London
Ian Jeffreys
Partner, Audit
London
ijeffreys@kpmg.ca
Ian began his career with KPMG’s London office in September 1995. In his 16 years with KPMG, Ian has worked solely in the Audit practice within Southwestern Ontario. His areas of focus include hospitals, hydro distribution utilities, and municipal government. Ian is also the Partner responsible for HR and Recruiting in the London office.
Included in Ian’s most memorable moments at KPMG are many activities that he’s done with his co-workers. From playing hockey, football, or soccer against other firms in town, to enjoying a great evening at the office Christmas party with my peers and their spouses, there is always a lot of fun to be had. From a professional perspective, Ian’s most memorable moment was passing the Uniform Evaluation (UFE). Ian has attended the UFE Convocation each year since to celebrate the success of KPMG’s writers.
When Ian is not at the office, he enjoys spending time with his wife Kim and his children Spencer and Sydney. Ian lives an active lifestyle and enjoys travelling and playing and watching many sports, including hockey, golf, and baseball.
Erin Huff
Senior Manager
London
ehuff@kpmg.ca
Erin Huff started her career at KPMG in September 2002, after graduating from the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario. Prior to entering the HBA program at Ivey, Erin completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology at The University of Western Ontario. Erin has been in KPMG's Audit practice since she started with KPMG. Her client base is typical of KPMG's Southwestern Ontario industry groups: manufacturing, distribution, and various not-for-profit organizations.
In her time at KPMG, Erin has been involved in numerous community activities and groups, including serving on the board of the London Rowing Society. At the office, Erin enjoys the learning opportunities available within the firm, and has facilitated various audit training programs, and participates in campus recruiting functions. Erin also took advantage of the Global Opportunities offered by KPMG and went on a short term secondment to the KPMG office in Johannesburg, South Africa.
When not at work, Erin enjoys spending time with friends and family, skiing, boating, and travelling. Some of her more recent travels have included Southern Africa, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Thailand.
Eric Mallory
Manager, Audit
London
emallory@kpmg.ca
Eric joined KPMG in September 2007 after graduating from the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario. Prior to entering the HBA program at Ivey, Eric completed a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of Western Ontario. Eric has been with KPMG’s Audit practice since his hire, working with clients in diverse industry groups: not-for-profit organizations, manufacturing, transportation, agri-food, and healthcare.
While at KPMG, Eric has been involved in numerous community groups, most recently volunteering as a coach with a local football club. His involvement also includes facilitating staff meetings in the office, liaising with the Ivey accounting club, and participating in campus recruiting functions.
In his spare time, Eric enjoys spending time with his family, playing football and hockey, snowboarding. He values KPMG’s work-life balance as it enables him to take the time to travel across Canada, the US, and Europe.
David Ross
Manager, Audit
London
davidross@kpmg.ca
David Ross joined KPMG in September 2007 after completing the HBA program at the Richard Ivey School Business. David has been working in the audit practice of the London office for the past four years. His client base includes a mix of manufacturing, healthcare and not-for-profit organizations.
While at KPMG, David has spent time as a mentor in London office CA program, and founded the Ivey Accounting Mentorship Program in 2010. David also teaches part-time at the University of Western Ontario in the BMOS and Ivey accounting programs and sits on the Fund Development committee of a local health care provider.
When he’s not working, you can find David on the golf course, or soaking up the sun at the cottage.
Blaine Mendola
Senior Accountant, Audit
London
bmendola@kpmg.ca
Blaine Mendola joined KPMG full time in the fall of 2009. Currently, Blaine works in the Audit group specializing in hydro utilities and non-for-profit organizations. Blaine graduated from Western University in 2009 with a double major in Finance and Accounting.
Just before starting full-time with KPMG in 2009, Blaine travelled to Rome, Italy for Global Audit training with over 250 KPMG new hires from around the world. After passing the UFE exam in 2010, Blaine began to serve as a UFE mentor to writers in the London office and has been helping writers through the UFE process in each of the past 2 years. Blaine recently took over as UFE coordinator in the London Office.
Since starting at KPMG, Blaine has enjoyed the opportunity to build relationships with both co-workers and clients by playing in various client and charity golf tournaments. In addition to golfing with co-workers, Blaine has taken part in hockey games against other local accounting and legal firms.
Away from the office, Blaine enjoys playing golf, hockey and guitar in his spare time. He also serves as a TA for various professors at Western University during the December and April exam periods. Blaine is actively involved in community initiatives for Big Brothers and Sisters of London and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Toronto
Ziad Said
Partner, Audit. Financial Institutions & Real Estate (FIRE)
Toronto
zsaid@kpmg.ca
Ziad has been with KPMG for over 10 years working on audits of large financial services clients. He specializes in financial institutions, specifically asset management, funds and banking.
