Sonia Dhaliwal

Sonia Dhaliwal is an Associate Professor of Taxation & Accounting at the Lang School of Business and Economics, University of Guelph. She brings over a decade of professional experience and a strong record of academic leadership, research, and service to the accounting community.

Sonia began her career at the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, conducting financial and value-for-money audits across major provincial ministries and Crown agencies, including the Ontario Ministry of Finance, the Financial Responsibility Office, and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. She later articled with two Big Four firms to earn her Chartered Accountant (CA, CPA) designation and worked extensively in corporate and indirect tax advising clients on compliance, planning, and risk management. She also holds a Master of Taxation (MTax) degree from the University of Waterloo.

Sonia remains closely connected to the tax profession. She serves as a Supervisor in CPA Canada's In-Depth Tax Program, supporting the development of advanced tax practitioners and contributing to the training of Canada’s future tax leaders. Sonia’s research focuses on taxation, accounting education, professional pathways, and equity-centred approaches to teaching and learning. She is a frequent presenter at academic and practitioner conferences. Sonia is deeply involved with the Canadian Academic Accounting Association (CAAA), serving both on the CAAA Board of Directors and leading the education committee as Chair, dedicated to shaping the future of accounting education in Canada.

Beyond her scholarly contributions, Sonia is committed to advancing the profession through meaningful service and community engagement. She is the founder of the Lang Tax Conference & Case Competition, a national experiential learning initiative that brings together students, academics, and industry professionals. She also serves on the Audit Committee of a major not-for-profit, supporting governance and financial oversight at the organization.

A dedicated mentor and advisor, Sonia supervises undergraduate and graduate research assistants, mentors student leaders, and supports students applying to professional programs, graduate studies, and industry placements. She actively integrates experiential learning into her teaching through initiatives such as the Lang Tax Clinic, practitioner-in-class collaborations, and high-school outreach intitiatives.

Sonia is the recipient of the 2020 Paul MacPherson Teaching Award of Excellence, recognizing her commitment to impactful, inclusive, and transformative teaching.

Sonia Dhaliwal’s research spans taxation, accounting education, and the evolving relationship between policy, organizations, and professional practice. Her work examines how tax systems, regulatory frameworks, and public policy influence decision-making for corporations, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and individual taxpayers. She has published on topics such as tax administration and digitalization, procedural tax fairness, whistleblowing behaviour, the sustainability implications of tax policy, and the financing and growth cycles of Canadian SMEs.

A second stream of Sonia’s research focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in accounting and taxation. She is particularly interested in how universities can better prepare future tax professionals through experiential learning, competency development, and equitable learning environments. Her current projects examine professional pathways into taxation, the future of the tax workforce, and the integration of inclusive pedagogies into tax education.

Sonia also engages in interdisciplinary research exploring sustainability, knowledge transfer, and academic–industry collaboration. Her published work includes studies on sustainable decision-making frameworks, excise taxation and local food industries, and the role of universities as catalysts for innovation and industry transformation.

Across all streams, Sonia’s research reflects a commitment to producing work that is relevant to policymakers, practitioners, and educators. She regularly collaborates with industry partners, professional bodies, and community organizations, and she mentors undergraduate and graduate students through Independent Research Projects that explore real-world issues in taxation, public policy, ESG, and accounting education.

Degrees

2008 Master of Taxation, University of Waterloo

1999 Bachelor of Commerce, Ryerson University

Designations

2012 Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)

2003 Chartered Accountant (CA)

Scholarly Journal Publications (peer reviewed)

Dhaliwal, S.; Roganski, D., The Sustainability Landscape and Tax, Introduction to Federal Income Taxation in Canada, Wolters Kluwer (Chapter 18, 2025)

Dhaliwal, S.; Azam, S.; Hafer, B.; Hafer, K.; Sohail, D., Digitalization of Tax Administration: A review of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines, Accounting & Taxation, Volume 17, Issue 1 (United States, 2023); https://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/acttax/at-v15n1-2023/AT-V15N1-2023-4.pdf

Dhaliwal, Sonia ; Jagoda, Kalinga; Osakwe, Carlton, Use of Government Assisted Financing by SMEs: An Empirical Examination of Canadian SMEs Using the Financial Growth Cycle, International Journal of Accounting and Business Finance, Volume 9, Issue 1, 167-187 (2023)

Dhaliwal, Sonia; Farrar, Jonathan; Hausserman, Cass, Rewards and Fear of Being Labelled as Racist: A Tax Fraud Whistleblowing Investigation, Accounting Perspectives (Wiley, Canada, May 2022) https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3838.12296 Open Access

Dhaliwal, S.; Currie, E.; Lianne, Fotti, The future for Ontario cider production and consumption: Assessment of Ontario’s excise tax regime, World Food Policy, Volume 8, Issue 1, 38-61 (Wiley, February 2022) Open Access, https://doi.org/10.1002/wfp2.12035

Dhaliwal, Sonia, ; Farrar, Jonathan, ; Donnelley, Maurine Procedural Aspects of Tax Fairness: A Content Analysis of Canadian Tax Jurisprudence, Journal of Legal Tax Research, Volume Volume 11, Issue 2, 21-37 (The ATA Journal of Legal Tax Research, United States, 2013) http://dx.doi.org/10.2308/jltr-50552 Open Access

Cannabis makes the case for sales tax-inclusive pricing; Global News December 1, 2018:

Prof. Dhaliwal discusses the CRA report on Tax Gap and Compliance results for federal corporate income tax in an interview with the CBC.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-professors-experiment-as-ai-becomes-part-of-student-life/

Introduction to Financial Acconting - ACCT 1220

Management Accounting – ACCT 2230

Intermediate Accounting - ACCT 3330

Taxation – ACCT 3350

Advance Taxation – ACCT 4350

Graduate Diploma in Accounting, Tax Elective – ACCT 6300

Justice Equity Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace - MGMT 2190

Financial Management - MGMT 3320

Strategic Management - MGMT 4000