Published in: The Red Deer Advocate
Date: January 4, 2008
By: Harley Richards, Advocate business editor
Cindy Risling's job has become progressively easier over the past three years.
Human resources manager with accounting firm Collins Barrow in Red Deer, one of Risling's responsibilities is recruiting students to article there. And that can be a challenge when competing with her counterparts from other firms across Alberta and beyond.
Risling's sales pitch has been strengthened by the performance of Collins Barrow students in national exams in recent years. The local firm - which has 22 chartered accountants and certified general accountants, and 26 other people working toward their professional designations - has had five students rank among the country's best since 2005.
In 2005, Daryl Newman and Scott Mills were named to the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants' National Honour Roll when their scores on the institute's uniform final exam were among the 52 best in the country.
They were also placed on the Dzurko Honour Roll with 12 other Alberta students.
The following year, Leanne Edeen's performance on the exam placed her with 59 others on the National Honour Roll and with 10 others on the Dzurko Honour Roll. And last year, Rhiannon Rowledge was one of 52 students on the National Honour Roll and 12 on the Dzurko Honour Roll.
Meanwhile, Delanie Chambers' score on the 2005 professional and comprehensive exam for CGA students was among the top 10 in Alberta.
Risling thinks the strong performances by Collins Barrow students reflect the training they receive. Specifically, she said, students meet with a partner and manager when commencing work on each file and receive ongoing feedback.
"It helps them understand the big picture so much sooner, and so much better."
Whatever the reason for the success of Collins Barrow students on their exams, Risling said it helps her considerably when she speaks to university students from Alberta and Saskatchewan.
"It helps us get the top students."
Contact Harley Richards at hrichards@reddeeradvocate.com.