LOT Accounting Success Series - Leadership Lessons

By Ting Xie

The Vancouver Board of Trade’s Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) mentorship program was thrilled to welcome three accomplished accountants on March 12 to share their leadership lessons, including Mary Carmichael, Manager of Taxation & Utilities in City of Vancouver, Elise Rees, Transaction Tax Partner in Ernst & Young LLP and Lizanne Mailhot, Controller in Pacific Blue Cross and BC Life.

This event was hosted at UBC Robson Square and provided invaluable personal career experience and industry insights, including the benefits of CPA designation. It also was a great networking opportunity for the students who attended.

Carmichael was the first speaker and she shared three lessons with the event attendees. The first lesson was choosing the career that you love so you will have a passion to learn, which enables you to become a professional and contribute to your company. Being goal-oriented was her second lesson. While we are trying new things, we still have to continue to focus on the purpose of our careers. Finally, Carmichael encouraged us to follow our hearts when making career choices at crossroads and go for it.

Following that, Rees shared her personal experience in pursuing her consulting dream regardless of the recession, as well as the significance and the benefits of having an accounting designation. Rees said accounting professionals have the opportunity to build a knowledge foundation and develop skill sets by pursuing an accounting designation. From her point of view, having an accounting designation is like holding a ticket to get on the train, it will lead you to a variety of opportunities, network and experiences. "What you do on the journey is what you find and explore,” said Rees.

Coming from a diverse background of accounting, Mailhot, our last speaker of the event, suggested prospective accountants to have the courage to switch to different fields, which would help to broaden our network, and build knowledge and experience. Also, risk-taking is always rewarded and recognized and we should open ourselves to alternative options, said Mailhot. Most importantly, professionals should not be afraid to try new things, and they should enjoy what they do and have fun.

Other meaningful insights shared by our speakers:

• Your career is a part of your life, but it is not everything. Never forget your friends and family.
• Have a passion or a hobby to clear your mind. We are not complete until we have balance between life and career.
• Volunteering is the best approach to help your career. Through volunteering, you build your own skill bank, and you are helping others!
• By being a leader, not only will you have a strong support group, but also engage with all levels of talents.

The night also included a networking session where participants were able to hear from their peers, share their ideas and get acquainted with our speakers. It was an invaluable experience for participants because they were exposed to the career paths of successful accounting professionals, tips for pursuing an accounting designation, as well as leadership lesson from our speakers.

The Vancouver Board of Trade’s Leaders of Tomorrow mentorship program would like to thank Mary Carmichael, Elise Rees and Lizanne Mailhot for sharing industry insights in accounting and the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia for sponsoring this event.

View online photo gallery.