Photo: Contributed
Okanagan Edge and Kelowna Chamber of Commerce are partnering to showcase some of the region’s most exciting entrepreneurs through the “Top 40 Under 40” program.
Sponsored by BDO, the “Top 40 Under 40” recognizes high-achieving professionals in our community and showcases their accomplishments. This marks the eighth year the chamber has conducted a “Top 40” showcase. Honourees will be featured throughout the year on Okanagan Edge.
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Kyla Magee (nee Stewart) moved to Kelowna from Fort St. John immediately after high school to attend university.
She made it her mission to build a network, life, career and family in the Okanagan Valley. It was a lofty goal; nevertheless, 12 years later she has done just that. She has an incredible network of friends and acquaintances, participates in a variety of recreational sports, and has built her family life here.
Nationally, she is one of the youngest female partners with MNP and is proud to have a career that she loves. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, she knew early on that she was interested in understanding how different businesses worked and feeling the energy and passion that many small business owners radiate. Her work with MNP allows her to gain insight into a variety of industries, business owner mindsets and boardrooms that energize and challenge her daily. She works with numerous non-profit organizations as their auditor and advisor, supporting them in fulfilling their compliance obligations and thinking strategically about the direction of their organization.
While studying, she was able to build foundational leadership skills through working with the Management Student Association at UBC Okanagan’s campus, co-ordinating academic clubs and competitions for other students. Subsequent to that experience, she was invited to present on project management at the Canadian Association of Business Students’ Western Canadian Leadership Retreat in 2016.
Since joining MNP, she has championed numerous initiatives, including software implementation, team engagement, learning and development, and operational efficiency process improvements. On top of these roles, she has taken a key role in MNP’s performance coaching and mentoring, including supporting more than 25 local CPA candidates in their achievement of the Common Final Exam, which produced two honour role candidates, and mentoring more than 10 young professionals as they grow their career in the Okanagan. As a partner with the firm, she is entrusted on a regular basis to help make challenging decisions, facilitate difficult discussions, inspire others towards accomplishing a common goal for our firm and advise her clients in navigating their strategic and operational goals.
As a young professional, she has immense privilege and outstanding opportunities afforded to her by her career in accounting. She is passionate about creating the same experience for those professionals who will follow. She has been involved at the UBC Okanagan campus in mentoring and coaching students in their case competition skills and competing in the JDC West business case competition. She also was a vocal advocate for changes in the bachelor of management program to ensure that students were able to complete their required courses at UBC Okanagan’s campus, allowing them to become future CPAs and leaders in the community without needing to study in other communities. She has continued this involvement in the profession by teaching courses nationally to help students prepare for and succeed on the Common Final Exam, working with and leading the CPABC’s Okanagan chapter for almost six years and, more recently, sitting on the CPABC’s membership committee, supporting the board of directors in regulating their membership.
In 2013, she earned her bachelor of management, with honours, from UBC Okanagan. Her academic achievements during this time include an invitation to the Golden Key International Honour Society and a degree with honours. She continued on to complete her master’s in professional accounting at the University of Saskatchewan. Concurrently, she completed her practical experience with MNP and successfully wrote the Common Final Exam in 2015, resulting in receiving her chartered professional designation in 2016.
During her studies, she competed in JDC West, where she and her team finished in second place. In 2015, she was selected to speak on behalf of the graduating class for the Masters of Professional Accounting, representing some of the top graduate-level accounting students across Western Canada. While not awarded, she has been nominated for CPABC’s Early Achievement Award, which is a very prestigious award in the CPA profession.
This past year was a milestone year, as she celebrated her 30th birthday and within the same month was invited to join the partnership at MNP.
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