Who Is This Phil Parkinson Guy?

I am not Phil Parkinson the footy coach from England, even though he sounds like a very interesting chap to be. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.

The whereabouts of this Phil Parkinson trace back several decades ago to a little hilly limestone filled town called St. Marys, Ontario, Canada (aka the Stonetown).

My childhood was typical of most children in a small town. I played sports including hockey, curling, soccer, etc... I was also known to have a knack for numbers, which evenutally came in handy if you know what I mean. My family is pretty normal as we had a few pets and a nice cozy house on Ontario street that was just right. There are so many other stories that could incriminate me but your eyes would get tired of reading. So let's fast forward ahead about 20 years.

Before deciding to go back to graduate school to complete my MBA, I worked for a medium sized regional accounting firm within their London, Ontario office for over three years. I also have worked on a variety of freelance consulting engagements over the years ranging from preparing and reviewing business plans to creating an entire IT system for a small enterprise.

Until the winter of 2009, I worked in the tax services group for one of the "big four" in London, Ontario. I am still proud to be a member of the loathers of audit. I primarily worked on corporate taxation but have gained exposure to more specialized areas of tax such as SR&ED claims for IT systems, U.S. expatriate tax returns, trusts and other various regulatory forms and filings.

Presently, I am working for one of Canada's medium sized insurance companies on a full time basis within their taxation department as a Tax Manager in the Kitchener/Waterloo area, primarily working on implementing tax provisioning software while automating other aspects of the department as well. Being my first foray into industry, I continue to learn lots and get to work on a variety of projects. I am still doing a bit of random tax and non tax conuslting engagements on my own time. The industry I am presently focused on is hi-tech along with some non-profit and charitable sector projects.

I completed level III of the CICA Indepth tax course while out in Whistler in the summer of 2010. I wrote my CPA IQEX reciprocity exam in November of 2008 so I can be called a global numerical existentialist (way cooler sounding title than accountant). I have passed the exam and am able to now call myself a CPA of the state of Illinois (licensed). I have acquired some knowledge gain while taking some specialty life insurance tax and accounting courses.

When I am not working, I enjoy reading non-fiction, traveling, genealogy, trying to learn circular breathing so I can play my didgeridoo, exercising to keep off the barley and hopps muscle, volunteering for non-profit and non-governmental organizations and doing interesting things with and to computers. I managed to combine a bunch of these hobbies together in October 2006 when I travelled to Australia and New Zealand for my vacation as a dual graduation present. Pictures of the trip can be found here. Even more pics to come when back from down under part deux in 2012.

My resume/CV can be made available upon request. I hope that what you have read is sufficient enough to provide a bit of background about myself.