From CAF to CPA: CFE winner’s cool career path
A total of 1,403 candidates passed the May 2024 Common Final Examination (CFE), a rigorous three-day test.
Of this group, one person rose to the top of the national honour roll: Jonathan Déragon (Alouette, Quebec), from the Canadian Armed Forces in Ottawa, who won the prestigious Governor General’s Gold Medal (and a CPA Canada cash prize of $5,000).
In addition, the following individuals received the CPA Canada Regional Gold Medal (and a cash prize of $2,500) for achieving the highest standing:
- Atlantic Canada: Sarah MacKenzie Brining, Emera, Halifax, N.S.
- Ontario: Nicole Cullen, Sun Life, Toronto
- Western Canada: Emily Margaret Peters, Oak Bay Marine Group, Victoria
Jonathan Déragon was at work, in the middle of an inventory, when he heard the news. “I hadn’t even had time to look at the results when I got a call from the Order telling me not only that I’d passed, but that I had the top mark in Canada,” he recalls. “I was speechless. Happy, of course, but also surprised and proud, I have to say.”
Distance Learning
Unlike other gold medallists of recent years, who took a graduate university program, Déragon took CPA Canada’s Professional Education Program (PEP), known as the “Programme national” by the Ordre des CPA du Québec.
The CPA PEP is a distance learning program that allows candidates to study at their own pace and spread their CFE preparation over a period of 12 to 24 months. It comprises six modules, each lasting eight weeks. Each candidate is supported by CPA facilitators who act as coaches for the cohort.
“The program is intense,” explains Déragon. “There are assignments to hand in each week. It requires a lot of discipline, autonomy and motivation, but the training is very well structured and you benefit from the support of the facilitators who give you feedback and respond quickly to your questions.”
Studying in French
Although comfortable in English, Déragon is pleased that he had access to resources in French to complete the CPA PEP, and acknowledges that he might have chosen a different path—and been less successful—if he’d had to prepare in English.
“Not everyone has the same level of English, so it’s crucial that CPA Canada’s CFE preparation material is also available in French, otherwise it could penalize highly competent people who want to join the profession.”
Preparation
The flexibility of the CPA PEP allowed Déragon to work full time up to two weeks before the exam. “It was demanding. Every week, I drew up a study plan of concepts to cover and assignments to hand in, and I stuck to it. I studied evenings and weekends. I worked hard, but I was ready: you prepare so much that when the time comes, you’re ready for anything.”
The program also made the young CPA realize that being a perfectionist didn’t always serve him well. “At first, I tried to be exhaustive in my answers, but there wasn’t enough time. I learned to focus on the essentials and came to realize that perfect is sometimes the enemy of good.”
“The CPA PEP also enabled me to take a one-year break after completing the first four modules. I’d just finished a 24-month internship with an accounting firm called FBL in Drummondville and was craving a change. Going back to school was quite difficult, but my perseverance paid off.”
Choosing a career path
If Déragon was seeking a change, that’s what he got. Since April 2023, he has been working in the Canadian Armed Forces as a logistics officer, specializing in finance. “After completing a bachelor’s degree in accounting at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, an internship in an accounting firm was an obvious choice, but ever since I was a child, I’d dreamed of joining the Canadian Armed Forces. When the opportunity arose, I jumped at it. I’m at the beginning of my career and I didn't want to have any regrets.”
Although he is still in the process of taking the mandatory training courses and acquiring as much knowledge of the organization as possible, Déragon knows that his CPA designation will open doors for him, as “the Forces is an environment where, every three or four years, you can be called upon to change positions, and for some of these positions, the CPA designation is recommended. In fact, the Forces encourages its finance officers to take the training to become a CPA.”
Could this be a model for others to follow? In Déragon’s own words, the CPA PEP was a great experience: “For me, this was the best path. In terms of flexibility, it was purely beneficial. I was able to continue working full time and complete the modules. If I had to do it all over again, I’d do exactly the same thing.”