Manager Income Tax Division (Psychology, BA)

Elena Georgiou, Canada Revenue Agency

By: Mazia Munir, Outreach & Support Peer

Elena Georgiou’s career beautifully illustrates that your degree does not define your path and that there are always steps you can take to foster new career directions. Following the completion of her psychology degree at Laurier, Elena applied to teachers’ college but found herself facing rejection during a competitive application year. Eager to regroup and get her foot in the door at an organization, Elena secured an administrative position at Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) where she began to foster an interest in their accounting and audit division. Committed as she was, Elena went back to school to complete the core requirements to obtain her Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation.

Elena began her accounting career as a corporate auditor. Some of her responsibilities included setting up appointments with corporations to understand the nature of the business, its cycles, review their financial statements, conduct tours of the premises, review the adequacy of books and records, and then prepare a coherent and relevant report. If you are someone who likes gathering information, looking at detail, evaluating evidence and establishing professional opinion on financial data, then corporate auditing may just be for you!

Following her auditing role, Elena became a team leader overseeing 8-10 auditors where she was then promoted to a management role overseeing the entire income tax division. As manager, Elena engages in management strategy as well as workforce training and development planning. There is a lot of coaching involved, learning circles, and overall support for employees as they transition into new positions. A typical day would include several meetings, job coaching and recruitment. Elena enjoys being in a position that makes a true impact on employees and watching her staff progress throughout the years.

To be a successful manager, Elena noted the importance of communicating with empathy and trust. As a manager you must deal with a lot of sensitive circumstances such as working with employees on probation and coaching them to get up to speed in the expectations of their role. Leadership roles like Elena’s also involves ensuring you are providing proper accommodation for employees, whether it be disability, emergencies or parental leaves to name a few.

Elena encourages students to take advantage of Laurier’s co-op program or find summer or part-time positions and volunteering outside of school that will allow you to gain hands-on experience in fields you may want to pursue. Sometimes a career goal may feel monumental, such as the case of Elena achieving her CPA coming from a non-business undergraduate background. However, breaking down your steps in small ways, being willing and open to try new things and little perseverance will help you navigate any goal.

Elena’s journey from a psychology degree to a leader in accounting is proof that careers do not always follow a straight line to success. By paying attention to your interests (even if those interests are seemingly outside the scope of your degree) and truly dedicating the time to learn about career options, will help you go a long way!