Professional Bookkeeper

Carina Casuga, PLP, CPP

Instructor - Payroll Administration

Carina is a seasoned professional currently serving as a Payroll and Benefits Manager in Vancouver, BC bringing over 25 years of extensive expertise in payroll and benefits management. Being a Payroll Administration instructor at Langara College since 2019, she enjoys helping students and professionals alike learn, develop, advance in their chosen careers, and master essential skills such as calculating gross to net pay and understanding federal and provincial legislations. She also holds distinguished certifications including the Payroll Leadership Professional (PLP) from the NPI Canada, Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) in the USA and certificates in Leadership Development, and Personal and Executive Coaching.

David Karkut, MA

Instructor - Business Communications

David is a business communications and academic skills instructor with over 30 years of experience. He holds an MA in English Education (UBC) and a BA in International Politics and Economics (Middlebury College), as well as being TESL Certified – Level 3 Permanent.

Donald McLellan, MBA 

Instructor - Cost Management for Bookkeepers

Donald has worked as a management accounting professional for over 30 years in a variety of roles in manufacturing, wholesale and retail operations, and public sector service industries. His experience includes budgeting and forecasting, financial and management reporting, business process improvements financial systems implementations, business planning, organizational performance reporting and enterprise risk management.

Henry Sum, CPA 

Instructor - Bookkeeping 1 & 2

Henry is an instructor for Bookkeeping Level 1 and Bookkeeping Level 2 at Langara College. He has over five years of previous work experience at a national accounting firm, and currently works as an Accounting and Tax Manager for a restaurant group. Outside of teaching, Henry enjoys running and cooking in his spare time.

Isabel Chan, BA

Instructor - Quickbooks, Sage 50

Isabel has been an IT professional for over 20 years. She is knowledgeable with accounting software such as QuickBooks, Sage 50 and ACCPAC. In addition to teaching Typing/Keyboarding, Windows File Management and MS Office, she is also experienced in ERP software and dental practice management software.

Kurtis Formosa, CPA 

Instructor - Bookkeeping 1 & 2

Kurtis began his professional journey working in tax at PwC before making a transition to a financial controller position at Atomic Cartoons Inc. Seeking a departure from the conventional 9-5 desk job, he transitioned into teaching full-time in 2023 and now serves as a full-time instructor at Douglas College and part-time lecturer at Langara College. Kurtis also runs a small tax practice specializing in personal and corporate tax services. Outside of the professional realm, Kurtis is an avid guitar player and an average chess player.

Notice regarding the Professional Bookkeeper Program using StrongerBC Future Skills Grant: The grant is currently unavailable for new applicants – for more information about potential future availability, please visit WorkBC for updates.

Instruction
Existing students who have successfully used grant for the program in Fall 2024 and/or January 2025:

• For information about the grant and program/course withdrawal policy, please visit the grant webpage.
• For course registration in Summer 2025, please contact future skills team at futureskills@langara.ca or the registration office at 604-323-5322.
   

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

What courses should I take first?

It's recommended that students start with courses that do not have required course prerequisites, such as ADMN 1021 (can be registered concurrently with ADMN 2001), BSAD 1029, and/or GBSC 1004. However, courses can be taken in any order as long as course prerequisites are met. Click the links below to view sample program schedules.

Sample Program Schedule (3 semesters / 1 year / 52 weeks)

How do I know if there is date conflict between the courses?

Generally each course has one weekly evening class on the same day every week over a specific number of weeks. As long as the courses you have chosen are not held on the same day, then there should be no conflicts. Note that asynchronous online courses do not have scheduled live classes, so they will complement all other courses. View our course schedule here.

Can I complete this program fully online?

It is possible to complete this program entirely online, as long as you are able to register into the individual online courses. Note that all final exams are held in-person on main campus, but those students who reside outside of Metro Vancouver area will be able to use exam proctor instead of traveling to campus. See exam proctor procedure here. 
If I am using the grant, do I still get four years to complete the program?

Students using the grant are provided up to one year / 52 weeks to complete the program.

Can I use the grant to register for selective courses without committing to the entire program?

Once the grant is approved for the program, the entire program cost will be deducted from your lifetime grant amount.

Does the grant cover textbook costs?

Yes, the grant covers the cost of textbooks purchased from Langara bookstore. Visit our bookstore page here for instructions on how to apply grant toward textbook costs.
For all other Professional Bookkeeper FAQs, see here.