The Council of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA Ontario) has bestowed the highest honour in the accounting profession to Goodman School of Business Professor Barbara Sainty.

Sainty has been honoured with the title of Fellow and the FCPA designation to put behind her name, which formally recognizes her as an outstanding CPA member who has demonstrated excellence and brought honour to the professional body.

“It is a unique privilege for members of our profession to receive the FCPA distinction,” said Johanne Charbonneau, FCPA, FCGA, Chair of CPA Ontario’s Council. “Fellows are nominated and elected by their peers in recognition of their outstanding achievements, and this year’s exceptional cohort reflects the breadth and talent of our profession as well as the esteem with which they are held.”

Sainty is an associate professor of accounting who joined Brock’s Goodman School of Business in 1999 when the Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program was launched.

Since then, Sainty has taken on a number of administrative roles, including the Master of Accountancy Director, Department of Accounting Chair, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs and AACSB International and Interim Dean for the Goodman School of Business, and the Interim Vice President and Associate Vice President Finance for Brock University.

A qualified Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Sainty holds the legacy designations of Chartered Accountant (CA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and remains active as an accountant after articling at Ernst & Young LLP. Sainty has also served on the Board of Evaluators for the Uniform Final Exam (UFE) and on the Examinations Committee at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

When the three professional accounting bodies merged under CPA Ontario in 2013, Sainty became an agent for change by writing cases for new CPA teaching modules and propelling the accreditation process forward at Goodman, resulting in the Goodman School of Business being the first business school in Ontario to receive CPA accreditation to the master’s level under the new standards.

Sainty currently teaches accounting courses in Goodman’s Master of Accountancy (MAcc) and Master of Business Administration (MBA/CPA) programs.

A well-respected professor at Goodman, Prof. Sainty has taught many students and prepared them to be great accountants, offering career advice and referring them to job opportunities.

“The investment Dr. Sainty makes in the success of every student is apparent in her words of encouragement, ability to make time for each of us, even during her summer, and of course her expert teaching,” said Goodman School of Business graduate Allison McConnell (BAcc ’14, MAcc ’16).

“I am truly in awe of her intelligence but mainly her ability to make learning a difficult subject feel possible. I was very fortunate to learn from her.”

Sainty was honoured at a celebration November 17 along with 58 other recipients from Ontario.

“I’ve always been proud to be an accountant and to have professional designations,” said Sainty. “But now to have my peers recognize that as well, and to have the professional body say ‘you’ve done a really good job’, that’s a real honour and it does mean a lot. I’m very grateful.”