Patrick O’Meara, an assistant professor of accounting at Niagara University, received a Teaching Excellence Award from the AICPA-CIMA during a virtual ceremony on Dec. 9, 2022. Sponsored by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the global accounting organization representing CIMA and the American Institute of CPAs, the annual awards recognize educational institutions and individuals across the globe who work tirelessly to support candidates through their journey toward becoming Chartered Global Management Accountants and shape the future of the global accounting and finance profession. O’Meara earned the special designation of Global Distinguished Excellence for the way in which he incorporates the CGMA finance leadership program into his coursework, and for having the largest number of CGMA candidates globally. This is the second year that O’Meara was chosen for a Teaching Excellence Award. 

O'Meara is a certified management accountant, a chartered professional accountant, and a certified financial planner. He joined Niagara’s accounting faculty in 2018 and has held teaching positions at Red Deer College University, Alberta, Canada, and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. He has also held posts as chair of business and commerce programs at the Donald School of Business at Red Deer College University, and as chair of accounting, finance, and economics programs at the school of business at Centennial College in Toronto, Canada. He is the principal of the Innovative Scholar Inc. and has written three books on topics including personal credit, personal finance, and mutual funds. He is currently writing a textbook on management and cost accounting that is expected to be published next summer. He also served as senior director of training services at the Canadian Institute of Financial Planning. O’Meara holds an MBA from Niagara University and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Windsor.

More than 650 applications and nominations from educational institutions and individuals were submitted this year for consideration in four categories: Teaching Excellence Award, Research Excellence Award, Campus Culture Excellence Award, and Employability Excellence Award. A central award committee also selected winners for the Global Excellence Award, and CGMA Campus of the Year Award based on exam performance in 2021 and 2022. This year, one CGMA candidate received a Candidate of the Year Award for their dedication to learning and progressing their CGMA studies despite ongoing global uncertainty.