ROB DEACON

On behalf of the Partners and staff at Wilkinson & Company LLP, with a combination of happiness for him and sadness, we are announcing the retirement of Rob Deacon. We thank him for everything he has done for Wilkinson & Company, his clients, and the community. We wish him the best in the next chapter!

Previously, Rob began his career at Wilkinson in 1988 as a summer student and joined the firm full-time in 1990. He earned his CA designation in 1993 and became a partner with Wilkinson in February 2001. Rob derived a great deal of personal satisfaction providing individualized accounting and tax services to owner operated businesses and his professional clients.

Rob was the only Chartered Accountant at Wilkinson who also has the professional designation of Chartered Business Valuator. As a CBV, Rob worked with professionals, small to medium sized businesses and corporations to determine the fair value of a business and guides them through issues such as tax and estate planning, sales and acquisitions, marital disputes, shareholder disputes and loss quantification. Rob spent a great deal of time working to provide independent valuation advice to both spouses and their legal professionals.

Wilkinson was a founding member of the Canadian Division of the National Association of Forensic Accountants, established in 1993, and today is one of the premier forensic firms in Ontario. Rob previously was the firm's Practice Leader of the firm’s Forensic and Investigative Accounting division and a Member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. He had testified in court as an expert witness in the area of business valuations, forensic accounting and loss quantification. He specialized in fast, cost-efficient and effective investigation and reporting in cases involving fraud, divorce, income losses, shareholder disputes and insurance claims, including income replacement benefit and business interruption claim assessments.

“Forensic accounting can be stressful,” says Rob. “But it’s also challenging – it’s like a puzzle, you’re trying to put all the pieces together to present a clear picture.” There is no doubt that Rob’s clients – and Wilkinson - are better off today having access to his expertise.

Rob’s specialized knowledge and reputation provided Wilkinson clients with services usually only offered at larger national firms, making Rob was a valued member of the Wilkinson team.