Smythe Announces the Promotion of 14 Managers

VANCOUVER, BC, August 24, 2023 – Smythe LLP is very pleased to announce the promotion of the following team members, effective September 1, 2023. 

Alanna Mann, CPA, Senior Manager – Assurance, joined Smythe Nanaimo in 2015. She is primarily focused on providing assurance, accounting and tax services to clients in the retail, construction, and logging industries. In addition, she works with the Smythe Advisory team on business valuations. 

Edwina Cai, CPA, Senior Manager – Assurance, joined Smythe in 2015. Edwina’s primary focus is on providing accounting, assurance and tax advisory services to non-profit organizations and private companies in various industries, including charitable giving, agriculture, hospitality, and unions and benefit plans. 

Emily McCune, CPA, Senior Manager – Assurance, joined Smythe in 2016 and specializes in providing accounting, assurance and advisory services to public and private companies across various industries, including technology and retail sectors. She is also active in staff development and providing in-house training programs to staff. 

Erniza Ong, Senior Manager – Cross Border Tax, is primarily focused on personal Canadian and US taxation services, specializing in providing cross-border income tax planning and compliance to US citizens and residents living or working in Canada, as well as individuals who are moving to or working in the US. Erniza joined Smythe in 2016. 

Kay Lac, CPA, Senior Manager – Assurance, focuses on providing accounting, assurance and advisory services to privately owned companies in the real estate and construction industry, among others. Within the Firm, Kay is active in campus recruitment, staff development, providing in-house training to staff and is a member of the Real Estate & Construction industry group. She joined Smythe in 2016. 

Samantha Luo, CPA, Senior Manager – Canadian Tax, joined Smythe in 2018. She assists clients with a wide range of income taxation matters including personal and corporate income tax compliance and planning, corporate reorganizations, Canadian and cross-border corporate tax issues and dealing with taxation authorities. She is also an active member of the Real Estate & Construction industry group. 

Shannon Beers, CPA, Senior Manager – Assurance, joined Smythe in 2015 and obtained her CPA designation in 2018. At Smythe, Shannon is primarily focused on providing accounting, assurance and advisory services to non-profit organizations and private companies in a variety of industries. 

Amy Orr, CPA, Manager – Assurance, joined Smythe in 2018. At Smythe, she works mainly with privately held companies in Nanaimo, as well as non-profit organizations, on a number of assurance engagements and tax compliance matters. Amy is also actively involved in mentoring CPA PEP students and in recruitment. 

Christine Montemayor, Manager – Cross Border Tax, has been with Smythe since 2019. As part of the Firm’s US and Cross-Border Tax team, Christine’s clients are primarily individuals who live on both sides of the US–Canada border, including American citizens living in Canada and migrants from both countries. She is also involved in tax filings under the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures for delinquent U.S. taxpayers. 

Hang Nguyen, CPA, Manager – Assurance, joined Smythe in 2019 and focuses on small private and owner-managed businesses in a range of industries, including forestry, photography, legal and real estate and construction. She provides these clients assurance and tax compliance services. She also plays an active role in training new hires and in mentorship of junior staff.  

Helene Vergara, Manager – Cross Border Tax, joined Smythe’s US and Cross-Border Tax team in 2018. Within that practice, she works primarily with individuals residing in or immigrating on both sides of the US–Canada border, helping them with income tax planning and compliance. She is also involved with Canadian and US trusts and estate tax planning and compliance. 

Karan Chohan, CPA, Manager – Assurance, has been with Smythe since 2019 and works primarily with public companies, providing audit services. His public company clients are mainly in the mining and retail industries, though he also provides audit services to private companies in the technology, real estate and pension industries. He is heavily involved with Smythe’s Quality Control group. 

Kevin He, CPA, Manager – Assurance, joined Smythe in 2021 as a member of the Firm’s private company assurance group. He mainly works with private companies, with a focus on technology, and real estate and construction industry clients. He plays an active role in CPA student mentoring and in helping junior staff with their career goals and professional development. 

Manisha Rai, Manager – Assurance, joined Smythe in 2019 and provides accounting, assurance and tax compliance services to privately owned companies, across a range of industries that includes property and casualty insurance, real estate and construction, and private enterprises. She also plays an active role in student recruitment and in leading Smythe’s CFE preparation program. 

Coline Thomas, People & Culture Generalist – P&C, joined Smythe in 2023. She supports HR activities around employee engagement and performance management, in addition to onboarding and offboarding employees. Prior to this, she worked in France and Denmark at a variety of companies in the non-profit and aeronautic sectors. 

“On behalf of the Partnership, I would like to thank all these individuals for their hard work and for consistently demonstrating dedication to their expertise and a commitment to our collective goals,” said Maggie Puhacz, People and Culture Partner at Smythe. “We are proud of their achievements and are looking forward to seeing what more they accomplish in the future. Please join us in congratulating them on these significant career advancements.” 

About Smythe

Smythe LLP is a leading professional services firm with offices in Vancouver, Langley and Nanaimo. Since 1980, Smythe has assisted clients in BC, Canada and across the border with their accounting, assurance, taxation, insolvency and advisory needs. Smythe’s clients include private, public, family-owned and non-profit organizations across a wide range of industries. Smythe is also a member of Allinial Global, one of the largest international accounting networks. 

The firm’s diverse team comprises over 200 individuals in both professional and support roles, all of whom work together to achieve our mission of building meaningful connections, providing expertise and delivering enduring value to our clients.