CPA’s Journey – Life After Designation (Industry)

CPA's Journey features real-life CPAs and candidates of the CPA program who work in various sectors. In this webinar, our panelists who work in industry will talk about their CPA journey as well as life after obtaining the CPA designation.

Panelists

Chamika Basnayake, CPA, CMA
Manager, Operations Accounting
Lactalis Canada

Chamika currently works as the Manager, Operations Accounting for Lactalis Canada which is the largest dairy processor in Canada overseeing the finance function of the Western Canadian operation which is $560 Mn in annual turnover. He is responsible for the financial accounting and financial planning and analysis for the industrial group which manufactures fluid milk, yogurts, sour cream and cottage cheeses. He manages a team of five accountants and analysts who work as plant analysts, and operations accountants who work cross-functionally across the organization with R&D, marketing, sales, human resources etc. to achieve daily KPI's and to make sure the targets are being met. Chamika carries over 9 years of experience in finance having started off as an auditor for Pwc back in 2014 and transforming his career into Controllership within the hybrid finance plus operations area mostly in the manufacturing businesses. Chamika has worked as the Finance lead for multiple ERP integration projects with SAP, Oracle JD Edwards to ensure better and quality information flow within the organizations, and also in the areas of labour optimization through organizing and executing programs such as Kronos, and ADP.

Aletha Gatward, CPA
Division Controller
Western Forest Products

Aletha is a recently designated CPA working and living on Vancouver Island. She is passionate about the forestry and lumber industry and is always looking to expand her knowledge. When she's not working, she enjoys camping, archery, snowshoeing, and everything else the island has to offer.

Maggie Yang, CPA
Senior Financial Analyst
Pattison Food Group

Having a strong curiosity about how the business world works, Maggie embarked on the journey of accounting. This passion carried her through her CPA education and allowed her to progress through various finance roles to now a Senior Financial Analyst at Pattison Food Group. In her current role, she enjoys identifying patterns and stringing all the pieces of puzzles together to make sense of the story behind the numbers. During the process, she often collaborates with operational team members to bridge the gap between operations and finance. Outside of work, Maggie enjoys various outdoor activities, such as hiking and playing tennis.