Education/Qualifications: University of Waterloo, HBA Management Accountancy Studies – Co-operative Program; CMA designation
My first job and life before CMA Ontario: My first job came when I was 14 years old – I worked for Music World at Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener. It was the first job I got through networking. I got to know my best friend’s sister who was the manager of the local Music World (think HMV) and she offered me the job. In addition to learning more about music, I developed my customer service skills and worked with inventory and sales transactions.
After that, I never stopped working! In my life as a high-school and university student, I worked in fast-food, a family restaurant and in the banquet dept. of one of the big hotels in town. Working in customer service & hospitality with people who come from various cultural and demographic backgrounds was a great education in real life.
For my co-op terms while at UWaterloo, I first worked at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection to support marketing and accounting activity. My “big break” came in my second work term as an Internal Auditor for Hudson’s Bay Company. It was so successful that they invited me back for the next Jan – Apr winter term. After HBC came IOL (Imperial Oil Limited) in the fall semester of my 4th year. In addition to completing a major controls analysis project and providing numerous recommendations to improve their systems and processes, I also immersed myself into their corporate culture by singing with the choir and volunteering for the United Way campaign. For my last work term, I worked at Manulife in Waterloo. As a result of many successful co-op terms and really good grades, I had 3 great job offers for a full-time position before I even wrote my first final exam. After some thoughtful research, I chose IOL.
Thanks to the fact that I became a CMA and was continually developing my strategic and financial management skills, I progressed through 8 different positions in 6 different business units during my 10 years at IOL. I held roles that involved work ranging from product costing, capital budgeting and process improvement to financial reporting & analysis, business reorganizations and major systems implementations. During my final year in Calgary, where the company relocated their downstream operations, I was even the Treasurer of the Calgary Social Club. It was a great run with a fantastic company and I am truly thankful to have had the opportunity to enjoy challenging work with such great people. With family calling me back to Toronto, the IOL chapter closed and the CMA Ontario chapter began.
Where I am today: Today I am a Regional Director of Marketing & Communications for CMA Ontario supporting GTA Universities, including: Ryerson, University of Guelph-Humber and all 3 U of T Campuses – St. George, Mississauga and Scarborough. My role involves educating students about the tremendous value of the CMA professional designation and helping them to understand the path to become a CMA. I often deliver presentations (including helpful workshops/seminars), attend special events and communicate through email, phone and various websites / publications. I manage my budget and all activities in my region to maximize exposure for CMA Ontario while supporting students in their journey to become strategic financial management professionals who can create value in any part of an organization within any industry segment of their choice!
I joined CMA Ontario one year after leaving IOL since I took a year off to travel, see family, and do plenty of volunteering for CMA. Actually, it was thanks to much of my volunteer efforts that I was invited to join CMAO in a full-time capacity. Over the past 3 years, I have thoroughly enjoyed making a difference in the lives of budding business professionals…even those students who haven’t decided that CMA is right for them. At the end of the day, my goal is to help people better understand the powerful combination of accounting, management and strategy that CMAs bring to the table. I also want them to know how our CMA Strategic Leadership Program can give them an amazing competitive advantage in the workplace through the disciplined development of not only their technical skills, but of the skills that employers have identified as critical for success and advancement in today’s world – great communication, teamwork, leadership, decision-making and problem-solving skills!
In my spare time: I love to watch documentaries and read books that help me better understand and appreciate people and the world. I am a huge supporter of diversity and have always been very open to learning new things. I also try to spend time with my husband and family (who are all relatively new to Canada) … we go for walks and I’m their language teacher and cultural coach. It may sound odd, but I also work in my spare time. I know how powerful the CMA designation can be in supporting people in a successful life, so I often volunteer at CMA special events and respond to emails during evenings and weekends. Ultimately, my personal mission (which is to help people maximize their potential), is so nicely integrated with my work that my spare time ends up looking like work…but I’m really volunteering. I can only hope you find that great fit in your career one day!
Interesting fact: In my younger days, I was a competitive athlete for nine different sports (varsity teams in school and some city / work leagues). I ran track & cross-country and played basketball, volleyball (hard-court and beach), tennis, badminton, softball, field-hockey and golf. Badminton was my real glory sport …I won several badminton singles tournaments and even claimed the WCSSAA (Waterloo County Secondary School Athletic Association) Ladies Singles title in my final year of high school. On another note (pun intended), I also love musical theatre and always dreamed of being in a school play … but playing and coaching sports got in the way. I love all performance based shows that deal with singing and dancing…and you may just catch me ‘mid-song’ if you sneak-up on me!
Mira Sirotic can be reached at msirotic@cmaontario.org
You can also call her at 416-482-5556.