Over the years, Ziad has served numerous financial services clients, including Schedule I and II banks, large mutual fund complexes, bank-owned investment dealers, asset management companies, and hedge funds. He has also been involved in the public offerings of debt and equities.
He attended the University of Western Ontario where he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree (Math) then went to the University of Toronto to pursue his CA requirements. While working with KPMG, Ziad was the recruiting manager for the Fire group, the HR manager and then business manager before recently being promoted to Partner.
Dan Wilson
Partner, Audit, Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT)
Toronto
dwilson@kpmg.ca
Dan is a partner in KPMG’s Toronto office in the TMT practice. He has extensive experience auditing and advising large public and high potential private companies in the technology and communications sectors. He has significant experience with public and SEC reporting under IFRS, U.S. and Canadian GAAP.
Dan also frequently assists audit and non-audit clients on complex transactions, M&A (buy and sell side), public and private offerings in Canada and the U.S., liquidity event planning and internal control/corporate governance matters.
As Deputy Leader on KPMG Canada’s Revenue Recognition topic team, Dan frequently advises clients around the globe on complex accounting matters and emerging trends in revenue recognition. He has coauthored several publications with our Silicon Valley office and is a frequent presenter at seminars in Canada and abroad.
Dan is well connected with in the tech community (from serial entrepreneurs, VC’s to large global players) through leadership with organizations such as the C100 out of Silicon Valley, Digital Puck and others.
Dan recently completed a three year term on the CICA UFE Board of Evaluators. He is an Ivey HBA 1998 alumni. He is an avid skier and music fan, and plays guitar and piano (both badly).
Mandy Lai
Manager, Audit
Toronto
mandylai@kpmg.ca
Mandy is currently part of the Financial Institutions audit practice since transitioning in July 2012, primarily serving public and private clients in the banking and finance industries. She first joined KPMG in 2009 after obtaining her Masters of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario. She started with KPMG in the Kingston audit practice working on clients in various industry groups including private enterprises, municipalities, universities, hospitals and other non-profit organizations, before transferring to the Toronto office in 2010 with the Technology, Media and Telecommunications audit practice.
While at KPMG, Mandy has been involved in recruiting and various community volunteer initiatives including volunteering in Kenya with Free the Children. In addition, she plays an active role as the Treasurer on the Executive Planning Committee and a paddler for the KPMG Dragonboat Team. On a special client engagement, she also had the opportunity to visit many universities across Canada, U.S., and Asia.
Outside of work, Mandy is an avid traveler and has travelled extensively throughout North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. She also enjoys tennis, volleyball, hot yoga, golf, and snowboarding.
Bryant Ramdoo
Manager, Audit, Consumer Markets (CM)
Toronto
bramdoo@kpmg.ca
Bryant started with KPMG in May of 2005 as a summer intern. After graduating from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario he started full-time as a first year accountant in the Consumer Markets’ Audit practice in September 2006. Bryant has provided professional services to clients in a variety of industries including retail, rare-earth metals, industrial chemicals, professional services, mining, and automotive.
Bryant has spent time as a facilitator for the KPMG School of Business teaching audit fundamentals, in-charge auditor, and audit technology training. Bryant is an Audit Quality champion for the Consumer Markets group and leads several other initiatives in his audit practice. In the summer of 2009 Bryant was seconded to KPMG Johannesburg, South Africa working in the Energy and Natural Resources audit practice.
Brandon Farber
Senior Accountant, Technology, Media & Telecommunications
Toronto
bfarber@kpmg.ca
Brandon Farber joined the KPMG team in October 2009 with the Technology, Media and Telecommunications group focusing on mainly large public clients. Brandon graduated from Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.
While at KPMG, Brandon has been involved in recruiting and various community volunteer initiatives including Movember and the Sporting Life 10K. Starting in 2012, Brandon will be actively helping the Technology, Media and Telecommunications group implement KPMG’s offshoring initiative.
Brandon enjoys travelling and playing sports during his free time.
Jason Robinson, CA
Senior Accountant, Audit, Financial Institutions & Real Estate (FIRE)
Toronto (Bay Adelaide Centre)
jmrobinson@kpmg.ca
Jason joined KPMG in 2008 after obtaining his Bachelors in Management and Organizational Studies from the University of Western Ontario. Since joining the firm, Jason has worked in both the FIRE audit practice and the Indirect Tax Group. In 2010, while working in the Indirect Tax Group, Jason completed the CICA In-depth GST course. In 2011, Jason obtained his Chartered Accountancy (CA) designation.
In addition to his client commitments, Jason has been actively involved with KPMG GenNext. This is an initiative which encourages those in their 20s and 30s to become more actively involved in the United Way and the agencies it supports.
In his personal time Jason enjoys golf, snowboarding and travelling.
