Jia Li

Jia Li is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA, US) and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, Canada) with over a decade of international experience in financial advisory, auditing, and technical accounting across the technology, media, life sciences and public and non-for-profit sectors. Trilingual in English, French, and Mandarin Chinese, Li brings a global perspective to both professional practice and the classroom, having worked across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Li currently serves as Senior Manager at Ernst & Young in New York City. In this capacity, he has led and executed audits under both IFRS and US GAAP for a diverse portfolio of clients, ranging from high-growth startups to large multinational corporations. He has technical accounting experience on complex standards including ASC 606/IFRS 15 (Revenue Recognition), ASC 842/IFRS 16 (Leases), ASC 810/IFRS 10 (Consolidation), and ASC 350/IAS 36 (Impairment). Li has also served as a digital audit and accounting resident within EY’s Americas Professional Practice Group (National Office), where he engaged directly with regulators and led the development of digital audit methodology. 

Outside of his work at EY, Li served as a Lecturer at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa from 2019 to 2021, where he was the youngest lecturer in the program. He taught a range of courses including Cases in Accounting, Auditing in a Digital Environment, Intermediate Accounting, Financial Accounting, and Data Analytics in Accounting. His academic research further reflects this interdisciplinary focus: his M.Sc. thesis at Imperial College London examined the impact of data analytics on financial statement audits, exploring how techniques such as machine learning, network analysis, and statistical forecasting can enhance the rigor and efficiency of the audit process.

Outside the classroom and office, Li serves as an Associate Board Member of the Opportunity Music Project, a tuition-free music education program dedicated to creating diversity and equity within classical music for children in New York City.

Education

• M.Sc., Business Analytics, Imperial College London

• Specialized Graduate Diploma in Public Accounting (CPA), HEC Montréal

• B.Com., Accounting (Co-op), Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa — Valedictorian