A Circle Starts from a Single Point: Liam McNeilly, First Recipient of the CPA Ontario Foundation’s Circle of Success Educational Grant
While all aspiring CPAs have their sights set on the same destination, each follows their own path to the profession.
For Indigenous students in Ontario seeking to unlock the opportunities of the CPA designation, educational support and professional guidance from Indigenous CPAs are essential.
Only 0.4 percent of CPAs in the province identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), and today’s Indigenous students still experience systemic barriers to professional entry. To overcome those barriers, aspiring CPAs often turn to their community—family and friends, local leaders, educators, and established Indigenous CPAs.
That's why, after close consultation with the CPA Ontario Foundation’s Indigenous Knowledge Building Council and Ontario post-secondary institutions, community was placed at the very centre of the CPA Ontario Foundation’s Circle of Success Educational Grant.
In addition to covering up to $25,000 per year of a four-year undergraduate degree, the Foundation provides recipients with continuous support through network-building with other grant and bursary recipients and mentorship connections with Indigenous CPAs from across the province. Recipients also have full access to a circle of support that includes mental health and wellness resources, assistance, and guidance.
The First Circle of Success Recipient is…
Circle of Success’ focus on community is what excited its first recipient—Liam McNeilly from Waterford, Ontario.
A member of Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) – Region 9, Liam is currently enrolled in his second year of the Wilfrid Laurier University’s Business Administration (BBA) program.
But he wasn't aiming for the CPA when he began charting his path. At first, he had his sights set on the University of Waterloo’s Engineering program.
“While my entire high school transcript was math and science, I had dismissed the one accounting course we did take and moved on to more engineering-related classes after being accepted by the University of Waterloo,” Liam tells CPA Ontario. “But after the acceptance letters came the bills. While my family is incredibly supportive, I’m responsible for my own tuition and living expenses, so I needed to take some time to really think about what I want to be and what I can commit to.”
After a month of University of Waterloo classes, he decided to defer his acceptance by a year. He then reached out to Paul MacCormack, his high school accounting teacher. It was through conversations with Paul that Liam realized the number of doors the CPA designation could open.
“Paul recognized that, in addition to being good with numbers and analysis, I was interested in learning about the economy and how to run a business,” Liam says. “He suggested I look into a career as a CPA, provided me with his course materials and recommended Laurier’s BBA program.”
Liam’s local MNO office, who had been actively supporting him through the scholarship and grant application process, encouraged him to apply to the Foundation’s Circle of Success Educational Grant.
“While the financial support is life-changing on its own, I also love to network with other CPAs, and I firmly back the Foundation’s mission to build and amplify Indigenous representation in the profession,” he says.
Circle of Community
“A CPA designation is so much more than a title—it opens new pathways to a meaningful career that can make a reciprocally positive impact in the CPA’s own community and the wider business world,” said Wendy Mitchell, the Foundation’s Executive Director, when Circle of Success was launched last year.
“We’re supporting students from Indigenous communities achieve certification and unlock their potential starting at the earliest stage of their career journey.”
Circle of Success also offers Liam an opportunity to connect with his Métis history, culture, and teachings through a professional lens that magnifies the impact Indigenous CPAs have in their communities.
“Indigenous professionals still require greater access to more inclusive opportunities like I received with Circle of Success,” says Liam. “As Canadians, we should be well-versed by now on how systemic barriers like financial hardship perpetuate generationally, and how Indigenous professionals are sorely underrepresented in business and finance roles.”
With this context—and the opportunities Circle of Success will provide—in mind, Liam is excited to help build the infrastructure for an inspiring community of Indigenous CPAs who support each other through shared experience and guidance and eventually pass that knowledge on to aspiring CPAs just like him.