Jeremy Knoke
Meghan E. Lee
Birthplace & current city of residence:
Chilliwack, BC.
Birthplace & current city of residence:
Vancouver, BC; Richmond, BC.
Employer: KPMG LLP.
Employer: Office of the Auditor General of
Canada.
What’s your favourite memory/moment of the
program? It was during the final 15 minutes of
day three of the UFE—my nerves had finally
settled, and I felt a huge sense of relief to be finished.
Who would you like to thank for providing support during your
studies? I first want to thank my parents, Rick and Laura, for their
support throughout all of my schooling, and my girlfriend Jenn, for
putting up with the late nights and weekends/weeks away for CASB
and firm-specific training. I also want to thank everyone at the Fraser
Valley KPMG office for all of their support throughout this whole
process—specifically, my study partner Nicole Walters for helping me
through the rough patches, and my UFE mentor Mark Paxian, CPA,
CA, for providing advice, encouragement, and entertainment for the
past two years.
What do you like to do when you’re not studying/working? Anything
in (or related to) the great outdoors. I also enjoy volunteering for the
local mountain bike trails associations in the Fraser Valley.
Who would you like to thank for providing
support during your studies? My family and
friends, especially my mom, dad, and brother Matthew for their constant love and encouragement—I couldn’t have done it without you! I
am fortunate to have an incredible support network that has cheered
me on every step of the way.
Thank you also to my study partners, Kari He and Charles Ying, and
to everyone at the OAG’s Vancouver office for being there for me
throughout the entire process—particularly Inveer Saprai, CA, Bonnie
Fung, CA, and Murray Mackwood, CA, for patiently answering my
questions and boosting my confidence when I needed it; Lana Dar,
CA, for her guidance and support; and Quentina Yeung for her enthusiasm as we completed the modules together.
Finally, a thank you to the Ottawa office—specifically UFE coach
Jeffrey Roy, CPA, CA, and student coordinator Marc Vachon, CPA,
CA—for their commitment to helping OAG writers succeed across
the country.
Graham Moir
Mikhail Kuzmin
Birthplace and current city of residence:
Dmitrov, Russia; Vancouver, BC.
Employer: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
What’s your favourite memory/moment of
the program? The most memorable moment
was when I got the call informing me of my
success on the UFE. I will also never forget the moment when I submitted my final CASB assignment at the end of June.
Who would you like to thank for providing support during your
studies? My employer, for the superb in-house training program; my
study partner Amish Patel; and my UFE mentor Darcy Everett, CA.
Also, I would have not been able to make it without the support of my
family and friends, all of whom seemed to be more excited than me
about me finally being done with the incessant stream of exams I took
over the last two years.
What do you like to do when you’re not studying/working? I’m an
avid skier and hiker. I am also on my way to running my first marathon.
Apart from sports, I enjoy travelling, perfecting the Spanish language,
and reading.
Birthplace & current city of residence:
Vancouver, BC; Kelowna, BC.
Employer: MacKay LLP.
What’s your favourite memory/moment of the
program? Getting to know the students at my
firm better through our travels to face-to-face
interactive sessions [FFIS] in Edmonton.
Who would you like to thank for providing support during your
studies? First, my family and my girlfriend for their support throughout the summer. We lost my dad, who was a CA, two weeks before the
UFE, and they helped minimize distractions so studying could stay a
top priority. Passing the UFE is exactly what my dad would have
wanted me to focus on.
I also thank the partners at MacKay Yellowknife, where I trained, for
supporting me, and Lindsey Dempsey and Alicia Scallion, who progressed through the program with me from the start—I couldn’t have
made it without them. Sarah Gumpinger, CPA, CA, my FFIS facilitator,
deserves a big thanks as well.
Last but not least, I thank my UFE study buddy Jelaina Bakota for
being the best person I could have asked to take the UFE journey
with. I attribute a large part of my success to her.
CPABC in Focus • Jan 2014
31