From L to R: Jagdish Bajaj, Shivani Sharma Gupta, Sanjay Makkar, Bryan Jacobs,
Carmen Jacques, Rohit Prajapati, Jatinder Bawa, Manish Agarwal, Ginni Sethi & Pappur Shankar

In a world where competition is a norm in any career path, it has become imperative to acquire an extra edge in professional training to make a mark and to succeed. The Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) is one such qualification that can, and does open up a world of opportunities in Canada. The Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organised an interactive session on CPA as a career option on November 18 at ICCC headquarters in Toronto.

Welcoming the speakers and the participants to the session, Mr. Sanjay Makkar, President, ICCC, said the event was organized to give members an in-depth knowledge of the qualification, and to help understand how the program can help people advance their career as CPA. The session, he emphasized, would shed light on the skillsets required for acquiring the qualification that would enable an aspirant to scale new heights.

Mr. Bryan Jacobs, in the introduction of the CPA program, said, “Becoming a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) is your ticket to a world of opportunities in accounting and finance.” He added, “CPAs are always in demand thanks to their financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight and management skills. The program will advance your knowledge, broaden your prospects and increase your earning potential.”

A panel discussion followed the remarks by Mr. Makkar and Mr. Jacobs. Ms. Carmen Jacques, Student Recruitment Manager, CPA, Ontario, moderated the discussion. The panelists were Mr. Jitender Bawa, Mr. Manish Agarwal and Mr. Rohit Prajapati. The discussion revolved around the following questions:

• What tips do you want to share with the audience to help them better position themselves for employment in the finance and accounting sector?
• How important is the CPA designation to getting a job in finance or accounting?
• What are the skills and competencies you believe are absolutely essential for competing in today’s job market?
• What advice would you give participants for gaining these skills?
• What was your path to landing your first professional job?
• Describe the hurdles you have had and what you did to overcome those hurdles.
• What do employers look for in successful candidates?
• Tell us something that you wished someone had told you before you started your career.
• Give us your thoughts on Mentorship.
• In today’s competitive career search how could I make myself stand-out as a strong candidate?
• As an Internationally Trained Accountant and recently arrived how can I compete in my career search with someone who has been here for a while?
• In today’s competitive career search how could I make myself stand-out as a strong candidate?

All the panelists shared their views on these questions. 

 Click here for more photographs: CPA as a career