Michael Newton (Commerce, 1987) has been working in public accounting at FL Fuller Landau (“FL”) for 33 years.
Managing Partner with FL since 2004, Newton has a wealth of experience in the industry which he has used to help support private companies and public organizations as a board and executive committee member with a half dozen organization in and around Montreal, and on an International scale
Newton was awarded a fellowship by the Quebec Order of Chartered Professional Accounts in 2018 (FCPA).
Newton recalls his time at Champlain Saint-Lambert as the beginning of his “educational freedom of thought” which helped him develop good study habits and proved “a stepping stone to university.”
Initially, he started in Health Sciences but switched to Commerce and never looked back.
“CEGEP is the evolution of free thinking – that bridge between high school and university that should not be looked at as ‘something we have to do’, but rather as something that is much more than going to class. The beginning of educational self-discovery,” Newton said.
Newton played rugby at Champlain and went on to play for another eight years at the Provincial level with the St-Lambert Locks but his greatest discovery was meeting his wife at the college, he said.
After Cegep, Newton went on to complete a Bachelor of Commerce with a double major in accounting & Finance at McGill University followed by a Certificate in Accounting in 1992 and passed his CPA exam on the first sitting.
Newton became a partner at FL in 1998. He became the managing partner in 2004 at the age of 36.
He was also named to the mediation board of the Order of CPAs in Quebec (OCAQ) where he’s responsible for chairing arbitration hearings between CPA’s and their clients.
During his career, Newton has remained involved with the Champlain community, serving as the president of the Champlain Foundation and as a member of the Champlain Saint-Lambert Governing Board.
Newton’s other philanthropic activities includes serving as the vice-chair of the board of Habilitas Foundation, vice-chair of the board of the Cedars Cancer Institute & Chairman of the International association of CPA firms Leading Edge Alliance, with combined worldwide revenues in excess $2B.
Newton’s advice for current students and recent grads: “People we meet at this stage of life may come and go, but it’s a place where we learn how we socialize and interact, as well as learn study habits, participation and life skills. Take it seriously while learning to have fun – a mix in life that will serve you well in the workforce.”
