2023 Top Consultants: Tess Ng

Tess is a Solution Lead at Clearsulting, focused on delivering top-quality digital finance transformations that are custom-tailored to meet an organization's unique needs. Prior to Clearsulting, she was the Chief Innovation Officer at WorkOps Consulting Inc., a boutique firm that was the leader in deploying automated financial reporting solutions using the Workiva platform. With over 12 years of experience in financial reporting and audit, Tess's background as a CPA gives her insight into the daily challenges faced by organizations looking for better ways to work. She sits on the Finance Committee of Hospice Toronto and holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Toronto.

What has been the biggest factor in your success so far?

The support of others. Family, friends, and co-workers have all supported me in so many ways during my career. When I didn't know what my career should be or what path I should take, they were there to provide advice, guidance and security.

Throughout my career, I've been fortunate to work with incredibly supportive people who gave me the chance to learn and grow; they celebrated my successes and turned my failures into learning opportunities. Without the people who took a risk and hired me when I didn't have the perfect skillset or took a chance and gave me exposure to areas where I didn't have experience, I wouldn't be where I'm at today.

What do you enjoy most about your career in the consulting industry?

What I enjoy most is how consulting presents me with new challenges and opportunities to learn and grow every day. Whether it's finding creative solutions to complex problems or working with brilliant teammates who generously share their knowledge and expertise, every project is a chance to develop my skills and knowledge. What's more, it's incredibly rewarding to know that the work we do directly impacts our clients' success and drives tangible improvements in their businesses.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

Staying true to myself. Like most of us, I've had a series of turning points in my career where I needed to make decisions about staying in a current role or choosing which direction I wanted to take for my next role. The path of least resistance is generally the easiest one to follow, but I often discovered that it wasn't what I truly wanted.

Sometimes people would tell me that I was doing things the wrong way or questioned why I was taking certain risks. I was fortunate that those voices were balanced by many others who understood that I was making these choices for myself and were there to support me. In some ways, my proudest achievement to date is that I didn't listen to other people!

What does this recognition mean to you?

This recognition came as a surprise and made me realize how much other people notice the work we do. When it feels like you're working in a silo, or working on an endless series of tasks, there are others around you who recognize the work that you're doing. It means that I am working in an environment that values the individual contributions of myself and others.

It also means that my career has transformed in unexpected ways. This type of recognition is not something I ever expected and my path here was not direct. I am grateful to have my work recognized and see it through the lens of others. We are often critical of ourselves and focus on areas of improvement; I appreciate having this opportunity to step back and see the positive impacts of my work.