Uncommon Sense

Alberta Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) are remarkable. They’re experts and entrepreneurs; innovators and change makers; early adopters and trailblazers. And they each have a story to tell. Listen to the Uncommon Sense podcast to hear Alberta CPAs share their stories and insights on leadership, business, education, finance, technology, and so much more.Uncommon Sense is produced by the Alberta CPA Education Foundation’s Hesje CPA Knowledge Centre.

Uncommon Sense is a business podcast hosted by CPA Alberta, with 86 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

CPA Alberta hosts Uncommon Sense, a business show with 86 episodes published.

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  Uncommon Sense

  Uncommon Summer 2026 Ep3: Volunteering as a way of Life - Jim Sand CPA, CA, CAFM

  Aug 6, 202636 min

  On this encore episode, we're revisiting our conversation from last season featuring Jim Sand CPA, CA, CAFM. Jim is an experienced entrepreneur and business leader as well as an active, dedicated community volunteer. In this discussion, Jim shares some of his insights about what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur, and reflects on a lifetime of volunteerism in support of community health initiatives, Indigenous Peoples, and Alberta youth. Jim's life and career reflect intelligence, compassion, and humility—all of which are apparent in this wide-ranging and engaging chat.

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  Uncommon Sense

  Uncommon Summer 2026 Ep2: A Gold-Medal Encore Episode

  Jul 23, 202633 min

  We kicked-off last season of Uncommon Sense with an episode featuring Cheryl Gibson KC, FCPA, FCA, a distinguished CPA who is also one of Canada's most-decorated competitive swimmers. We're happy to bring you this episode again as part of our "Uncommon Summer" series. In this episode, Cheryl talks about what it was like to earn medals at the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, and many other national and international swimming competitions. She also shares some insights into the recent record-breaking successes of Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh, who has been making news in the pool again this summer. This is an episode well-worth listening to or re-listening to.

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  Uncommon Sense

  Uncommon Summer 2026 Ep1 : A Boatload of Uncommon Sense

  Jul 9, 202620 min

  We've got a different kind of episode to kick-off the summer edition of Uncommon Sense. Regular listeners know that over the last season, we asked each guest to share a piece of "uncommon sense" with our listeners, whether that was a life hack or some words of wisdom the guest had received at some point in their career journey. For this episode, we've compiled some of the many memorable "uncommon sense" tips we heard over the season from our various guests. From the humourous to the touching, all of these observations are memorable and insightful, and they reflect the diversity of experiences that are part of a CPA's journey.

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  Uncommon Sense

  Giving Back: A Conversation with Lifetime Volunteer Debbie Gorsline FCPA, FCMA

  Jun 25, 202625 min

  We're wrapping up this season with a conversation featuring a CPA who seems to never run out of energy when it comes to supporting organizations and causes important to her—Debbie Gorsline FCPA, FCMA, a recipient of CPA Alberta's 2026 Distinguished Accomplishment Award. On this episode, Debbie talks about her career path and reflects on the work she's done to support organizations such as CPA Assist, a program that offers confidential services to CPAs and their families across four jurisdictions. She offers her perspectives on the value of providing mental health and related services to professionals, and looks back on the impact her family and community have had on her own approach to volunteerism. Let us know what you think of this week's episode. Take our survey >> https://bit.ly/4kNI2NJ

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  Uncommon Sense

  Overcoming Personal Challenges to Serve Others with Mika Kitagawa-Friesen

  Jun 11, 202646 min

  Content Warning: This episode covers a variety of topics, including discussion around sexual abuse and violence, which may be upsetting to some listeners. If you or someone you know could benefit from the resources discussed in this episode, please visit https://www.sace.ca/contact/. Mika Kitagawa-Friesen CPA, CMA recently received CPA Alberta's Distinguished Accomplishment Award, in part because of her work as CFO of the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton. On this revelatory episode, Mika talks about her work at the Centre and what it means to her to be part of a team that supports survivors and educates the community about sexual violence. She also discusses her unique career path, her experiences as an immigrant to Canada, and how a health crisis affected her professional and personal lives. ------- Let us know what you think of this week's episode. Take our survey >> https://bit.ly/4kNI2NJ

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