School of Accounting and Finance Alumni

School of Accounting and Finance Fellowship Honourees

Jerry Whelan, BMath, FCA, CISA

Jerry Whelan graduated from UW with a Bachelor of Mathematics (Honours Computer Science) degree in 1976. In 1978, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. In 1986, Jerry attained the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) designation, receiving a “Superlative Achievement” award for achieving the fourth highest mark in the world in the 1986 qualifying examination. In 2000, he was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

Jerry joined Price Waterhouse in Toronto as a CA student in 1976. He was appointed Toronto Office EDP Audit Coordinator in 1978 and National EDP Audit Coordinator in 1981. In 1983, Jerry transferred to Price Waterhouse’s New York office for two years. He was admitted to the Price Waterhouse partnership in 1986, becoming the youngest partner ever admitted in Canada. On admission, he was appointed the partner in charge of the National Auditing Methods function, and represented the Canadian firm on the PW World Firm Audit Methods Committee. Between 1988 and 1990 he led the Canadian implementation of PW’s new global audit methodology. In 1988/89, he served as an expert accounting witness in a major Canadian arbitration case. Following the merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers and Lybrand, he was appointed the leader of PWC Canada’s Banking and Capital Markets industry practice. Jerry is a frequent speaker and occasional author on the subject of financial accounting and reporting.

Along with his many accomplishments, Jerry has lengthy service to the CA and public accounting professions. Currently, he serves as President of the Public Accountants Council for the Province of Ontario. Since 1986, he has served the University of Waterloo in several roles – Executive and President of the Accounting Alumni Association and fundraiser for the National Alumni Council. Jerry also serves at Armour Heights Presbyterian Church in Toronto as Elder and Treasurer.

Jerry and his wife Pamela have three children. His hobbies include working outdoors at the cottage, hiking, golf, squash, badminton, piano, cooking, and stamp collecting.

2003 Fellow: Gigi Tat