George Fonderson, MBA, CA, CPA, CISA - Lead Advisor 

George Fonderson began his assurance and advisory services career 1985. In 2004, he established Fonderson Accounting & Advisory Services in Toronto. Prior to this, George spent the previous 10 years in various (international) Partnership and Directorship roles at Deloitte & Touche, last serving as a Firm Director in the firm's Toronto office. He had responsibility for the firm's annual computer assurance work for a portfolio of Canadian clients in various industries. He was also significantly involved in helping clients develop and execute their initiatives for complying with corporate governance legislation in Canada (Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 52-109) and the US (Sarbanes-Oxley Act).

George is a multi-skilled executive-level professional and, during his years with Deloitte, took up full-time postings in Deloitte offices in 5 countries. He has lived and worked in North America, as well as the emerging markets of West Africa, South Africa and East Africa.

George's skill sets and prior experience include strategy, finance and operations consulting; Development Consulting; Assurance & Information Systems Audit; Governance and Risk Management; the Design and Implementation of Control Systems; Information Systems selection, implementation and security; training, facilitation and human resources development; Process Re-engineering and Change Management; and Professional Practice Management / Development. George has been involved in serving a broad variety of private and public sector organizations. In the private sector, his clients have included multinational companies, large national organizations and fast-growing small and medium-sized businesses. In the public sector, he has served government ministries, departments and agencies, non-governmental and donor-funded organizations, and international organizations.

In addition to his roles in professional accounting and consulting, George has served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a publicly-traded Canadian company, handling all aspects of the company's financial reporting, regulatory compliance and corporate governance requirements for its operations in Canada and emerging markets. He played a key role in completing the steps necessary to publicly list the company and successfully conclude its initial public offering (IPO). George has also served - on an outsourced basis - as Chief Risk Officer / Chief Audit Executive of a number of Canadian public companies in the resource sector.

George's roles in professional services over the last 25+ years have included the following:

¤       Managing Director, Fonderson Accounting & Advisory Services (Toronto, Canada)

¤       Chairman, Baker Tilly Liberia (Monrovia, Liberia )
 
¤       Firm Director, Risk Management Services, Deloitte & Touche ( Toronto, Canada)

¤       Partner, Risk Management Services, Deloitte & Touche (East Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya)

¤     Regional Coordinator for Africa, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu International - 
       Africa Regional Secretariat (based in South Africa)

¤      Director, Deloitte & Touche Consulting, West Africa (based in Accra, Ghana)

¤      Director of Operations, Liberia Office, Deloitte & Touche Consulting - West Africa
      ( Monrovia, Liberia)

¤      Managing Partner, Baker Tilly Liberia [previously VOSCON CPAs] ( Monrovia, Liberia)

¤      Manager, Audit and Advisory Services, Pannell Kerr Forster ( Monrovia, Liberia) 

During his expansive career, George's work has required him to travel fairly widely in North America, Europe and Africa, playing roles in various projects and initiatives in many countries. 

George is a Canadian Chartered Accountant (CA), a US Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). He is a Fulbright Scholar and holds an MBA in Finance and International Business, and an Honors BBA Degree in Accounting. Additionally, George holds memberships in the professional accounting Institutes of Liberia, Ghana and Kenya. George has been actively involved in a number of professional organizations and, over the years, has given talks / presentations or served as a professional resource-person at various professional gatherings and forums, in several countries. He has been a Lecturer at the College of Business and Public Administration, University of Liberia and is a past Secretary-general of the Liberian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (LICPA).

George has served on the Editorial Board of the publication, Finance and Accounting Policy Pro Manual – FAPP (jointly published by First Reference and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants). He has also been invited to serve on the evaluation panel for CARE Canada’s MBA Associates Program.  This annual program, run by CARE Enterprise Partners, selects and deploys 10-12 top MBA scholars from leading MBA programs in Canada, to developing economies around the world, for a three-month period. The scholars are tasked with utilizing their experience and business skills in supporting specific social development and social-entrepreneurship  projects in the countries to which they are deployed.

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