friend,
Joanna Li, who never once doubted me, is always there with comforting
words, and has a natural ability to make me smile.
A special shout-out goes to my UFE mentor, Catherine Chew, CA
(UFE Gold Medallist, Western Region 2011), who provided incredible guidance, encouragement, and plenty of hugs. I also thank my informal mentors at KPMG, Alex MacLean, CA, Joyce Wai, CA,
Rosanna Lau, CA, and Trudy Chen, CA, for always taking a vested
interest in my career. In addition, KPMG’s UFE preparation program,
particularly the Brentwood experience, was monumental to my success.
Who would you like to thank for providing
support during your studies? First and foremost, my family—especially my mum and my
dad—for supporting me and encouraging me to take this path.
My study partner Chris Tarling, of EY, for his friendship, support,
and encouragement throughout. My UFE mentor Mandeep Bains,
CPA, CA, for making sure my head was in the right place before I
started studying.
A special thanks to Todd Miller, CPA, CA, for suggesting that I aim
for the honour roll, and for providing encouragement and advice to
that end. Thanks are also due to Travis Taylor, CPA, CA, for organizing
our firm’s UFE preparation program so well; to Scott Sinclair, CPA,
FCA, and Brent Morning-Smith, CPA, CA, for providing extremely
helpful feedback on my practice cases; and Harpreet Jagpal, BBA, for
co-ordinating my progress.
Finally, thank you to all the partners and staff at Wolrige Mahon for
supporting me throughout the process. I am truly grateful to them all.
Mike Hilling
Jasdeep Baidwan
Birthplace & current city of residence:
Vancouver, BC.
Employer: Ernst & Young LLP.
Who would you like to thank for providing
support during your studies? My study partner
Grace Cheung, for making sure that I had
someone to laugh with over the summer but also keeping me motivated and focused when it was time to buckle down and study. A big
thank you also goes out to all of my friends and colleagues at EY, who
not only provided me with advice and tips for writing the exam but
the moral support I needed to get through it. I would also like to
thank my family and friends who put up with me over the last two
years and took the time to make sure I enjoyed my time away from
studying on evenings and weekends. Without all of these individuals—their love, support, and company—none of this would be possible.
What do you like to do when you’re not studying/working? What I
enjoy most is spending time with my family and friends and attempting new activities like snowboarding, golfing, and hiking.
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CPABC in Focus • Jan 2014
Birthplace & current city of residence:
Vancouver, BC.
Employer: Manning Elliott LLP.
What’s your favourite memory/moment of the
program? Leaving the exam centre in downtown Vancouver and seeing the huge crowd of
people cheering on the writers. It was a testament to how challenging
this exam is, and showed how much support there was behind everyone.
Who would you like to thank for providing support during your
studies? First, my family for their overwhelming support and teaching me, from a young age, the value of hard work. Second, everyone
at Manning Elliott for their support and encouragement. The work
experience I gained, combined with the support from people at the
firm, gave me the tools to be successful.
I also want to thank my UFE mentors at Manning Elliott, Winnie Lee,
CA, and Kevin Fung, CA, for providing amazing guidance throughout
CASB and the UFE summer.
Finally, I would like to thank my study partner from Manning Elliott
and one of my closest friends, Adriana Watkins. We’ve been in it together since Mod 1, and I can’t imagine going through th \