Written by: Chidimma Eghagha CPA, CGA, MBA
December 27, 2018
2018 could rightly be called the year of “firsts” for the Black Female Accountants Network (BFAN). In the words of Ralph Emerson, we blazed trails with many defining moments that propelled our network towards growth, visibility and increased member engagement.
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson
2018 Events and Accomplishments:
Network Growth
- Membership – 800+ members
- New leadership team structure
- Communications and Social Media
- Event Planning
- Interactive Career Advice and Networking (ICAAN)
- Job Search
- Membership
- Professional Development
- TRIEC PINs
- Group mentoring partnership with JVS Toronto
- Volunteers – 2018 witnessed a significant increase in the number of ladies contributing to our network
Some of our 2018 volunteers receiving appreciation certificates
Job Search
- On-Site training sessions:
- LinkedIn Profile Workshop
- Article Writing Workshop
- Resume clinics
- Deloitte Impact Day
Professional Development
- Second Annual Tax Update
CPA Ontario
- Public speaking engagements by invitation from CPA Ontario
- Participation in various CPA Ontario events (e.g. PEP Board Report Panels)
TRIEC PINs
- Invited to be a Guest speaker at the Canadian Association of Marketing Professionals event
- Invited to participate on the Career Strategies Panel Session at the Mississauga Canadian Immigrant Fair
Interactive Career Advice and Networking – Undergraduate Members (ICAAN)
- Case Competition Judges at STRIVE conference 2018 – University of Toronto Scarborough Campus
- University visits at Wilfred Laurier University and Ryerson University
Event Planning
- Women in Leadership Summit
- Christmas Social
Network Relationships
- Corporate Sponsorship
- RYAN ULC – venue sponsorship
- TD Bank – strategic recruitment partner
- MNP LLP – venue sponsor for the 2018 Tax Update
- Social Media Presence – marked increase in followers and connections across all our platforms
Members of the communications team being recognized for their contribution to our network
2018 Recap:
During 2018 we celebrated milestones achieved, victories won, and growth realized.
“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together”
– James Cash Penney
January 2018:
Our network was awarded Meeting and Event Venue Sponsorship in 2018 from Ryan ULC. Ryan ULC is a leading global tax services firm. Focused on overall tax performance, the firm provides clients with innovative solutions to identified errors, creates opportunities to improve efficiency and develop a more strategic approach to tax. For more details on RYAN ULC, click here.
February 2018:
The February meeting set the tone for 2018 and covered several themes.
Introduction to TD Bank
Aman Dhesi – Diversity Talent Inclusion Partner – Visible Minorities, TD Bank shared with the network TD Bank’s vision and commitment to diversity and inclusion. He announced that in pursuance of this mandate, the Bank would be hosting a career fair with the network. For more details on this, click here.
First ICAAN Event of the year
BFAN members – Diane Williams-Tyrrell and Chinazom Chidolue had the opportunity to share their professional experience with the Afro-Caribbean students at Ryerson University. They also encouraged those who had a desire to pursue a career in accounting. The response from the students was encouraging with many showing interest in the profession and the network. For more details of the event, click here.
Second Annual Tax Update
In-House Tax expert – Shavon Hyatt CPA, CA led the network in a Professional Development session on the 2018 Tax updates. The meeting was graciously hosted again by MNP – one of the network’s Corporate Sponsors. For more details on the event, click here.
Resume Clinic
The February meeting also featured a Resume Clinic, providing recent graduates and job seekers the opportunity to receive valuable feedback on their resume from Finance leaders and hiring managers.
“After the session, I implemented the feedback received and uploaded my new resume.
For the first time, my profile received 50 views within a week” – Abie Davies
March 2018
TD Bank Career and Networking Event
Kelvin Vi Luan Tran, Senior Vice President and Chief Auditor at TD Bank led a multi-disciplinary team including Associate Vice President, Senior and Group Audit management, Talent Acquisition and Human Resources to present at the March meeting. This meeting included an inspiring keynote presentation by Mr. Tran, followed by an insightful TD Bank group panel session. The panel provided several members a “never experienced before” opportunity for direct dialogue with executives from one of Canada’s leading financial institutions and to seek advice on how to re-launch a finance career in Canada and how to tackle the “Canadian experience” question.