Leanne Bowden, CA
Tax Specialist, Enterprise
Toronto
lbowden@kpmg.ca
Leanne Bowden joined the KPMG team as a summer intern in 2007 with our London office and started full-time in September 2008 with our Waterloo office. Leanne worked in the Audit practice for Regions East, where she worked in a variety of industries including non-profit organizations, municipalities, and public technology companies. Leanne transferred to the Toronto office in Fall 2011 and joined the Enterprise Tax practice. Leanne graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2008 with an HBA from the Ivey School of Business.
Leanne has been actively involved in recruiting since joining KPMG as a summer intern and greatly involved with the UFE program. Leanne was the UFE Coordinator for the Waterloo Office for two years before joining the Toronto UFE team as the Tax UFE Coordinator. As a UFE Coordinator, she has mentored and coach several writers through the exam practice.
Outside of KPMG, Leanne enjoys traveling and being active. She was part of a team of Western graduates who started a charitable organization in fall of 2008 in an effort to continue their community involvement after joining the workforce full time.
Patrick Ferraro, CA
Senior Accountant, Audit
Toronto
pferraro@kpmg.ca
Patrick began his career with KPMG in 2009 after graduating from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. Joining the London, Ontario office, Patrick spent 2 years providing both Audit and Advisory services in a variety of industries including manufacturing, transportation, power generation, healthcare, utilities, and government. In the fall of 2011, Patrick transferred to the KPMG Toronto office and joined the Financial Institutions and Real Estate (FIRE) practice, working with domestic and international insurance and hedge fund clients.
Since starting at KPMG, Patrick has been involved in several community groups, including Track 3 Ski School of London and the Rocky Mountain YMCA of Calgary. His involvement also includes participating in campus recruiting functions, and teaching computer-aided auditing techniques to his colleagues. Since passing the UFE in December 2011, Patrick has been a UFE mentor, successfully guiding CA students through the qualification process.
Outside of work, Patrick enjoys following financial markets and emerging technologies in the IT and engineering market place. As an automotive and travel enthusiast, Patrick enjoys road trips and in the past 3 years has road tripped across Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa, and Canada’s Arctic. His other extra-curricular activities include downhill skiing, ice skating, and providing business consulting advice for his family business.
Rishi Jain
Staff Accountant, Financial Institutions and Real Estate
Toronto
rjain1@kpmg.ca
Rishi Jain joined the KPMG team as a summer intern in 2008, completed another internship in 2009 and started full-time in September 2010 with the Audit practice, where he worked for clients in the real estate and financial services industries. Rishi graduated from Western University in 2010 with an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business and a BSc in Health Sciences.
Since beginning his career at KPMG, Rishi has had the opportunity to work in KPMG’s Audit, Tax and Advisory practices, allowing him to explore the wide variety of groups that KPMG has to offer. Rishi recently completed the UFE exam process, where he received countless support from his colleagues, mentors and friends at the firm. Rishi then was able to take on a greater role in the UFE process through KPMG’s Study Buddy program, allowing him to mentor CA students through their CA exams as well as being a professional marker for the School of Accountancy.
Rishi is an active participant in KPMG’s community initiatives, and throughout his career has volunteered with charitable organizations including Free the Children, Junior Achievement, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Yonge Street Mission. Outside of work, Rishi enjoys traveling and cycling.
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.
Vancouver
Jaleh Afrooze
Talent Attraction Manager, GVA Campus Recruiting
Vancouver
jafrooze@kpmg.ca
Jaleh joined the KPMG Enterprise practice in September of 2008 as a full-time staff accountant. Throughout the past four years, Jaleh has worked with a variety of private and public business clients including those in the real estate, education, retail, investment industries, and not-for-profit organizations. Jaleh has also been greatly involved with campus recruiting in the last four years and she loved it so much that she decided to take on the GVA Campus Recruiting Manager role in June 2012.
Jaleh earned a bachelor of business administration with a concentration in accounting honours at Simon Fraser University in 2008 and a Master of Professional Accounting (MPAcc) from the University of Saskatchewan in 2010. She wrote the UFE in September 2010 where she earned a spot on the National Honour Roll. Jaleh believes that the key factor to her success on the UFE was the KPMG National UFE and mentorship program.
Jaleh has a passion for giving back and being involved in the community. She was able to pursue this passion by joining the KPMG Burnaby UFE Committee and GVA Mentorship Committee. She was also able to pursue her passion for the community and outdoor activities by completing a triathlon in benefit of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and cycling with the KPMG team for the Ride to Conquer Cancer in benefit of the BC Cancer Society.
Jaleh also enjoys travelling. She has visited over 25 countries and describes herself as an adventurous traveler. Her most adventurous and recent trip was trekking to the Everest Base Camp and a place she will definitely go back to is Greece.
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.