David Marks
Senior Manager, Audit
Hamilton
davidmarks@kpmg.ca
David Marks joined the KPMG’s Hamilton office in May 1998, after completing a Bachelors of Honours Commerce at McMaster University in Hamilton. David started with the KPMG Enterprise practice for his first summer and then moved to the Audit practice, where he has been ever since. A large portion of David’s time is spent working on Canadian clients that have US GAAP reporting. Additionally, he services the audit needs of privately held businesses and local not-for-profit organizations.
David has been involved in the recruiting process at KPMG since 2000. He originally became involved in this process as he could relate to the pressures that are on the students going through the recruiting process. He enjoys sharing with the candidates his experiences, including all the things he did wrong during his recruiting year. In fact, you may want to ask David to share with you his experience of landing a job with KPMG—it is not what you might expect.
Outside of the office, David enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, and playing volleyball.
Denise Provencher
Senior Manager, Audit
Hamilton
dprovencher@kpmg.ca
Denise Provencher joined KPMG in May 1998 after completing her Honours Commerce degree at McMaster University. Denise is an Audit Senior Manager in the Hamilton office. Denise works with a large variety of clients in many different industry practices. Her clients range from large retail clients, to smaller owner-managed businesses, to hospitals and universities. Denise’s client mix also includes international subsidiaries, which have allowed her to gain experience in IFRS.
Denise has been involved with campus recruiting since starting her career at KPMG and has been a Performance Counsellor for the last 9 years.
When not at work, Denise enjoys spending time with friends and family, Pilates, skiing, golfing, and travelling. Some of her more recent vacations include Australia, Italy, France, Spain, Greece, and Florida.
Divina Advento
Manager, Audit
Hamilton
dadvento@kpmg.ca
Divina Advento first joined KPMG in September 2006 as an intern and returned full-time in 2008 after her Honours Bachelor of Commerce at McMaster University. As an Audit Senior, Divina has worked with many clients in different industry practices, ranging from large manufacturing companies, to publicly accountable entities including utilities. Divina’s client mix involves both Canadian GAAP and IFRS reporting.
Upon successfully completing the 2009 UFE, Divina participates in the Mentor Program to help candidates currently going through the UFE process.
When not at work, Divina enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as traveling. Her favourite places include New York City, Tofino, BC and Barcelona.
Amanda Kwai Pun, CA
Manager, Audit
Hamilton
akwaipun@kpmg.ca
Amanda joined KPMG in October 2003 shortly after completing her Bachelor of Commerce at McGill University. Amanda started with KPMG as a staff accountant in the audit group and continues to deliver audit services to a broad range of clients as a manager.
During her career at KPMG, Amanda has spent time as the Hamilton/St. Catharine’s office UFE coordinator and has been involved for a number of years in marking the School of Accountancy exam. More recently, Amanda has had the opportunity to work with the National Professional Practice group by assisting with the deployment of the new audit engagement platform.
Outside of Amanda’s KPMG life, she enjoys travelling the world, running and pilates.
Maliha Patel
Manager, Audit
Hamilton
malihapatel@kpmg.ca
Maliha Patel first joined KPMG as an intern and returned full-time in 2007 after completing her Honours Commerce degree at McMaster University. Maliha is a Senior Accountant in the Audit practice in the Hamilton office. She works on a wide variety of clients ranging from hospitals and universities to profit-oriented private companies and subsidiaries of European public companies.
Maliha has been involved in various recruiting activities since the start of her career and is a Performance Counselor. She has also been the Co-Chair of the United Way Committee in the Hamilton office for the past two years.
When not at work, Maliha enjoys spending time with her friends and family, reading, watching movies and travelling. Some of her most recent vacations include Turkey, Greece, India and U.A.E.
Cole Horncastle
Senior Accountant, Audit
Hamilton
chorncastle@kpmg.ca
Cole Horncastle joined KPMG in September 2007 after completing his BAcc Honours degree at Brock University. Cole started with KPMG as an Audit Junior and is currently working in several business sectors, including not-for-profits and financial institutions. While at KPMG, Cole has successfully written the 2008 UFE and now spends time helping new candidates complete the UFE process.
