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Karine Benzacar

Adjunct Lecturer

Overview

Karine Benzacar has been teaching for the Smith School of Business at Queens university since 2010. She is also Managing Director of Knowledge Plus Corp., an organization which specializes both in business training and in providing financial, accounting, and management information services. As a professional accountant, certified both in Canada and in the U.S., Karine’s practice has involved organizations all across North America. Her clients include many companies - large companies, such as the Bank of Nova Scotia, Magna, and IBM, start-up firms and the public sector, such as various departments of the Government of Canada.

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Academic Area

  • Accounting
  • Finance

Interest Topics

  • Accounting
  • Finance & Investment
  • Management

Faculty Details

Profile

Full Bio

Karine Benzacar has been teaching for the Smith School of Business at Queens university since 2010. She is also Managing Director of Knowledge Plus Corp., an organization which specializes both in business training and in providing financial, accounting, and management information services. As a professional accountant, certified both in Canada and in the U.S., Karine’s practice has involved organizations all across North America. Her clients include many companies - large companies, such as the Bank of Nova Scotia, Magna, and IBM, start-up firms and the public sector, such as various departments of the Government of Canada.

Karine is a seasoned industry professional with over 25 years of solid industry experience. After beginning her career in the finance departments of Kraft Foods and Avon Products, she held senior financial management positions at three major Canadian Banks – Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, and Bank of Montreal. Her career has spanned many areas including budgeting, accounting, finance, project management, re-engineering, and strategic management. She is fluently bilingual in English and French.

Karine obtained an MBA from McGill University in Montreal. In addition to her industry experience, Karine has been teaching undergraduate, MBA, and Masters of Finance courses at several leading universities which include University of Toronto, Queens University, Concordia University, and Ryerson University. She is a highly acclaimed industry expert, has presented at national and international industry conferences, and has been facilitating professional development courses for CPAs for over 10 years. She helped develop and marked professional accounting exams. She has also trained hundreds of bankers in Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean on credit analysis. She has published numerous articles in leading journals such as the National Post, Financial Post, CMA Management Magazine, HR Reporter, HRPA Magazine, Bottom Line and the RMA Journal and has been quoted as an industry expert in industry publications. She was awarded the FCPA designation an honorary designation where she was selected by her industry peers for her outstanding contributions to the industry, profession, and the community; this designation is held by less than 1% of CPAs in Canada. She was also instrumental in training accountants throughout Canada on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Academic Degrees

Master of Business Administration (MBA)
McGill University (1996)

Bachelor of Commerce
McGill University (1992)

Academic Experience

Instructor
Smith School of Business, Queens University (2010 - Present)

Instructor
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto (1999-2009, 2017)

Session Leader
Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) / Society of Management Accountants (1998 - Present)

Instructor
Risk Management Association (2003 - Present)

Instructor
Ryerson Polytechnic University (1998-2001)

Instructor
Concordia University (1996-1997)

Publications

In the Media

“To lease or not to lease”, CMA Management Magazine, March 2013

“What should you look for in an IFRS course”, Bottom Line, March 2009 

“Accounting for new financial statements under IFRS”, Financial Post, February 2009

“IFRS brings a radical change to financial statements”, February 2009

“Money Sense: Little Financial Experience? Start Here”, HRPAO HR Professional, Nov 2008

“Bankers Should Brace Themselves for Large-Scale Accounting Changes”, September 2008

“IFRS – The next accounting revolution”, CMA Management Magazine, July 2008

“Financial Literacy 101”, HR Reporter, June 2008

“Closing the GAAP”, Financial Post, May 2008

“Don’t be casual with contracts”, National Post, October 2007

“A new look at Profitability”, CMA Management Magazine, September 2006

Industry Profiles

"Staying on top of business issues", CMA Management Magazine, February 2010

"You can go your own way", Career Insider Accounting, September 2009

"Potential savings", The Tax Letter, June 2012

"Looking at budgeting in a new way", Bottom Line, May 2011

Textbooks

Booth, Cleary, Introduction to Corporate Finance, 2nd and 3d ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2013, 2010

Neter, Wasserman, Whitmore, Applied Statistics, Fourth Edition, Simon & Schuster, 1993

Service

Professional Certifications

Chartered Financial Accountant (CFA)
2015

Certified Public Accountant (CPA, FCPA)
2014

Certified Public Accountant - US (CPA)
State of Delaware
1998

Certified Management Accountant (CMA, FCMA)
1997