City of Powell River chief financial officer (CFO) Mallory Denniston has been recognized with the early achievement award by Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC).
The award is given to members having distinguished themselves early in their CPA careers through professional achievements and/or volunteer service.
Denniston, born and raised in Powell River, is honoured by the distinction so early in her career. She had left the community to attend university studies and to work at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, before returning to her hometown in 2012 to work for Catalyst Paper Tis’kwat. She began working with the city in 2017 when the manager of financial services position opened up.
When the CFO’s position became available in 2022, Denniston was one of about 280 applicants for the job, and succeeded in being awarded the position.
Denniston said the work she did in her university undergraduate and graduate studies, plus the work experience along the way, provided her with credentials and experience to take on her responsibilities as city CFO.
“All of that culminated in giving me the experience and skills required for this specific role,” said Denniston.
For the past few years, the city’s CFO position has been a short-term prospect, with relatively high turnover, but Denniston said she’s not going anywhere. She hopes to provide stability to the position and to be a long-term solution for CFO responsibilities.
“I want nothing more than to provide consistency for the department, mayor and council, and taxpayers,” said Denniston.
According to a media release from CPABC, Denniston has guided vital civic projects and introduced systems that improve efficiency, transparency and engagement.
“A trusted voice by the mayor, council, staff and residents, Mallory has navigated challenging supply chain issues, inflation, and rising interest rates with diligence and expertise,” the release stated. “Mallory has improved city accountability and transparency through comprehensive, accessible public presentations, which expanded online engagement and in-person consultation. Additionally, she has championed continual improvement and innovation through updating and adopting best practices for the city’s financial, human resources and enterprise resource planning systems.
“She gives back to the community through contributing strategic financial input as director-at-large for the Bruce Denniston Bone Marrow Society, a charity supporting marrow transplant patients.”
Lori Mathison, president and chief executive officer of CPABC, stated that Denniston, along with two other recipients of the early achievement award, is an exceptional young professional who has already achieved tremendous accomplishments.
“From developing up-and-coming entrepreneurs, guiding essential civic projects, and empowering young people all-around, these three CPAs are driving positive change and boldly leading us into the future,” stated Mathison. “We are honoured to be recognizing the three of them with our early achievement award.”
City councillor Trina Isakson, chair of the finance committee, gets to work with Denniston.
“She’s been a fantastic resource for me to really be able to dive deep into the city’s financial planning,” said Isakson. “It’s very clear from the reports she puts together that she really knows the city’s finances inside and out, so it brings me peace of mind, knowing that I get to work with such talented staff.
“There has been transition over time in that CFO position, and I wasn’t on council when she was promoted to CFO, but what a win for the city to be able to promote internally and have someone like that on staff, who can step into the position and be awarded with this award, recognizing her by her fellow professionals. She’s a great resource, always willing to chat about questions I have, and making sure that what comes to council answers the questions we have, providing the information we need to make informed decisions.”