Cole is a very active individual, showing interests in baseball, basketball, volleyball, and golf. Travelling is also one of Cole’s hobbies, as he has been known to vacation to several Caribbean destinations during the year.
Sarah Bolduc
Staff Accountant, Audit
Hamilton
sbolduc@kpmg.ca
Sarah Bolduc joined the KPMG team as a summer intern in 2009 and started full-time in September 2010 with the Audit practice, where she specializes in on hydro and municipal clients. Sarah graduated from McMaster University in May 2010 with an H.BComm from the DeGroote School of Business.
Sarah has been actively involved in recruiting since joining KPMG as a summer intern where she was a campus ambassador.
Sarah became a UFE mentor in September 2011. Further, since January 2012 KPMG took on the role of UFE coordinator for the Hamilton office, acting as a liaison between the National UFE team and the writers for the Hamilton and St. Catherine offices.
Sarah has been involved with KPMG’s community initiatives as a member of the KPMG Relay for Life team and participating in Volunteer Tax Clinics. Further outside of work, Sarah enjoys soccer, hot yoga, and travelling.
Regions-East
Julia Beniusis
Talent Attraction Specialist, Regions- East Campus Recruiting
Hamilton
jbeniusis@kpmg.ca
Julia Beniusis joined KPMG and the Talent Attraction team in January 2011, overseeing campus recruitment for the firm’s Regions East offices. Prior to joining KPMG, Julia held recruitment roles at the University of Guelph and, more recently, with the Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Julia holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Human Resources Management Degree, and is a board member with the Hamilton Chapter of the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA).
Outside of work, Julia can be found enjoying her many favourite active pursuits, including running, yoga, snowboarding, and golf.
St. Catherines
Ruth Todd, CA
Partner, Audit
Enterprise
St. Catharines
retodd@kpmg.ca
Ruth Todd joined KPMG in 1990 and has been in the audit practice since then, other than a short time in Advisory Services. Her clients are primarily privately held companies as well as not-for-profit organizations. Ruth graduated from McMaster University with an H. Bachelor of Commerce.
During her career at KPMG, Ruth has had the opportunity to be involved in many areas of the firm. For example, she was very involved with Human Resources, hiring not only on-campus students but also experienced employees for many years. This allowed her the opportunity to be involved on campus with both Brock and McMaster University assisting with mock interviews and other workshops for students. She has taught many internal KPMG courses, and is part of the Enterprise Learning Council. As part of her role on the Enterprise Learning Council, she has co-written and co-facilitated a business acumen course for senior accountants for three years.
Ruth is a member of the Board for the Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold, an organization that provides food, clothing and shelter to those in need. Ruth is a mother of two children, ages 10 and 13. She loves to garden and kayak, and when she can find the time between work and being a mom, she loves taking her motorcycle for a quick spin around the town.
Toronto
Laird MacDonald, CA
Talent Attraction Manager, GTA Campus Recruiting
Toronto
lcmacdonald@kpmg.ca
Laird joined KPMG in 2005 after obtaining his Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. Laird began his career with KPMG in the Waterloo Audit practice working on clients in various industry groups including Consumer Markets and Energy and Natural Resources. Laird obtained his Chartered Accountancy (CA) designation in 2008.
In the summer of 2008, Laird participated in a four month secondment to Johannesburg as part of a short term exchange program with KPMG South Africa. Laird recently returned from a 36 month secondment to KPMG Amsterdam as part of the Global Opportunities program where he travelled extensively across Europe and Asia for clients gaining knowledge of IFRS.
While working with KPMG Canada, Laird has been involved with recruiting and most recently transitioned to the Talent Attraction Team as Manager of Campus Recruiting. Laird also maintains a client portfolio in the Enterprise practice with a focus on real estate. In his personal time Laird enjoys skiing, swimming and travelling.
Stephen Novalski, CA
Talent Attraction Manager, GTA Campus Recruiting
Toronto
stephennovalski@kpmg.ca
Stephen Novalski joined KPMG in 2005 after obtaining his BBA from the Schulich School of Business. Stephen began his career with KPMG in the Financial Institutions and Real Estate (FIRE) Audit practice, where he gained experience working with a wide variety of clients and industries including banks, real estate and construction companies.
