In what dean Mitch Fields describes as “an excellent showing,” 13 of 14 first-time writers from the Odette School of Business MBA-Professional Accounting Specialization (MBA-PAS) passed  the Common Final Exam to qualify as chartered public accountants, and two BComm grads were named to the national honour roll for finishing among the top 1 per cent across the country.

The exam is a three-day evaluation designed to assess candidates’ knowledge, judgement, and ethics. Only those who complete the entire qualification program — consisting of education, experience, and the examination — are entitled to use the CPA designation. 

CPA Canada honoured Christie Hall (BComm 2018) and Emily Poli (BComm 2018) for their achievement ranking among the top 1 per cent. A total of 6,371 candidates nationwide passed the September exam.

“In any year, the CFE is recognized as a rigorous and challenging examination. However, 2020 presented a unique obstacle with the presence of the ever-changing COVID-19 situation,” says Charles-Antoine St-Jean, president of CPA Canada. “Those who wrote the September 2020 CFE displayed impressive dedication and perseverance as they prepared for the exam while living through global health concerns and economic uncertainty.”

Dr. Fields called the results an “awesome day for Odette on the national stage.”

In addition to the honour roll awardees, he pointed to the pass rate of 93 per cent among candidates from the school’s MBA program with professional accounting specialization.

Program director Peter Savoni said the student successes reflect a team effort across the entire faculty.

“I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the MBA-PAS administrative staff, course instructors and the entire Odette team,” he said. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had the monumental task of pivoting a professional program to online delivery, while maintaining the rigour and integrity of the program.”