New Perspectives on Innovation and Leadership: Vivian Do, CPA on her ILA Experience

^{Paul Nagpal, President & COO of The CFO Centre Canada and Executive Program Director of the Innovation Leadership Accelerator (ILA) Program for CPAs; Vivian Do, CPA, and Senior Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis at Borrowell; and Carol Wilding, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D, and President & CEO of CPA Ontario.}

When CPA Ontario launched the Innovation Leadership Accelerator (ILA) Program for CPAs, Vivian Do, CPA, and Senior Manager of Financial Planning & Analysis at Borrowell, recognized it as “much more than a cool, new program for CPAs relevant to my role and industry.”

“ILA stood out with its focus on what the most innovative companies are doing now, and how CPAs can play a leadership role in getting them to scale and driving Canada’s productivity,” Vivian says.

“CPAs in fintech experience a lot of uncertainty—some firms won’t have accounting policies and practices built for purpose, or they’re introducing brand new products and intangible services to the market,” Vivian continued. “Succeeding as a CPA in the new economy is less about the technical application of skills and all about being adaptive and creative in leading your team with the resources available.”

Over 15 weeks, Vivian had the opportunity to network with other CPAs in her cohort while applying their experience and judgment to case studies presented by ILA’s impressive roster of speakers.

“I wanted to connect with career-driven professionals in my industry, share experiences, and ask for advice on working in a sector that’s still unfamiliar to many CPAs,” says Vivian. “Hearing directly from Canada’s top finance and tech leaders about how they managed organizations through uncertainty reinforced the importance of a reliable network providing guidance in a rapidly changing market.”

These leaders included Brice Scheschuk, CPA, CA, and Managing Partner at Globalive Capital, who spoke about the strategy of raising capital.

“Brice emphasized that while founders raising seed and series capital can make a big splash in the news with a trendy VC funding round announcement, it can sometimes limit their vision and control while the company is under pressure to grow at all costs,” says Vivian. “VC funding is only one investment vehicle available, and innovative founders work with their team to determine what source of capital makes the most sense and how it will impact the business in the short- and long-term.”

Vivian was paired with Paul Nagpal, President & COO of The CFO Centre Canada and ILA’s Executive Program Director, as her mentor near the end of the program.

“It’s a great match,” she says. “Paul designed ILA for CPAs like me, his contributions to our class discussions were always thought provoking, and he’s supported many Canadian innovators in all aspects of running a business throughout his career.”

“As I’ve gotten to know Paul better as my mentor, I feel comfortable being vulnerable with him about my own career journey and leadership aspirations, and he’s provided me with invaluable advice.”

Leading with Community

While Vivian’s fintech background may have given her more experience than other CPAs coming into the ILA program, she quickly found there was a lot still to learn about her role in the tech ecosystem.

With her ILA experience now behind her, she’s equipped with new knowledge and networks to support Borrowell’s finance and executive teams.

“I was already well-versed in industry KPIs, but through ILA I learned about metrics other tech companies were using to track and optimize performance and brought them back to work to help my team stay op to date with the current fundraising environment,” says Vivian.

While Vivian successfully completed ILA last May, she still meets regularly with her members of her cohort for regular “skills exchange sessions” to share lessons, resources, and how they are carrying forward their learnings from the program to their daily work as CPAs.

“ILA created for me an incredible community of dynamic, like-minded professionals who actively seek to better their skills, as CPAs and as leaders, by sharing their knowledge and experiences,” says Vivian. “I’m excited to help my new community flourish so we can all play a bigger role in growing Canada’s innovation economy.”