EDMONTON, Nov. 28, 2014 /CNW/ - On November 28, 648 Alberta CA students—the most ever—are celebrating an important career milestone: passing the Uniform Evaluation (UFE), one of the world's most rigourous professional examinations. The UFE is a crucial step toward becoming a Chartered Accountant. These students come from 62 centres across the province, reflecting the important role designated accountants play in communities throughout Alberta.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta (ICAA) is pleased to announce that Alberta CA students once again achieved outstanding results on the UFE. In particular, 11 Alberta students have an additional reason to celebrate today. Geoffrey Leonard (who works at KPMG LLP in Edmonton) has been named the CPA Western School of Business Regional Gold Medalist, marking the top performance on the UFE in the four Western provinces, the Yukon and Northwest Territories. He is joined by 10 other individuals whose performances earned them spots on the national Honour Roll list and the ICAA's prestigious Dzurko Honour Roll. (The full list of Honour Roll members is attached in the Backgrounder following this release.)

Barth Bradley FCA, ICAA President, congratulated the 2014 class of Alberta graduates on their significant accomplishment. "For all Chartered Accountants, passing the UFE is one of the most memorable achievements in their lives. It is the culmination of a lot of hard work, dedication, and learning—traits that provide the foundation for great success in the future. These graduates are well positioned to leave their mark on the business landscape and their communities across the province well into the future."

In order to qualify for the CA designation, Alberta students must complete rigourous course work through the CPA Western School of Business, pass the UFE, and complete 30 months of practical experience with an Approved Chartered Accountant Training Office.

"This year, we have 1,342 successful UFE writers across western Canada.  We congratulate them on this accomplishment, and recognize the hard work that they have invested to master the skills and competencies that we expect of new professional accountants. They represent the bright future of the profession, and we wish them all the best as they progress in their careers," said J. Scott Palmer, CPA, FCA, ICD, Interim CEO of the CPA Western School of Business.

The accounting profession in Alberta is currently undergoing significant change. Legislation was recently introduced in the Alberta Legislative Assembly to unify Alberta's designated accountants and accounting bodies—the ICAA, the Society of Management Accountants (CMA) of Alberta, and the Certified General Accountants' (CGA) Association of Alberta—under the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) banner. For more information on unification, visit www.albertaaccountants.org.

Note to editors:
To see if there are any graduates in your area, please consult the full list of successful UFE writers available at www.albertaCAs.ca,

Backgrounder

The Alberta-based Uniform Evaluation (UFE) writers named to the National Honour Roll comprise the prestigious Dzurko Honour Roll. The National Honour Roll is named by the CPA Canada Board of Evaluators.

The Dzurko Honour Roll was established in 1985 in memory of Vic Dzurko MBA FCA, ICAA Executive Director from 1967 to 1983. It is funded by the Chartered Accountants Education Foundation of Alberta. Each writer named to the Honour Roll is awarded the Winspear Medal of Excellence and a $1,000 cash prize. The Winspear Medal is named in honour of Alberta philanthropist and entrepreneur, Francis Winspear OC FCA.

• Geoffrey Leonard; KPMG LLP Edmonton, CPA Western School of Business Regional Gold Medalist
• Colin Brenneis; KPMG LLP, Edmonton
• Evan Doyle; Deloitte & Touche LLP, Calgary
• Aly Hemraj; Deloitte & Touche LLP, Calgary
• Michael Ho; Deloitte & Touche LLP, Calgary
• Ian Jennings; PwC LLP, Calgary
• Stephanie Luck; Deloitte & Touche LLP, Calgary
• Alex MacGillivray; Deloitte & Touche LLP, Calgary
• Crystal Ohlhauser; KPMG LLP, Calgary
• Breanne Pisani; KPMG LLP, Edmonton
• Jacob Willis: KPMG LLP, Calgary

SOURCE Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta