For the third time in four years, a University of Waterloo graduate reached the highest standing in Canada in the Charter Accountancy Uniformed Final Evaluation (UFE).
George Tsai, who recently graduated from UW’s Master of Accounting program, won both the Governor General’s Gold Medal and the Ontario Gold Medal on 2013’s UFE.
The UFE is the last examination for getting the Chartered Accountancy (CA) designation in Canada and Bermuda. It is one of the world’s most challenging professional exam requiring integrative business model thinking. The three-day exam tests candidates’ knowledge in accounting, finance, economics, and business.
Last year, the UFE ran between Sept. 10 and 12. As a reward or achieving the highest standing in the UFE, the national gold medal winner receives a cash prize of $5,000. UW graduates Juliana Yuen and Vicky Au reached the same achievement in 2011 and 2010 respectively.
Talking about his accomplishment, Tsai said that practising with support from previous candidates was a contributing factor to his success. “The UFE seems like a summer process, but it is actually based on five years of learning.”
Tsai also thanked the exceptional camaraderie and community built though the School of Accounting and Finance, and is willing to help future MAcc graduates in the UFE preparation.
Dave Vert, the director of the Master of Accounting program, said that “it is a source of tremendous pride to see one of our students take the top honour again.”