For more details on the event, click here.
“The March Meeting was my first BFAN meeting. The network provided the platform for me to land my dream job at TD Bank as a Senior Internal Auditor, within two months of joining the network!” – Peace Abraham Ajayi
For more details on her story, click here.
May 2018
LinkedIn Profile Presentation
Hugh Anthony Simmonds PhD, led a presentation on building a LinkedIn Profile that would stand out. It was a great, engaging learning experience. To read more about the event, click here.
“Today’s session was awesome! Learned so much from Hugh Anthony about ensuring that my LinkedIn profile is optimized” – Shavon Hyatt
June 2018
Article Writing Workshop
The June meeting featured an article writing workshop facilitated by the Communications team lead – Chidimma Eghagha CPA, CGA supported by other members of the communications team – Diane Williams-Tyrrell CPA, CGA and Amara Itua-Ojefua.
The workshop was organized to show members how to leverage article writing to boost their professional and career development. The goal of the workshop was to:
- Help job seekers connect with industry contacts, employers, recruiters
- Assist established professionals seeking to position themselves as a thought leader in their field of expertise
“Attending this workshop helped me overcome my fear of writing and I wrote my very first article ever!” – Dayo Oni
September 2018
Group Mentoring and Deloitte Impact Day
In September, two major events were organized to assist some of our members who are newcomer professionals
- Group mentoring with JVS Toronto. A training session led by a team from JVS, accompanied by a representative of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) was organized for the executive level members of our network, who volunteered to serve as group mentors. This provided them with the resources, tools and information needed to provide strong support for the growing membership of both local and newcomer professionals.
- Deloitte Impact Day. Our network was invited by Deloitte to participate in a session for newcomer professionals looking to launch a career in consulting. Partners from Deloitte worked with the attendees to review their resume, rehearse their elevator speech and conduct mock interview sessions.
“Attending this session put me at par with other job seekers who understand the expectations of the highly competitive labour market.” – Oladayo Oni
The feedback I got from this session helped build my confidence in my job application process”– Chinyere Amaechina
Strive Conference 2018
Our network participated in the UTSC STRIVE Conference 2018. Members Diane Williams-Tyrrell, CPA, CGA, Juliette Henry, CPA , Mora Olubobokun CPA,CGA, ACCA, Whitney Okeke, CPA CMA were invited by Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA Ontario) to participate as Judges and Jenny Okonkwo MBA FCMA(UK) FPA, CGMA CPA, CMA, delivered the Keynote presentation to over 200 students at Toronto Region Board of Trade, where the conference was taking place. Click here for more details.
October 2018
Women in Leadership Summit
The full-day Women in Leadership Summit #WILS2018 was a major milestone for our network in 2018. Turnout and participation for the event was phenomenal, with seating capacity fully booked plus a waitlist, the room stayed fully engaged and connected all day. It was indeed a day of connecting leaders and empowering each other.
The day featured two key note speeches centered on the importance of being a role model within your profession, workplace, community and beyond. There were two interactive panel discussions focused on
- the power and importance of professional networks in career advancement and
- tips and techniques to take your finance and accounting career to the next level.
To read member testimonials shared at the summit, click here.
The day also marked the beginning of a new chapter in our network’s life cycle as the Founder, Jenny Okonkwo, announced the appointment of Mora Olubobokun as the incoming President. The announcement was received with great applause as it was a clear real-life demonstration of our network’s vision, mission and core values.
December 2018
Second BFAN Christmas Social
What better way to round up such an eventful year than spending time with family and friends? The Christmas social gave members the opportunity to get to know each other better and meet family members who have also supported the network. There was lots of food, games, music and dancing. To learn more, click here.
It’s been an amazing year and 2019 promises to be even much more. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to volunteer or participate, contributing your unique set of talents, skills and expertise to help us make an even greater impact next year, through the much needed and meaningful work we are doing.
Join an amazing tribe of women empowering other women!!
Join us by becoming a member today!
Black Female Accountants Network (BFAN) is a Christian sisterhood that aims to connect as many women as possible, expanding their professional networks and empowering each other. We are in the business of building and developing leaders, making a difference by transforming professional lives, one member at a time.
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