In 2008, Stephen obtained his Chartered Accountant (CA) designation and that same year accepted a secondment into KPMG’s National Campus Recruiting team providing support for offices from coast to coast. This secondment led to a permanent move into Talent Attraction where Stephen joined as a Manager on the Employer Branding team. In over two years in this role, Stephen was responsible for designing and developing national campus recruiting programs including the Ace the Case Competition and Fast Forward Leadership Conference among many others.
Since 2011, Stephen has been in the role of Talent Attraction Manager for GTA Campus Recruiting and has enjoyed the new challenge of being more involved on campuses and in the recruiting efforts of the GTA offices.
Mary Freitas
Talent Attraction Specialist, GTA Campus Recruiting
Toronto
mfreitas@kpmg.ca
Mary Freitas joined the KPMG team in October 2010 after completing her Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. Mary began her career in the Toronto Audit practice as part of the Financial Institutions audit group where she has worked on clients in various industries including banking, broker/dealers, and funds. She has also had the opportunity to work in several of KPMG’s other groups including energy, mining, and private clients.
Mary wrote and passed the UFE in September 2011 and is acting as a UFE mentor for one of this year’s writers through KPMG’s Study Buddy program as well as a marker for KPMG’s internal marking pool. While working with KPMG, Mary has been actively involved with recruiting and has most recently accepted a short-term secondment in Campus Recruiting as a Talent Attraction Specialist.
Outside of work, Mary enjoys baking, reading, and travelling to new places.
Pankita Patel, CA
Talent Attraction Specialist, GTA Campus Recruiting
Toronto
pankitapatel@kpmg.ca
Pankita Patel joined the KPMG team as a summer intern in 2007 and started full-time in September 2008 with the Enterprise Audit practice, where she specialized in working with non-for-profit organizations and municipalities. Pankita graduated from York University in 2008 with a BBA from the Schulich School of Business. Pankita has worked with a variety of non-for-profit organizations, municipalities, and real estate companies since joining the firm.
Pankita has been actively involved in recruiting since joining KPMG as a summer intern where she was a campus ambassador and after two years in the audit practice in September 2010 Pankita took on a new role in the Talent Attraction Group as a Talent Attraction Specialist, Campus Recruiting.
Since beginning her career at KPMG, Pankita has had the opportunity to be involved with the UFE process through KPMG’s Study Buddy program, allowing her to mentor CA students through their CA exams as well as being a professional marker and seminar leader for the SOA since passing the UFE in 2009. For the past three years, Pankita has also had the opportunity to give back to her university through being a TA at Schulich School of Business for first and third year students. Through this opportunity, Pankita has been able to keep her passion of teaching and be an active member of the Schulich alumni. Recently in 2012, Pankita joined the Ontario UFE group’s internal marking centre and has been actively involved in facilitating CKE and SOA technical sessions.
Pankita is an active participant in KPMG’s community initiatives as a key member on the Free the Children steering committee who works to raise internal firm awareness and organize events in support of the organization. In 2012, Pankita took on a new role as the Team Champion for the Talent Attraction Group to support the KPMG GTA World Partnership Walk Team. Outside of work, Pankita enjoys hot yoga, travelling, and baking.
Rory MacPherson, CHRP Candidate
Talent Attraction Coordinator, GTA Campus Recruiting
Toronto
rmacpherson@kpmg.ca
Rory MacPherson joined KPMG’s campus recruiting team in March of 2012. Prior to KPMG Rory worked in campus recruiting for a global reinsurance firm where he assisted in recruiting actuarial science students. Rory’s interest in campus recruiting began while working in Vancouver, BC for one of Canada’s Big 5 Banks, and decided to move to Toronto for an opportunity to gain experience in the industry. Rory’s main goal since joining the GTA team is striving to provide all campus candidates with the best possible recruitment experience.
Despite Rory being new to KPMG, he has enjoyed getting involved with local campus events and planning activities for KPMG’s interns and co-ops. Rory’s most memorable moment so far has been attending a community leadership workshop that Free the Children facilitated for the KPMG 2012 Summer Interns.
In his spare time Rory enjoys traveling, cycling, volunteering, and learning how to cook.