As we count down to International Women’s Day, the Barrhaven BIA is proud to feature our female board members in our brand new series – This is #MyBarrhaven. Their stories are inspiring and we are so proud to have each of them on our board. All the women featured will be attending our Women’s Day High Tea in Barrhaven on March 4th – Register Now to save you seat!

Meet Marlene L. Grant, CPA

Marlene L. Grant, CPA, is the proud owner of Marlene L. Grant Professional Corporation, a Barrhaven based Chartered Professional Accounting and Certified General Accounting firm. Marlene is also the longest standing member of the Barrhaven BIA Board and has served as Treasurer since joining in October of 2010. Marlene’s professionalism, friendliness, community spirit, and drive all have led to an inspiring story of success. The Barrhaven BIA is so lucky to have her and the expertise she brings has been invaluable over the last 15 years.

In the beginning

Marlene grew up in Jamaica, coming to Canada just in time to complete high school. Throughout her schooling, she always enjoyed accounting and math which led her to Algonquin College for Business Administration, ultimately declaring her major in Accounting (although she did have a strong interest in Computer Sciences as well!) After completing her degree, she faced the challenge of many new graduates – finding work within her field without experience. She started to work as a receptionist but this didn’t hold her back. She often offered to help the accountants with tasks outside of her role to gain much-needed experience.

This drive continued as she started her CGA and needed to find a firm to work with. It was the late 90’s so she pulled out the phone book and went line by line calling local firms and faxing off her resume. The technology may have changed a little in the last 25 years but this level of determination and motivation led to the best job interview of her life and a role that expanded her knowledge and skills while also shaping her career. She found her place there and quickly moved up taking on larger responsibility. Marlene obtained her Certified General Accounting designation in 2002.

Starting her own business

At this time, Marlene had begun a small part-time practice of her own. While she continued to work full time, she gained the trust of clients starting the Marlene L. Grant Professional Corporation in 2004. Her full time job had her working primarily as an auditor, which led to long hours at the computer and Carpel Tunnel Syndrome which forced her to take a break. After back to back surgeries, she knew it was time for a change and in 2009, she left her job to pursue her own practice full time. This was a huge and scary move but it ultimately led to peace and success.

To grow her business, Marlene became heavily involved in networking and volunteering to give back to the community. In 2009, she joined the Nepean Chamber of Commerce as the Treasurer and then the Barrhaven BIA soon after. She has also served on numerous other boards over the year – “Always as the Treasurer”. Always prioritizing giving back, Marlene has offered free tax seminars through the Ottawa Public Library and Business Accounting Seminars through the Ottawa Community Chinese Centre. She has received numerous awards and accolades for both her business and community involvement.

Marlene L. Grant Professional Corporation is now a team of 5 women that takes great pride in offering their clients the highest level of service which enables them to achieve their personal and business goals. They provide their clients with friendly and quality accounting, taxation, and accounting advisory services. They bring experience and exceptional quality services to a client focused practice. For more information on Marlene L. Grant Professional Corporation, visit https://mlgpc.ca/.

Family

Family has always been a top priority for Marlene and she attributes much of her success to the support from her husband, David O’Connor. David is also an entrepreneur and together they also run 2 other companies – Simple Industries and Jamaican Me Crazy Coffee Company Ltd. When not working, they enjoy spending as much time as possible with their kids and grandson Jason.

Faces Award

Marlene is honoured to have been nominated for a Faces Award in 2025 and voting is open! CLICK HERE to get your vote counted!

 

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