CEES Student Blog Submissions: Blog Submissions

Co-Op - A Glimpse of the Practical Work-Life - Sneha Chheda

Why Canada? It’s a question I am being asked often, being from a big city like Mumbai it amazes everyone I meet, why would I choose a region like Kootenays. The reason is simple, the calmness and the peace this region brings with itself, although I must say this is not the first thing one would notice when they try to learn about the Kootenays, the first impression is the mountains, the nature, the views and coming from a place surrounding by concrete towers, this place seemed like the perfect answer and place to start a new innings in life. Then the research and practicality of moving worlds happened, and I landed at Selkirk College to pursue Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting, as a stepping stone to my big CPA dreams.

I, Sneha Chheda, hail from India, and have pursued a Bachelor of Commerce, along with a Masters in Advanced Accounting. I have a strong work experience in the field of Accounting and Taxation in India and hence the PGDA seemed like a viable option to begin my journey in Canada.

After successfully finishing three semesters in the course at Selkirk, I landed a Co-op with one of the prominent accounting firms in Canada, Grant Thornton LLP, as their Winter Accounting Co-op. I work for the firm’s Nelson location and it is also one the leading firms around the Kootenays, operating in various location in Kootenays namely Castlegar, Trail etc. Grant Thornton has also been recognized as the best workplace across Canada for 14 consecutive time.

At GT as we call in our day-to-day life, I almost enjoyed most of my short span from January 2021, the people I work with are so welcoming and helpful, I never felt I was new. This post gave me opportunity to learn the practical aspects of the job of an Accountant, the expectations and the level of expertise required to do the job well for the client.

The general sensitivity around the finances amongst people, diminishes or minimizes the room for error or irresponsibility around the kind of information we receive and use as Accountants. I work for the Assurance services, which requires me to prepare and file tax returns for individuals, corporations, trusts, not for profit organizations etc. along-side working on audits for certain entities.

My previous work experience had enabled me to understand the basics of the job of an Accountant, but here at this Co-op, I had the opportunity to learn firsthand how the things work in Canada. The courses I took at Selkirk helped me understand the concepts and the co-op helped me live through those concepts and practically deal with actual real-life scenarios, making me more prepared for the future.

The job requires one to know the basis of accounting, taxation, and an understanding of the underlying principles of accounting, taxation, and finance. After joining GT, the skills that I got to learn were the use of the application software used to prepare and file the tax returns, the methodology and process to approach a client file depending upon the incorporation status of the entities and the different requirements to fulfill depending on the form of the organization. Along with these field specific skills one must also possess some good written and oral communication skills, as the position requires a constant interaction with colleagues and clients since it’s a learning phase and what better than interacting and learning from the people who have had tons of experience and knowledge, so yes communication is a must. The co-op helped me developed my soft skills to a great extent specially, ‘the always there to help’ nature of my colleagues helped me open up and ask stupidest of questions and get answers for them from always smiling faces.

I have a future goal of pursuing the CPA designation and this placement is just the right thing in that direction, the experience I am gaining from here & the courses at Selkirk will be paramount in my journey to getting the designation. If I get to take another shot as to how I got this placement I would not change a thing from what I did, because I believe this was the right time for me to land this Co-op, as I was mentally and otherwise prepared for it. This opportunity gave me a perspective as what my future goal would look like because before this it was all a blurry path. Some advice I would like to give my fellow friend students and the students would become a part of Selkirk in the future, is that if you see an opportunity in front of yourself in school or life, do grab it with both arms. Even if you think you are not good enough or prepared for it, just take that leap of faith it might do wonders for you and if you don’t get success, you might end up gaining an experience with the failed attempt. I applied for job opportunities at Grant Thornton three times before I got in, in my fourth try, but I always knew it was worth the try and so never gave up!

Selkirk as a school has taught an international student like me something much more than just the courses, the instructors are so approachable, humble, and patient with us despite the differences in the cultures, they really encourage and inspire me to be grounded. I have shared such similar experience in my interactions with the staff at CEES, my fellow mates at the Selkirk College Student’s Union, in my time with the Learning Center as a peer tutor and everywhere I got to be involved in the activities of the college. The experience here for the batch of 2020 has been a little novel, but the way the college & everyone associated stood by and supported each other will stay with me forever, that was my takeaway of 2020 – being there for one and all.

Grant Thornton also is a very gratifying experience, especially the team I work with (that’s the whole office practically