Expectations around data continue to increase at an exponential pace. Gaining the right skills to navigate complexity to make timely and informed decisions is vital for every business leader, particularly CPAs.
Simply being fluent in the language of data isn't enough. The true power of data comes from being able to turn insights into transformative decision making. When leveraged effectively, these insights provide elevated competitive advantage and stronger strategic direction.
This partnership between the University of Waterloo and Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA Ontario) gives participants the tools necessary to harness the power of data and build intelligent data-driven strategies. Position yourself for the future and gain confidence to lead with data with this new digital certificate.
This certificate is designed for those who lead (or aspire to lead) individuals or teams than benefit or could benefit from the application of the predictive analytics.
After completing this certificate, you will be able to have a deeper understanding of predictive analytics and will be able to plan, and oversee the use of predictive analytics in your organization.
- Identify applications and limitations of predictive analytics.
- Organize activities and resources required to complete a data analytics project using the industry standard process for data mining (CRISP-DM).
- Translate a business problem/question into a predictive analytics project description.
- Compare the insights from and reliability of different forecasting models developed to answer the business question.
- Evaluate the predictive accuracy of forecasting models.
This six-week course includes 20 hours of learning and participants will be expected to start the self-paced module on their own and come prepared to the instructor-led sessions.
Expect live and interactive instructor-led sessions, group project work, peer review groups with feedback, presentation opportunities, debrief sessions and self-paced learning activities.
Receive a certificate from the University of Waterloo
Upon successful completion of this program, you will receive a professional education certificate from the University of Waterloo.
Nancy Vanden Bosch, CPA, CA, CMA
Stan Laiken Teaching Fellow, School of Accounting and Finance | Course Author
Nancy Vanden Bosch is the Stan Laiken Teaching Fellow at the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF). She is also Associate Director, Education for the joint SAF-CPA Ontario Centre for Performance Management Research and Education. Nancy has a B.A. and MAcc from the University of Waterloo.
Prior to returning to Waterloo as a faculty member, she spent 15 years with Deloitte Consulting, the last five of those years as a partner in the firm’s Finance and Performance consulting practice.
Theo Stratopoulos
Associate Professor, School of Accounting and Finance | Course Author and Instructor
Theo is the PwC Chair and Associate Professor at SAF. His teaching and research focus is on data analytics and emerging technologies. His research has been published in The Accounting Review, JMIS, Communications of the ACM, Journal of Information Systems, Information & Management, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, IJAIS, and Accounting Horizons.
Prof. Stratopoulos has authored numerous articles and open-source texts on data analytics and blockchain (see SSRN). He is a member of the CPA Canada - Audit Data Analytics committee and senior editor for the Journal of information Systems.
Will Xiang, CPA, CA, CITP, CAMS
Adjunct Professor, School of Accounting and Finance | Course Instructor
Will Xiang brings over 13 years of consulting experience gained through working in San Francisco, New York, and Toronto. Will has provided clients in the Americas, Europe, and AsiaPac with cybersecurity, data analytics, privacy security, and process optimization advisory services. Most recently, Xiang has worked for a multinational manufacturer in building predictive analytics around the risk management program.
Outside of work, Xiang invests his time as an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Accounting and Finance. He is also a graduate from the University of Waterloo’s Accounting and Financial Management, and Master of Accounting (MAcc) programs.
Bo Wang, CPA, CA, CFA
Adjunct Professor, School of Accounting and Finance | Course Instructor
Bo Wang is Vice-President, Tax & Treasury, at Cineplex Entertainment. He has been with Cineplex since 2013, where he has held various successive financial roles. Wang currently oversees the treasury and tax functions at Cineplex and leads the Automation Centre of Excellence – focused on utilizing robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning, and predictive analytics to drive process optimization and deliver data-driven insights.
Wang has acted as an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Accounting and Finance. He is also a graduate from the University of Waterloo’s Accounting and Financial Management, and Master of Accounting (MAcc) programs.
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