Emerging Leader Award Recipients 2018

Tosin Akinwekomi, CPA, CMA

Over the past decade, Tosin has led transformational initiatives in the financial services and non-profit sectors. Currently, as Director, Change Management for RBC’s Internal Audit transformation, Tosin is helping to shape the future of auditing.

Outside of work, Tosin devotes his time and expertise to causes that are near and dear to his heart. He co-founded Beam Inc., a non-profit which provided school supplies for 3,000+ underprivileged children and rebuilt 2 schools in Nigeria from 2008-2016. Currently, he is a Member of the Board and Strategic Planning Committee for JobStart and Lead for youth programming and the scholarship fund at his church.

Tosin brings his diverse experience in the public service, non-profit, and financial services to bear on solving problems and believes in the transformational nature of constant learning.

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Pascal Ambrosino, CPA, CA, CBV

After spending over 5 years working at large firms, like EY and Duff & Phelps, Pascal made the decision to take the road less travelled. High unemployment rates among university graduates in East Africa inspired him to change careers and make a difference. Now, Pascal lives in Rwanda, where he co-founded two social enterprises in less than two years. Founded in 2017, FinanceYOU provides consulting services and customized training programs to finance teams in both non-profit and for-profit organizations. The African Accounting Academy, which launched in 2018, has a mission to develop the next generation of accountants in the region.

Inderpal Bal, CPA, CA

After close to seven years working in public accounting, Inderpal joined the Bank of Canada as Senior Financial Consultant, Financial Policy and External Reporting in 2016. In this role, Inderpal ensures the Bank of Canada communicates financial results to Canadians in a way that is transparent and accessible. By leveraging existing technologies in new ways, Inderpal continues to drive a vision of an efficient and collaborative approach to financial reporting. Inderpal also makes it a priority to support his community through his involvement with United Way and Health Partners, and has also been a member of the Audit Committee at the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health since 2015.

Michael Cherny, CPA, CA

Michael has been a champion of inclusive workplace culture since their involvement in Deloitte Pride began as a summer student back in 2011. Today, as Chief of Staff to the Audit practice at Deloitte, Michael leads small- and large-scale initiatives that breed innovation and drive operational excellence. Throughout their time at Deloitte, Michael has supported and fostered a dialogue of inclusion, exemplified most by their national leadership of the Deloitte Pride Community and contributions to the development of Gender Transitioning Guidelines. In addition to their professional work, Michael currently serves on the board of The 519 and supports CPA Ontario’s Pride involvement, having previously served on multiple non-profit boards and volunteered with Pride Toronto, Start Proud and the Ten Oaks Project.

Erin Godard, CPA, CA, CFA

While working as an Audit Manager at EY, Erin took a short sabbatical and spent two months volunteering for a small not-for-profit organization in rural Rwanda. After discovering there was a real need for qualified accountants in the region, Erin was inspired to co-found FinanceYOU in 2017 and the African Accounting Academy in 2018. Both of these social enterprises share a similar mission: to develop the next generation of accountants in Africa and provide meaningful employment to aspiring finance professionals. Prior to her work in Kigali, Rwanda, Erin’s social contributions include volunteering as a Board Member at Albion Neighbourhood Services, as an accountant at Ghana Medical Help and as a tutor at Pathways to Education Canada.

Neha Kohli, CPA, CA

Neha is a comedian, actor and writer as well as a Chartered Professional Accountant. Neha is a graduate of The Second City’s Conservatory Program as well as recipient of the 2018 Diversity Fellowship which is awarded by The Second City to the 15 brightest new, diverse voices in comedy. She has appeared on The Second City Toronto’s Mainstage in the student shows “It’s Funny Because it’s Trudeau” and “Wack Mirror”. Neha co-wrote and starred in the Luminari ad I Am A CPA (Rant) (that went viral and had over 200,000 views online). Neha currently teaches for the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants, is a Professor in The Business School at Centennial College and a Program Designer and Facilitator at Artscape Launchpad. She has founded her own tax consulting practice, which specializes in tax consulting for entertainers. You can catch her producing and hosting her very own monthly comedy variety show called OTHER at The Second City Training Centre. Neha is passionate about comedy, entrepreneurship, community building and cilantro.

Vincent Liu, CPA, CA

After working in accounting and advisory roles for the early part of his career, Vincent joined RBC’s Corporate Development team in 2012. He then became an early member of RBC Ventures in 2017 where he co-founded Butter, a subscription management app that was recently voted one of the top products on Product Hunt. In addition to being a “product guy” with a passion for tech, Vincent also actively gives back to the community. He has served as a consultant for the Acumen Fund, acted as mentor for RISE Asset Development, and sat on the board for Cape Farewell.

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Alice Madolciu, CPA, CA

Alice is a key member of Crowe Soberman’s Sports & Entertainment group, where she has developed innovative tools to grow this practice area. She is a Senior Manager in the firm’s Tax Group and is seen as a mentor by her peers, always open to share her tax expertise. She is also an advocate for the environment, assisted Crowe Soberman in its transition to a paperless office and volunteers her time and expertise on two environmentally-focused not-for-profit boards (Planet in Focus and GreenPAC), making an undeniable impact on her firm, colleagues and the community.

Jacob Milosek, CPA, CA

After eight years climbing the ladder at Hendry Warren LLP, Jacob was named Partner in 2016. Since then, Jacob has brought forward a number of key initiatives to improve the firm’s efficiencies and profits. In addition to his hard work, Jacob makes great efforts to give back to the community by leading Hendry Warren's social committee which coordinates monthly events that raise money for various local charities. He also organizes free tax clinics for seniors and low-income individuals and acts as a lecturer for the Income Tax for the General Practitioner course offered by the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada.

Roslyn Mclarty, CPA, CA

During her time working for a big four firm, Roslyn noticed that one topic of conversation always came up: sports. She also noticed that often her female colleagues were being left out of these conversations and the sports community at large. Roslyn and her co-creators realized that this stemmed from the significant lack of diversity in the sports industry and from the fact that much of sports media is created with a male audience in mind. In an attempt to level the playing field for women, Roslyn co-founded The GIST, a digital platform that is revolutionizing sports content and experiences to empower and connect women.

Giang Nguyen, CPA, CA

After five years of progressive experience in private and public sector, Giang joined the Bank of Canada in 2012 and has held several different roles in the Internal Audit and Financial Services departments. In these roles, Giang has demonstrated both innovation and leadership. One example is leading the development and delivery of training to approximately 100 managers across the organization that supported the implementation of a new financial management tool improving the way departments manage their budgets. Giang is passionate about volunteering her time and giving back to the profession and local community. As a CPA mentor, Giang spends time helping the next generation of CPAs achieve the required competencies to obtain their designation. She also works towards advancing health and physical education by volunteering with organizations that promote balanced lifestyles among youth.

Daniel Snow, CPA, CMA

Daniel Snow, Managing Partner at TRAFFIX, has been instrumental in steering the company’s incredible growth story over the last ten years. During this time, TRAFFIX has catapulted from a 20 person/$10million/yr organization into a 275 person/$300million/yr industry leader, with offices across Canada, USA, and Mexico. In his role, Daniel was responsible for initiating programs that led to 30,000 pounds of food being donated to charity. Daniel is also a strong advocate for gender equality in the workplace.