Accelerating the CPA’s Role in Canada’s Innovation Economy: Jill D’Souza’s ILA Experience
Canada’s innovation industry is at a crossroads, with many start-ups and scale-ups in Ontario facing unique challenges.
Canadian tech companies need CPAs to harness the technical skills and ethical mindset of the profession to help seize the economic growth potential of the innovation space. With Canada’s persistently low economic productivity , it’s all hands on deck to build the innovation economy. And CPAs can be part of the solution.
CPAs like Jill D’Souza, CPA, CMA. Having started her career in the commercial real estate sector, she had a “pivotal experience” working for Lavalife as a financial analyst in 2004. Her seven years at the Canadian online dating site exposed her to Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)—the field that she would eventually specialize in as a CPA— and to Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
“My time at Lavalife was instrumental, and I’m still in touch with many folks who worked there, some of who I would call mentors,” Jill says, counting Lavalife’s former VP of Finance Lally Rementilla, CPA, CMA among the latter. “At the time, it was quite a revolutionary company in the tech industry, and I was able to advance and try different things by being exposed to both FP&A and the innovation space early on in my career.”
Jill developed her FP&A skillset by venturing into a range of industries and companies including Dundee REIT, Canadian Tire, and Toys-R-Us. As RenoRun’s first FP&A hire, she worked across the company to establish management reporting processes, launch a People Cost tool, and implement new contract management software. Most recently, Jill was Director of FP&A at Hudson’s Bay—"Canada’s oldest start-up.”
“I’ve found there’s a gap when it comes to our understanding of the Canadian innovation landscape and how CPAs can contribute to its growth, and few peers can relate to my start-up experience,” Jill says. “As CPAs looking to contribute to Canada’s growth, we need more experience of and exposure to the dynamically evolving innovation space, and we need it fast.”
Accelerating the Innovation Leader’s Advantage
When Jill first learned about CPA Ontario’s Innovation Leadership Accelerator (ILA) and its focused curriculum and impressive roster of speakers, she quickly recognized it as a program that addressed this gap.
Having recently completed the inaugural program, Jill believes ILA can help CPAs from any sector uncover new opportunities and position themselves as financial leaders in Canada’s innovation economy. “There is so much untapped value in start-up and scale-up roles for CPAs if you just seek to learn more deeply,” she says.
Jill found immense value in the program’s accelerated approach to professional development through applicable case studies and intensive networking. The kick-off session was a “powerful opportunity” to meaningfully connect with innovation leaders, potential mentors, and CPA peers with whom she would spend the next 15 weeks. At the event, Jill was reunited with Lally, her former Lavalife colleague now turned ILA speaker on the topic of IP strategy.
During sessions focused on topics like the founder mindset and the CFO’s evolution, the dynamic speakers used case studies to illustrate their experiences while providing an intimate forum for candid dialogue. During the FP&A session led by Angelo Loberto, CPA, CA, Jill met her mentor Mary Anne Lavallee, CPA, CA, CFO of Gateway Services, and a speaker for the upcoming ILA 2025.
Accelerating Leadership through Focused Mentorship
According to Jill, chief among ILA’s successes was the focus on networking and mentorship opportunities.
Participants were paired with mentors near the end of the program. Mary Anne was Jill’s first choice because of her tech experience at Blackberry. Gateway Services also provides pet aftercare and Jill has two chihuahuas. The fact that they were both women working in the space also attracted her to Mary Anne. "Since there aren’t too many female leaders in the innovation space, I knew I wanted to work with a woman” Jill says.
“While we’re still in the initial stages of our relationship, there was an instant connection right from the get-go,” Jill says about her new mentor. “As Mary Anne and I talked about our careers, what I might be interested in and what our next steps could be, I recognized a friendship was brewing. She is genuine, has broad experience and a lot of value to add, and I’m extremely happy with how things are going.”
Jill is carrying forward the knowledge and connections she acquired at ILA by nurturing relationships through regular meetups with her cohort, including attending Collision 2024 and leveraging her new understanding of data to make an impact as a CPA working in FP&A.
“Whether you are working at a new start-up or the oldest company in Canada, there’s data that can be used to change the way we do things,” she says. “ILA opened my eyes to these ideas that aren’t necessarily new, but that CPAs and the organizations they work with aren’t acting upon.”
“ILA is for any CPA—whether you’re an accountant, in FP&A or in tax—who’s even a little bit curious about their role in the innovation economy and wants to explore different areas of their industry,” Jill says. “It’s the best investment I’ve made in myself since my designation.”