Vancouver, February 27, 2023 — Three B.C. CPAs, Paulina Cameron, Mallory Denniston and Jocelyn Li, have been recognized with the Early Achievement Award by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) for having distinguished themselves early in their CPA careers through professional achievements and/or volunteer service.
Paulina Cameron, CPA, CA is CEO of The Forum, a Vancouver charity supporting women entrepreneurs. Since 2019, she has greatly expanded its reach from 440 to 1,500 entrepreneurs, boosted its programming and doubled its funding. She had an equally striking impact at Futurpreneur Canada (2013-2018), where she expanded the community of young entrepreneurs accessing capital by 150%. Cameron created and taught an Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Innovation course at SFU’s Beedie School of Business in 2017. Since obtaining her designation in 2012, Cameron has championed gender diversity and women’s empowerment through speaking engagements at conferences such as the League of Innovators and BC Tech Summit. Cameron fosters strong communities as a volunteer, shaping the vision and mission of YWCA Metro Vancouver as a board director, and serves as director for the B.C. government’s Small Business Roundtable and is a past chair of the Immigrant Employment Council of B.C. She is the author of the bestselling book Canada 150 Women. In 2022, Cameron was honoured with The Globe and Mail’s Change Makers Award.
Mallory Denniston, CPA, CA is CFO for the City of Powell River, guiding vital civic projects and introducing systems that improve efficiency, transparency, and engagement. A trusted voice by the mayor, council, staff, and residents, Denniston has navigated challenging supply chain issues, inflation, and rising interest rates with diligence and expertise. Denniston has improved city accountability and transparency through comprehensive, accessible public presentations, which expanded online engagement and in-person consultation. Additionally, she has championed continual improvement and innovation through updating and adopting best practices for the City’s financial, human resources, and enterprise resource planning systems. After obtaining her designation in 2013, Denniston served with Catalyst Paper, then joined the City in 2017. She gives back to the community through contributing strategic financial input as director-at-large for of the Bruce Denniston Bone Marrow Society, a charity supporting marrow transplant patients.
Jocelyn Li, CPA is manager, ESG and sustainability services at KPMG in Vancouver. A dynamic ESG expert, she drives business success—guiding clients to implement ESG strategies, frameworks, and assurance, and identifying ways that ESG can create long-term value. In 2021, Li led a first-of-its-kind engagement, leading a banking client to adopt the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking (UNPRB) framework; she’s now KPMG’s subject matter expert on UNPRB in Canada. She’s also one of only 14 members of a UN global working group, providing critical insights on UNPRB. Li obtained her designation in 2018, and since 2021 has inspired students at the Sauder School of Business, where as an adjunct professor she brings accounting courses to life with expertise and enthusiasm. She extends that passion to volunteerism with PentaSport Ministries, a not-for-profit sports league where she provides financial leadership, and previously with Run for H2O Vancouver, raising funds for clean water projects in developing countries.
Quote from Lori Mathison, FCPA, FCGA, LLB, president and CEO of CPABC
“Paulina, Mallory, and Jocelyn are exceptional young professionals who have already achieved tremendous accomplishments. From developing up-and-coming entrepreneurs, guiding essential civic projects, establishing ESG strategies and frameworks, and empowering young people all-around, these three CPAS are driving positive change and boldly leading us into the future. We are honoured to be recognizing the three of them with our Early Achievement Award.”
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Individual profiles and publication quality photos of the recipients are available by request.
About CPA British Columbia
The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) is the training, governing, and regulatory body for over 40,000 CPA members and 6,000 CPA candidates and students. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards and contributing to the advancement of public policy.
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Media Contact:
Vivian Tse, Director, Communications
news@bccpa.ca
