MFAcc: Nancy Gossling's Story

Nancy Gossling is prepared to go the extra mile to support the UTM Master of Forensic Accounting (MFAcc) program and help students find support that they need.

The MFAcc graduate had devoted 18 years to raising her four daughters when she decided she wanted to return to her role as a manager of forensic accounting at one of the Big Four accounting organizations.

“I had lunch with my mentor and told her my plans,” Gossling remembers. “She said, ‘What do you mean? So much has changed. You can’t just walk back in.’”

Until that moment, she didn’t realize that her nearly two decade-old experience might no longer be marketable. She took to the Internet to find a solution and landed upon an elite graduate program specializing in the very field she had worked previously.

The only program of its kind in the world, UTM’s Master of Forensic Accounting (MFAcc) graduates approximately 30 students a year with the knowledge and skills to identify and prevent fraud, money laundering, offshoring, even cybercrime. The online program attracts students from across Canada and as far away as New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Middle East.

Gossling applied and was accepted to the program beginning in September 2017. Still, she wondered what type of role she could land after being out of the workforce for so long.

She need not have worried. In early 2018, even before graduating in 2019 Gossling landed a role as the senior manager of technology risk at a major Canadian bank. She quickly identified the criticality of cyber security risk and the role expanded to include cyber.

“The forensic skills I learned at UTM helped me land a great job, but I’m even more grateful for the confidence I gained,” she says. “The program helped shape who I am. It reinforced to me that I can do anything when I’m up against a huge challenge.”

To say thank you to UTM for supporting and believing in her, Gossling made a generous donation to the MFAcc program. Her gift triggered an alumni-wide appeal to raise funds to attract and support talented students who might otherwise not attend the program.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and the doors that have opened because of this degree,” Gossling says. “Every student should know that there are people who believe in them.

“The money matters, but it’s really all about being recognized and supported.”